As you are aware, members of the community filed a class action lawsuit against Sunshine Canyon Landfill.  The AQMD is not a party to the lawsuit, however the Landfill’s counsel subpoenaed the contact information of individuals who have filed complaints with the District.  The District fought the production of that information, except for the complainants who are named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, who in theory have already disclosed their identity.

The superior court judge did not agree with the District’s arguments and ordered production of the complainant identifying information to be provided to a third party to send out an “opt-out” notice, where if the individual does not “opt-out”, the plaintiffs’ and defendants’ counsel will receive their contact information limited to use in the lawsuit.

The District filed a writ before the court of appeals to challenge the trial court’s decision, which we just found out was denied.  I wanted to personally alert you to the possibility that members of the community who have complained to the District, may be receiving “opt-out” notices which requires them to affirmatively notify the third party mailer that they do not want their identifying contact information released.

Please do not hesitate to contact me directly if you have any questions or require additional information.  I don’t anticipate any notices being sent until next month at the earliest.

Thank you,

Nicholas A. Sanchez/Senior Deputy District Counsel
South Coast Air Quality Management District
phone/909.396.3400
fax/909.396.2961