Ga. county sues SK Battery over ’23 recycling center fire

Suit seeks damages for resources used to battle blaze.

A Georgia county has filed a lawsuit against one of the state’s largest manufacturers after discarded battery cells were improperly shipped to a recycling facility, sparking a fire last summer that burned for days and totaled the building.

Banks County filed a lawsuit in early May against SK Battery America Inc. to seek compensatory damages for the “significant government resources” used to battle the blaze.

It took firefighters four days and more than 3 million gallons of water to extinguish the July 2023 inferno at Metro Site recycling center, which sits in Jackson County just across the Banks County line. The facility is about 70 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta.

The complaint also says the fire endangered Banks Fire Station 31, which is adjacent to Metro Site’s property.

Firefighters and investigators with Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division determined the blaze was caused by lithium-ion battery cells that were mistakenly shipped to Metro Site from SK Battery’s $2.6 billion factory in Commerce. The charred facility was not permitted to handle batteries among its recyclables. Metro Site also sued SK Battery, alleging the factory’s management was careless with overseeing its battery scraps.

In its complaint, lawyers for Banks County said the government filed its lawsuit to recoup “all harms and losses and “to prevent (SK Battery) from ever causing this type of harm again.”

SK Battery declined to comment on the two pending lawsuits.

“SK Battery America has procedures in place to ensure proper handling of materials,” the company said in a statement. “SK Battery America continues to cooperate with the investigation.”

Since 2020, Banks County Fire Chief Steve Nichols said his firefighters assisted Jackson County firefighters with four blazes caused by battery scraps at Metro Site.

The ensuing lawsuit by Metro Site’s owner, Scott Ledford, alleged that SK Battery has “lost track” of nearly 2,400 defective batteries over the past two years and details 11 alleged incidents where it intercepted mistakenly shipped battery cells from SK Battery’s factory.

SK Battery, a subsidiary of Korean conglomerate SK Group, was one of Georgia’s first forays into the EV and battery industries. State and local leaders offered the company nine-figure incentive packages for both the Commerce facility and a forthcoming joint battery factory between another SK business, SK On, and Hyundai Motor Group in Bartow County.

Ledford’s attorney, Gus McDonald, said SK Battery has amassed a track record of negligence, including multiple safety violations and fines levied by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. McDonald said the company needs more oversight.

The EPD on April 17 published a negotiated consent order with SK Battery that fined the company $33,000 after an investigation in the Metro Site fire.

In court documents, SK Battery alleged the mistake was made by its shipping contractor, which is not a defendant in the suit. McDonald, the attorney for Metro Site, said the recent consent order is “at odds” with SK Battery’s arguments in court.

An amended complaint filed by Metro Site in early May asks for damages to be determined at trial “without limitation or cap. It also asks for SK to be sanctioned for spoliation, alleging the company “lost and destroyed critical evidence.” McDonald said the case is scheduled for trial in August.

HYOSUB SHIN /HYOSUB.SHIN@AJC.COM A photo shows the remnants of Metro Site’s recycling facility that burned down last year. SK Battery has alleged the mistake that caused discarded battery cells to arrive at the facility was made by a shipping contractor.