A circuit court judge in Louisville is allowing a class-action lawsuit against General Electric over a 2015 fire at Appliance Park to move forward.
Judge Susan Schultz Gibson issued the order Wednesday.
On April 3, 2015, Building 6 at Appliance Park went up in flames, blanketing the surrounding neighborhood in smoke. Residents were told to shelter-in-place, and in the weeks following the fire, three neighbors filed a lawsuit on behalf of themselves and their neighbors, alleging property damage from the particulate matter.
GE and Derby Industries — the contractor which leased Building 6 — sought to block the lawsuit from becoming a class-action complaint. But the judge noted that the plaintiffs haven’t moved to certify a class yet, so it would be premature to act.
The plaintiffs are represented by Louisville law firm Jones Ward.
"Jones Ward PLC won a victory today for those families in Jefferson County harmed by the GE warehouse fire, the largest fire in Louisville history," the company posted on Facebook. "GE's lawyers attempted to have the entire case thrown out of court and all class-action allegations dismissed. The court denied their motions and we are excited to move forward with recovering full and fair compensation for those harmed by the fire."
A spokeswoman for GE said the company had not seen Judge Gibson's order, and could not comment at this time.
This story has been updated.