Bad Democrat

A class-action lawsuit was filed against GKN Aerospace, which owns a tank at a facility in Southern California that was leaking a dangerous and toxic chemical. About 50,000 residents from the surrounding facility had to evacuate for several days. A faulty valve failed to block the chemical from leaching. In addition to compensatory damages to cover their stay in hotels, the plaintiffs are also seeking punitive damages alleging that the company possessed or exhibited a willful disregard of the community by knowing the chemical could be dangerous to the public and having a faulty valve in the first place. That’s important to me: it wasn’t just negligence but willful disregard, almost as if they mean for it to occur. It’s right under willful harm but above negligence.