Lawyers outline plan for class action suit against Prestige Feed Products
Lawyers representing neighbors complaining about odors from a Mount Prospect animal feed producer in a class-action lawsuit met Tuesday at a Des Plaines church with clients and interested parties.
During the meeting at Unity Des Plaines church, Reed Solt and Laura Sheets of the Detroit-based firm Liddle Sheets P.C., explained next steps as the suit against Prestige Feed Products LLC and Cereal Byproducts Co. heads to a May 14 court date before Cook County Judge Clare Quish.
Sheets said the primary objective of the lawsuit is to secure monetary damages for affected residents and require operators to address the odor issues.
She said the plaintiffs are asking the court for class action status.
Sheets said the odor is present even when Prestige is not operating.
“They (at Prestige) have agreed to allow us in under certain circumstances, the most important one being that they don't want to let us in during operating hours,” she revealed.
The class action suit is among several legal matters surrounding Prestige, located at 431 Lakeview Court in the Kensington Business Center. Prestige is fighting both the village of Mount Prospect and the city of Des Plaines. The Illinois attorney general’s office is also suing Prestige regarding odor and noise issues raised by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
People from surrounding properties have complained for years about a burned cheese smell and noise coming from the factory.
One of the plaintiffs, Mary Beth Stillmaker, said more than 1,400 complaints have been registered.
Residents spoke about previous attempts by Prestige to mitigate the odors, adding it hasn’t solved the problem.
Mount Prospect resident Alan Wurtz, said the issues go beyond the smell. “It’s what I find on my car in the morning if I leave it parked outside my garage. It’s also on my patio furniture. So it makes my summer hell.”
Sheets encouraged residents to continue documenting their experiences.
“The complaints help us tremendously,” Sheets said.