TCE Lawsuits Expand To Five
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WATER VALLEY — Litigation tied to decades-old trichloroethylene contamination at the former Holley Automotive plant in Water Valley is expanding rapidly, with three new lawsuits filed April 1 and April 2. The filings bring the total number of ongoing lawsuits to five — all with similar allegations — and push the number of plaintiffs well past 100, according to court filings.
The lawsuits allege that trichloroethylene, used for decades in operations at the plant, caused long-term health problems among workers exposed during their employment. The complaints also claim the contamination spread beyond the facility through groundwater and vapor intrusion, though the named plaintiffs are limited to former employees and their beneficiaries.
The newly filed cases — CV-2026-27-JM2, CV-2026-28-JM2 and CV-2026-29-JM2 — include both personal injury claims and wrongful death claims brought by beneficiaries of deceased former workers.
The three new lawsuits include a combined total of 84 plaintiffs, with claims divided between personal injury cases filed by living former workers and wrongful death claims filed by beneficiaries of deceased employees, according to the complaints.
Case CV-2026-27-JM2 includes 28 plaintiffs — 23 personal injury claims and five wrongful death claims. Personal injury plaintiffs are Joan Berryhill, R.L. Bland, Ella Mae Booker, Michael Booker, Hattie Brasher, Sandra Cofer, Cheryl Fly, Clay Freeman, James Lee Golliday, Kathy Mann Goodson, Sheila Bernice Hale, Carl Edward Jones, Ida Lankford, Billy Moorehead, Charles Edward Neal, Nancy Rhea, Mary Roberson, Beverly June Sexton, Margaret Ann Tapper, Albert Tolbert and George Lynn Woodard. Wrongful death claims are filed on behalf of Eva Bynum, Barbara Inez Fleming, Debra Hoskins Bounds, Judith Kimble Bradford and Lee V. Matthews Sr.
Case CV-2026-28-JM2 includes 26 plaintiffs — 17 personal injury claims and nine wrongful death claims. Personal injury plaintiffs are Mary Scoggins, Fredda Cantrell, Billy Ray Clark, Jerome Coleman, Robert E. Davis, Lowedia Doolin, J.B. Edwards, Gloria Ann Freeman, Judy Glick, Alma Gordon, Bettie Hastings, Jerry Lynn Jones, Ola Faye Kerr, Sandra King, Viola Fields Link, Clarence Loston and Larry Love. Wrongful death claims are filed on behalf of Peggy Brown, Sarah McNulty, Clifton Edgar Smith, Michael Glick, Dorothy K. Stokes, Carl Polk, George Stewart, Velma June Tidwell and Edna Mae Pipkin.
Case CV-2026-29-JM2 includes 30 plaintiffs — 25 personal injury claims and five wrongful death claims. Personal injury plaintiffs are Odester Andrews, Excell Vance, Josephine Martin, Eddie Foster, Billy Harris, Joan Berryhill, Patricia Camp, Clayfers Walton, Mary Scoggins, Fredda Cantrell, Billy Ray Clark, Jerome Coleman, Robert E. Davis, Lowedia Doolin, J.B. Edwards, Gloria Ann Freeman, Judy Glick, Alma Gordon, Bettie Hastings, Jerry Lynn Jones, Ola Faye Kerr, Sandra King, Viola Fields Link, Clarence Loston and Larry Love. Wrongful death claims are filed on behalf of Richard Jones, Samuel Pascu, Margaret Hayes, Robert Keglar and Delois Vanlandingham.
The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys George “Boo” Hollowell and Andrew Tominello of the Hollowell Law Firm in Greenville and Phillip C. Hearn of Hearn Law Firm PLLC in Jackson, according to the complaints.
Across all three lawsuits, the named plaintiffs are limited to former employees of the facility or beneficiaries of deceased workers, despite broader claims that contamination extended beyond the plant site through groundwater and vapor intrusion. Each complaint includes detailed allegations of cancer diagnoses and other significant health conditions among the plaintiffs, which the lawsuits link to prolonged exposure to trichloroethylene, according to the filings.
The lawsuits name a range of corporate, engineering and consulting entities as defendants, reflecting multiple phases of operation and oversight at the facility over several decades. Detrex Corp. and Italmatch USA Corp. are identified in the complaints as companies tied to chemical use and industrial operations at the plant, including the handling of trichloroethylene. A separate group of defendants includes engineering and environmental consulting firms — WSP USA Inc., First Environment Inc., AAE Consulting LLC, Dames & Moore Inc. and W.L. Burle Engineers — which are alleged to have been involved at various times in environmental investigation, site assessment and remediation work related to contamination at and around the facility. The lawsuits also name Avant Construction in connection with site work, along with individuals Kevin Moore and Michael Slack.
The complaints allege the defendants failed to properly handle, store and dispose of trichloroethylene and failed to adequately prevent its release into the environment. The filings further allege the defendants failed to properly investigate and remediate contamination and failed to warn workers of known or potential health risks associated with exposure to the chemical, according to the complaints.
The lawsuits seek compensatory and punitive damages, including recovery for medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages, loss of enjoyment of life and wrongful death damages, along with any other relief the court deems appropriate, according to the complaints.
History Of Site
The contamination at the former Holley Automotive plant has been under state oversight for decades. Investigations dating back to the late 1980s identified trichloroethylene in groundwater near the facility, leading to a series of remediation efforts that have continued through multiple ownership changes.
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality has directed long-term cleanup efforts at the site, including groundwater monitoring, plume mapping and mitigation systems designed to address contamination that migrated beyond the plant property. The plume area covers hundreds of acres north and northwest of the facility.
That history also highlights a notable omission in the current litigation. EnPro Industries, the corporate successor that assumed environmental liability for the former Holley Automotive plant, is not named as a defendant in any of the five state court lawsuits, despite its role in ongoing remediation and groundwater monitoring efforts within the contamination plume under direction of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
The Herald has previously reported EnPro Industries resolved litigation tied to the site, including a $3 million settlement with Yalobusha County and Yalobusha General Hospital related to loss of property value. The company also reached a separate settlement with dozens of property owners within the contamination plume area; terms of that agreement were not disclosed.
The absence of EnPro as a defendant is notable given earlier federal litigation tied to the same site. That federal case, filed in June 2024 by eight former workers, centered on alleged workplace exposure and was challenged by defendants on the grounds that such claims fall under the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Act rather than civil court, according to filings in the federal case.
The federal case was voluntarily dismissed in February 2026 without a final ruling.
Attorney Hollowell previously told the Herald that related workers’ compensation claims involving some former employees are continuing before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission.
Hollowell also told the Herald the new litigation could eventually grow to dozens of lawsuits and close to 1,000 plaintiffs.
As the litigation continues to grow, the focus of the claims remains on historical operations at the facility rather than its current occupant. The facility, located at 600 Highway 32 East in Water Valley, is currently occupied by a separate industrial operation that is not named in any of the lawsuits and is not alleged to have any connection to the contamination or claims outlined in the complaints.
