Loquacious Pat Gonya Now Speechless

Just a few days ago Pat Gonya was happily explaining to the press how, in these tough economic times, you have to be very careful when you fire someone so that they could have no possible legal recourse. Ok, he didn't say that exactly, but you get the idea.

But today Pat has absolutely no comment:

Lueron Dixon, a retired nurse, suffers repeated skin rashes and must take breathing treatments every night to clear her lungs.

The longtime resident blames her health problems on toxic dust she says blew into her home during construction of a nearby warehouse a few years ago.

"I had nosebleed," she said. "Right now I have a lot of mucus. I cough so much at night, I've almost choked on my own mucus." Worse, she said, her brother, Eddie Fairchild, who shared her home, "right now has colon cancer, he has liver cancer; he has lung cancer. His concern is to live."

Dixon is one of almost 100 neighbors in a predominantly black community suing Lauris Boulanger Inc., which developed the Dania Distribution Centre at Dania Beach Boulevard and Southwest 12th Avenue. The suit also names as defendants the warehouse itself and the Dania Distribution Centre Condominium Association.

The plaintiffs, including former construction-site workers, complain of breathing difficulties, skin rashes, itchy eyes and nosebleeds. They are seeking compensation for bodily injury, pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of income and earning capacity and medical expenses.

They say they are trying their best to hang on, but their attorney says many have no health insurance and can't afford needed medical care.Their suit, filed in Broward County Circuit Court two years ago, is far from being resolved.

"We're trying to get this done in the most expeditious way possible," said Noel Johnson, an attorney with Clyne & Associates, of Coral Gables.

Still, he said, the complex case could take a long time because of the laborious task of testing the soil and collecting evidence at the 15-acre site. Patrick Gonya, attorney for the Dania Distribution Centre, said he had no comment because "our general firm policy does not permit us to comment on pending litigation."

Hoo boy, that's a case, from the defense perspective, that does not have a lot of jury appeal. Hasn't this been the subject of at least three John Grisham novels?