In The Courtroom

Boeing’s Santa Susana Field Lab Demolition Plans Delayed

January 15, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<p>A Sacramento judge has denied the Boeing Co.’s motion that argued that demolition and disposal of old buildings on the Santa Susana Field Laboratory can proceed without any intervention by state regulators.</p>

Sacramento Judge Rejects Boeing’s Bid to Demolish and Dispose of Radioactive Waste Without Accountability

January 12, 2015  ·  Liza Tucker

<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-20441" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/images_boeingtohellinahandbasket.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 230px; margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 7px; float: right;" width="350" height="230" />Santa Monica, CA -- Sacramento Superior Court has denied Boeing’s motion for summary judgment in a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) lawsuit over the demolition and disposal of radioactively contaminated structures from the site of a partial nuclear meltdown near Los Angeles, Consumer Watchdog said today.</p>

Court Tentatively Upholds Prop 103 Rule Prohibiting Auto Insurance Companies From Making Consumers Pay For Branding/Advertising Such as Sporting Event Sponsorships and Naming Rights

January 9, 2015  ·  Pam Pressley

In a tentative ruling today, the Sacramento Superior Court rejected an insurance industry attack on regulations that limit the amount of advertising costs insurers can pass through to consumers in their premiums. The regulation is part of the landmark Prop 103 insurance reform initiative that has saved California drivers $102 billion since 1988, according to the Consumer Federation of America.

HYUNDAI: Consumer Watchdog Disputes Gas Mileage Settlement Terms

December 18, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

Consumers who purchased Hyundai and Kia cars based on the companies’ misrepresentations about the fuel economy of several of their 2011, 2012 and 2013 model...

Regulators $300 Million Penalty Against Hyundai and Kia for Misrepresenting Fuel Economy Does Not Compensate Aggrieved Consumers

November 2, 2014  ·  Harvey Rosenfield

Consumers who purchased Hyundai and Kia cars based on the companies’ misrepresentations about the fuel economy of several of their 2011, 2012 and 2013 model year vehicles will not receive any money from the government consent decree with the auto makers announced today, said advocates at Consumer Watchdog, the non-profit advocacy group that first requested the EPA investigate mileage complaints in November, 2011. That will have to come from the settlement of class action lawsuits now pending before a federal court in Los Angeles. Consumer Watchdog attorneys have disputed several terms of the proposed settlement.

Consumer Advocates Make Headway in Push to Improve Hyundai/Kia MPG Class Action Settlement

July 24, 2014  ·  Harvey Rosenfield

Consumer Watchdog attorneys representing consumers dissatisfied with the proposed nationwide settlement of a class action against Hyundai and Kia over misrepresenting the fuel economy of their vehicles are continuing their advocacy this morning in federal court in Los Angeles, seeking additional improvements in the settlement.

Santa Susana Toxic Cleanup Effort Is A Mess

June 15, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Any way you cut it, the situation at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory site outside Simi Valley is a mess.</p> <p>The 2,850-acre former rocket engine test center is contaminated by <a href="http://www.etec.energy.gov/char_cleanup/cleanup_index.html">a vast menu of radioactive isotopes and toxic chemicals</a>. The condition of its soil, groundwater and structures makes it one of the most challenging cleanup jobs in the state, possibly the country.</p>

Boeing Accused Of Derailing Toxic Cleanup

June 13, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Consumer Watchdog, a Santa Monica-based advocacy group, is accusing Boeing Co. of hindering efforts to properly clean up its portion of the <span class="pt_location_term">Santa Susana</span> Field Laboratory in <span class="pt_location_term">Simi Valley</span>.</p> <p>Boeing owns about 80 percent of the former field lab, including a portion known as Area IV that experienced a partial nuclear meltdown in 1959. The rest of the site belongs to the federal government.</p>

How Boeing Blocked a Nuclear and Chemical Cleanup in LA’s Backyard

June 5, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>In 1979, a nuclear power reactor at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania suffered a partial meltdown. There was widespread anxiety nationwide. As a reporter at KNBC, Channel 4, I reported that a similar accident, a much smaller research reactor in the Santa Suzanna Mountains, had occurred 20 years earlier — near Los Angeles. Now, all these years later — after decades of studies, reports and regulatory hearings by state and federal agencies, the radioactive residue from that accident has not been completely cleaned up.

Group Says Boeing Influenced State To Weaken Field Lab Cleanup

June 5, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>A consumer group charged Thursday that Boeing lobbyists persuaded the California Department of Toxic Substances Control to abandon a planned full cleanup of Boeing’s portion of the Santa Susana Field Lab, site of a 1959 partial nuclear meltdown.<br /> <br />

Report: Ex-Calif. Regulators Helped Boeing Derail Santa Susana Cleanup

June 5, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p><strong>SIMI VALLEY (CBSLA.com)</strong> — Former state regulators allegedly helped officials with Boeing derail the cleanup of a partial nuclear meltdown site in Simi Valley, according to a new report.</p>

New Report Exposes Boeing Influence Peddling That Derailed Cleanup of a Partial Nuclear Meltdown Site Near L.A.

June 5, 2014  ·  Liza Tucker

A new report released by Consumer Watchdog today documents how Boeing and its influential fixers derailed the cleanup of a partial nuclear meltdown site in greater Los Angeles with help from their regulators at the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC).