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GRAHAM BRINKJohnnie Cochran is considering taking on clients who blame the plant for making them sick and harming surrounding property values.
Johnnie Cochran, one of the country's best known trial lawyers, came to Plant City on Wednesday to encourage residents near the Coronet Industries plant to provide information for a potential lawsuit.
Cochran, once part of O.J. Simpson's defense team, told a crowd of hundreds gathered at Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church that they should not give up hope.
Cochran said he will wait for the results from various environmental investigations before deciding whether to take on the case.
Cochran became the second marquee, out-of-town legal name to show interest in representing residents who want to sue Coronet. A month ago, lawyers with the firm that the movie Erin Brockovich made famous, Masry & Vititoe, announced they would represent residents who feel they have become sick because of the plant.
That firm, working with two other law firms, plans to file suit by year's end on behalf of scores of residents who blame cancer and other ailments on pollution from Coronet, which turns phosphate into an animal feed supplement.
Prompted by the residents' fears, a team of government agencies is conducting a year-long investigation to determine whether residents are being hurt and, if so, who's to blame. So far, they have found elevated levels of pollutants such as arsenic and boron in more than 20 private wells, and evidence to tie some of the substances to Coronet.
They also say the levels aren't high enough to cause either major or widespread health problems.
Local lawyers already have filed a lawsuit against Coronet claiming toxic pollution illegally discharged from the plant has hurt people and their property values. Coronet officials have denied the allegations.
Cochran rose to prominence in 1995 when he was part of the "dream team" that helped acquit Simpson of murder charges in the death of Simpson's ex-wife and her acquaintance. Cochran also successfully defended hip-hop music star Sean "P. Diddy" Combs from an accusation that he illegally possessed a gun.
He also helped secure a $700-million settlement in an environmental case involving approximately 18,000 plaintiffs in Anniston, Ala. The plaintiffs in that case alleged that they had suffered medical injuries resulting from exposure to the toxic industrial chemical known as polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs.
- Graham Brink can be reached at 226-3365 or brink@sptimes.com