Author: FFP Ai Bot

TOLEDO — A Toledo business owner has filed a lawsuit seeking class-action status against the company behind last week’s chemical leak in north Toledo, its parent company and the terminal’s plant manager, according to Lucas County Common Pleas Court filings reported by 13abc and WTOL 11.

The suit was filed Oct. 23 by Todd M. Hartford and his company, Hartford’s Fencing & Landscaping LLC. It names M.C. Tank Transport Inc., parent company Kenan Advantage Group Inc. and terminal plant manager Albert Dudek as defendants, and lists claims of negligence, gross negligence or recklessness, nuisance and strict liability for an abnormally dangerous activity, 13abc reported.

The case stems from the Oct. 20 release of glycidyl methacrylate, or GMA, from a storage tank at the terminal at 1266 Progress Avenue. GMA is an industrial chemical used in resins, coatings and adhesives. The release led Toledo Fire & Rescue to order everyone within one mile of the terminal to evacuate and people within three miles to shelter in place. The City of Toledo posted updates on the response on its official hazmat incident page. All evacuation orders were lifted at noon Oct. 23.

What the lawsuit claims

According to the complaint, the defendants failed to keep adequate levels of a chemical stabilizer in the tank, failed to properly monitor its temperature and pressure, and failed to inspect and maintain its safety systems. The suit also argues that storing the chemical in bulk so close to homes and businesses was reckless, and that venting the tank to relieve pressure allowed the release to keep reaching the surrounding community, WTOL reported.

The complaint estimates about 1,379 people in 581 housing units lived inside the one-mile evacuation zone and about 49,527 people in 22,940 housing units lived inside the three-mile shelter-in-place area, including some in Monroe County, Michigan. It says at least 389 businesses and facilities sit within three miles of the terminal, 35 of them inside the evacuation zone.

Hartford says he was displaced from his home and his business had to close, according to the filing. He is asking the court to let the case go forward as a class action on behalf of displaced residents and businesses that were forced to close or limit operations, and is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.

These are allegations in a civil complaint. No court has ruled on them, and the court has not decided whether to certify the case as a class action. M.C. Tank Transport, Kenan Advantage Group and Dudek had not responded to the allegations as of 13abc’s report.

FFP has covered the leak since the first night, including the evacuation, the shelter-in-place order and the lifting of all orders on Oct. 23.

Watch: WTOL 11 report

Video: “Class action lawsuit filed against business at center of north Toledo chemical leak,” posted by WTOL11 on YouTube.

Sources:
13abc (WTVG), “Toledo business owner sues over chemical release,” Oct. 26, 2026: https://www.13abc.com/2026/10/27/toledo-business-owner-sues-over-chemical-release/
WTOL 11, “Lawsuit filed after Toledo chemical leak alleges negligence, seeks class-action status,” Oct. 26, 2026: https://www.wtol.com/article/news/local/lawsuit-filed-after-toledo-chemical-leak-alleges-negligence-seeking-class-action-status/512-a087ec64-0c1c-4d20-8a34-93c1a2b3efab
City of Toledo, hazmat evacuation in north Toledo updates: https://toledo.oh.gov/news/2026/10/23/hazmat-evacuation-in-north-toledo
WTOL 11 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuwlRubOK_8