Suit filed against gas distributor over damaged homes

FORT MCMURRAY A proposed classaction lawsuit has been filed against natural gas company Atco in connection with an explosion last May that damaged several Fort McMurray homes.

The blast took place in the Dickinsfield neighbourhood while the entire city was under an evacuation order because of a powerful wildfire.

It’s alleged the explosion was the result of the improper restoration of natural gas service to the community in the disaster’s aftermath, Calgary-based Higgerty Law said in a release Friday.

The claim filed this week in the Court of Queen’s Bench in Edmonton is seeking damages of $10 million, the law firm said.

None of the accusations has been proven in court.

Atco was not immediately available to comment.

Joshua Somers, one of the two representative plaintiffs in the case, said the wildfire spared his family’s home, but then the explosion ripped it apart.

“It’s been close to a year now, and the way things are going, we may not be back in our home for at least another year,” he said in the release.

“We want to know why Atco didn’t stop our home from being partially demolished. They have a lot of explaining to do.”

Michael Whalen, the other plaintiff, said his family has been living in a camper outside their damaged home.

“We don’t know if or when our home will ever be the same, which has put an immense amount of stress on myself and my family.”

The firm said the suit is seeking to compensate anyone who suffered loss and damage to their property as a result of the explosion, covering repair and replacement costs, other expenses and mental and emotional stress.

Higgerty Law is working on a separate proposed class-action suit related to allegations the city’s Wal-Mart sold potentially contaminated food after the wildfire.