RICHMOND, Ind.— Two years after a massive fire broke out at a Richmond plastic recycling facility, the legal battle over who is responsible is still ongoing— and it’s coming at a cost to taxpayers, WRTV Investigates has learned.
The April 11, 2023 blaze sent thick smoke into the air for a week, prompting thousands of people to evacuate and schools to close temporarily. The fire prompted several lawsuits filed by Richmond residents who claim they suffered injuries, health issues, lost wages and property damage as a result.
WRTV Investigates has learned the City of Richmond has spent $204,716 on outside legal fees between April 2023 and December 2024, and the legal costs are mounting.
“Our life has changed completely,” said Troy Wilson, a 52-year resident of Richmond. “It was like something out of a movie. You couldn’t go outside because the smoke was so thick.”
Wilson owned a car repair shop and worked as a mechanic. He’s now terminally ill with chronic pancreatitis.
“I had to close my shop because I got sick,” said Wilson. “It impacts me a lot. My house had to be pressure washed because it was black.”
Wilson and his Carmel attorney Trevor Crossen believe Troy’s illness may have been caused by breathing in the smoke. Crossen’s law firm filed a new lawsuit on April 10 in Wayne County.
It’s similar to a lawsuit he filed within days of the fire, but because the court has not certified it as a class action lawsuit, the new complaint lists 176 Richmond residents as plaintiffs, including Troy Wilson.
“There’s a lot of people that have been wronged as a result of this fire," said Crossen.
The lawsuit blames the City of Richmond as well as the plastics recycling business Cornerstone Trading Group, its president Seth Smith and My Way Trading.
It alleges they were negligent by failing to address hazardous conditions like plastic scraps and trash stacked inside and outside the warehouse.
The City of Richmond cited the property owner in 2019 for fire hazards, including the storage of excessive plastic materials, insufficient fire suppression, and roof damage.
PREVIOUS | City of Richmond cited property in 2019 for fire hazards
In 2021, the City of Richmond took over two parcels of the property.
The lawsuits filed by Crossen’s firm allege the fire broke out on the city’s portion, outlined in red in the below photo.
"They know about these violations because they wrote the violations in 2019 and they did absolutely nothing to prevent the fire, to remediate the property to keep this from happening,” said Crossen. “And now they want to claim immunity."
The Indiana State Fire Marshal ruled the cause of the fire as “undetermined.”
Crossen says the city has refused to settle with residents impacted by the fire.
“They haven't been given any money or reimbursement for their medical bills, for their displacement costs," said Crossen.
Crossen said many people incurred costs for cleaning up their homes and businesses.
“Because their kids couldn’t go to school around that area, a lot of our clients had to take off from work, so they’ve got lost wages,” said Crossen. “Then you’ve got physical injuries people sustained and our still enduring those physical injuries that were caused by this massive fire of plastics and other toxins released into the air.”
WRTV Investigates has learned the City of Richmond has spent $204,716 on outside legal fees between April 2023 and December 2024, and the legal costs are mounting.
It’s not sitting well with Richmond truck driver and plaintiff Tushawn Craig.
“For the city to say it does not have funds for the citizens impacted by the fire and to pay a legal team and we haven’t even went to trial yet,” said Craig. “I hope it all comes out in the end and that the city is held liable.”
Troy Wilson is also ready for the legal battle to be over.
"I'm hoping the city makes this right,” said Wilson. “They should have settled from day one. This shouldn’t have even been a lawsuit. The city should have just taken care of it,"
WRTV Investigates has filed multiple records requests to get legal invoices associated with the fire. We have not yet received them. We have reached out to the City of Richmond and Seth Smith for comment on the new lawsuit and we are still waiting to hear back.
