Name: Judge OKs $6.3 million settlement in shipyard homeowner suit
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Judge OKs $6.3 million settlement in shipyard homeowner suit

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This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateA federal judge has tentatively approved a $6.3 million settlement for current and former homeowners at the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard who said they were misled about the extent of radioactive contamination at the site and problems with the cleanup.The March 17 court order paves the way for developers Lennar Corp. and FivePoint Holdings to resolve one thread of a tangled web of litigation around the former shipyard, which was polluted in parts with radioactive substances during the Cold War. The homes are built on a hilltop parcel historically used for Navy housing. Though the hilltop has been declared clean by regulators since 2004, surrounding areas are part of a Superfund site and are still being probed for contamination.More than 650 people who owned about 370 housing units are members of the class-action lawsuit against the developers. There are 126 people named as plaintiffs; that group is still suing the environmental cleanup firm Tetra Tech Inc. and its subsidiary, Tetra Tech EC.The homeowners claimed their property values plunged by a collective $46 million following a scandal over faked radiation tests in other parts of the ex-shipyard and wider questions about the accuracy of Tetra Tech’s work.Bayview-Hunters Point, in the city’s southeast, is a historically Black neighborhood laden with industrial sites that emit pollution. The city’s public health department has found that residents suffer from abnormally high rates of asthma and other ailments.“The Southeastern neighborhoods of San Francisco provide a case study in environmental racism,” said plaintiffs’ attorney Joe Cotchett in a news release announcing the settlement. “Most San Franciscans have no idea that HPNS was ground zero in the atomic era, or that it was very purposely the dumping ground for nuclear waste, nor do they understand the deep-seated politics that continue to value economic development over human life.”Under the terms of the proposed settlement, current homeowners could receive from $228 to $29,931 per unit, depending on when they purchased and how much they paid. Former homeowners could receive from $716 to $29,746. The average per-unit payout is expected to be $12,000.FivePoint and Lennar denied any fault or wrongdoing. Representatives for Lennar and Tetra Tech declined to comment. Representatives for FivePoint did not immediately respond to requests for comment.“We are really thrilled to be making progress and seeing a light at the end of the tunnel,” said Linda Parker Pennington, one of the lead plaintiffs, who bought a townhome in the hilltop development in 2015.Developer Fivepoint announced in mid-March that the Navy plans to transfer another area of the shipyard, Parcel G, to the city in 2023, and that the remaining nine parcels would be transferred by 2026.Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Area’s largest water districts.At the same time, Tetra Tech EC is being sued for fraud by whistle-blowers and the Department of Justice. Federal prosecutors say the firm cut corners and falsified radiation tests, and the Navy decided that its data were suspect and areas of the shipyard should be retested. Tetra Tech EC has denied any wrongdoing, blaming any problems on a handful of “rogue” employees.A hearing on final approval of the settlement with Lennar and FivePoint is scheduled for Oct. 14.“There wasn't enough care paid to whether the cleanup was done properly and thoroughly,” said attorney Anne Marie Murphy, a partner at Cotchett, Pitre &amp; McCarthy, the firm representing the homeowners. “This whole case is about the toxic stew that we have out at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard.”Jason Fagone and Cynthia Dizikes are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: , Twitter: ,Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Area’s largest water districts.

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateA federal judge has tentatively approved a $6.3 million settlement for current and former homeowners at the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard who said they were misled about the extent of radioactive contamination at the site and problems with the cleanup.The March 17 court order paves the way for developers Lennar Corp. and FivePoint Holdings to resolve one thread of a tangled web of litigation around the former shipyard, which was polluted in parts with radioactive substances during the Cold War. The homes are built on a...

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Jason Fagone

Cynthia Dizikes

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Judge OKs $6.3 million settlement in shipyard homeowner suit

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