Hicksville Water District in wait-and-see mode to reap contamination judgment

A federal judge ordered a default judgment of nearly $40 million to the Hicksville Water District for groundwater contamination from a defunct lamp manufacturer, but four weeks later, whether the utility will ever see any of the money remains unclear.

Judge Robert M. Levy, with the U.S. Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn, ruled for the water district Sept. 12 in its lawsuit against Alsy Manufacturing. The company operated a lamp factory until 1991 at the 4-acre property on Duffy Avenue in Hicksville that was later declared a Superfund site because of contamination. The site cleanup was completed in 2014 to address heavy metals in the soil and possible carcinogens found such as 1,1,1-trichloroethane.

The water district sued 183 defendants in 2023, including several businesses, alleging they contaminated groundwater in the Hicksville district, including from chemicals like 1,4-dioxane found in its wells during testing in 2018. The Hicksville Water District serves more than 48,000 residents and customers.

The water district sought to cover costs of remediation and testing the water supply. An engineer who surveyed the water district estimated the total cost during the next 50 years to treat the aquifer water and wells at the former Superfund site, also contaminated with 1,4-dioxane was $39,721,710. The water district did not seek additional costs or attorney fees.

The other defendants reached confidential settlements with the water district, according to the water district's attorneys.

The judge noted "Alsy has not answered or appeared in this action," and was therefore found liable in the default judgment.

Attorneys for the water district said it would collect what is possible if a defendant on behalf of Alsy is located. But if a defendant cannot be found, they said, there would be no one to pay the water district for the judgment.

Alsy, which also operated under the brand Emess Manufacturing, was the last outstanding defendant in the case. 

Representatives for the defunct company could not be located by Newsday.

"This is an important win for Hicksville and a clear message that companies cannot walk away from the damage they leave behind," according to a statement by partners Hunter Shkolnik and Robert Gitelman, lead counsel for the Hicksville Water District. "Even when defendants fail to show up, the courts can affirm responsibility and send a clear message: companies that pollute our drinking water cannot escape public scrutiny.’’

Hicksville Water District officials said they could not comment on the case Thursday.

Alsy made electric lamps and lampshades at the site from 1975 through 1991. Its factory also used bronze plating and electroplating, according to the water district.

"Waste material generated from Alsy’s operations at the Alsy Manufacturing site included metal plating waste, wastewater treatment sludge, paint thinner, and acidic paint stripper," according to the complaint adopted in the judge’s ruling. "The hazardous and toxic substances released at the Alsy Manufacturing site infiltrated the groundwater, which migrated off-site, contaminating plaintiff’s drinking water supply."

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.