Jenna Bordelon
BURBANK -- Two former Burbank residents have lost the fight to
continue their battle against Lockheed Martin Corp., officials said
Friday.
A Burbank Superior Court judge ruled in December that Lynnell
Murray-Madrid and her sister, Erin Baker of Florida, were restrained by a
settlement approved Dec. 8 by their attorney, Thomas G. Foley Jr.
The women wanted to continue fighting Lockheed by filing their own
lawsuit, but Judge Carl J. West ruled they could not pursue the matter
after their attorney had already agreed to a good-faith settlement.
Neither Murray-Madrid nor Foley could be reached for comment.
Nearly 400 current and former residents voted to accept the $5-million
offer in October for illnesses they allege were contracted from Lockheed
chemical byproducts.
It has been reported that the plaintiffs accepted the money because
the statute of limitations on their claim was running out.
About 3,000 additional residents sued Lockheed in 1996 after Lockheed
agreed to pay 1,350 residents a $60-million settlement earlier that year.
West dismissed many of those claims in September.
A meeting between representatives for Lockheed and the plaintiffs will
be held Jan. 19 to hash out who will be included in the settlement,
Lockheed spokeswoman Gail Rymer said.
She said that both sides have drawn on cash reserves since the claims
were filed in 1996.
"We've spent several million dollars in defense," she said. "We will
issue a $5-million check to Mr. Foley, and he will determine how it will
be distributed."
Rymer said Lockheed, which manufactured aircraft for the military in
Burbank from 1928 to 1991, was pleased with the ruling.
"Judge West has shown great compassion for all involved in this case,"
Rymer said. "We understand Mrs. Madrid's concerns, but feel that the
judge has made the appropriate ruling in including her in this
settlement."
She added that Lockheed has spent about $250 million to clean up
contaminants -- including hexavalent chromium, also known as chromium 6
-- from the soil and ground water.
