North East landfill lawsuit finally settled

NORTH EAST — Azon Corp. has settled a civil action lawsuit with the town of North East (which includes the village of Millerton) and the state of New York over claims that it played a role in contaminating the former municipal landfill.

The landfill, which has been closed for years, borders the Rail Trail near Coleman Station Road. Property owners in town now hire private companies to haul their trash.

The suit was filed by the town of North East and the state of New York and relates to the dumping of toxic materials at the landfill by  Keuffel + Esser, a former business with a factory in Millerton that made products such as coated papers, slide rules and other items used for engineering and drafting.

Keuffel + Esser went bankrupt in 1982 and sold its paper division and trademarks to Azon, a national company based in Troy, Mich., that makes coated paper and other products.

“They brought waste from their production operations to the landfill and deposited it there,� North East Supervisor Dave Sherman said. “That included chemicals that were hazardous. Whether they knew what they were doing or not, it was still hazardous waste that has to be dealt with.�

Azon was named in the suit and will pay $193,653. Town officials said the settlement is smaller than they had anticipated but they are pleased it is over.

Attorney to the Town Warren Replansky said at a North East Town Board meeting Nov. 5 that this is “the largest structural settlement in New York state at the time the suit was filed.�

The lawsuit was filed in November 2004 against a half dozen former shareholders who sold their shares back to Azon.

According to Replansky, the suit was complicated by the fact that, within two years of filing the suit,  Azon went into bankruptcy. Sherman said the company went out to borrow money to buy shares back from those five or six shareholders.

“It appeared as a clear case of fraud,� Replansky said. “We joined in the attorney general’s office in going after them.�

Replansky assisted in the action; the only fees in the litigation were his legal fees. He acknowledged there “were some bumps in the road,� and that the settlement wasn’t as large as the town had hoped it wold be, but said, “It’s a lot better than zero.�

The good news, Sherman said, is that “a settlement was achieved. But that’s it. There are no further avenues to pursue at this point.�

“It would have been wonderful if they didn’t go into bankruptcy,� Replansky said.