AP News, October 17th, 2007
A utility provider facing multiple lawsuits over a deadly steam pipe explosion says the city may be to blame for the blast, according to a court filing.
A notice of claim filed by Consolidated Edison says the July 18 explosion, which left a woman dead of a heart attack and injured about 40 people, "may have been caused, in whole or in part, by acts or omissions of the city."
Con Edison said city sewers, pipes and drains may have leaked cold water onto the hot steam pipe.
Filing a notice of claim is the first step toward a lawsuit. But Con Edison spokesman Michael Clendenin described Monday's $25 million filing as "a routine procedural matter, necessary in the event the investigation determines that the city's infrastructure contributed to the steam rupture."
City lawyers were reviewing the filing and declined to comment, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Wednesday he did not believe there is any merit to Con Ed's claim.
"I assume it is just a procedural thing that they're doing and will disappear into the dustbin of history with time," Bloomberg said.
The steam main exploded near Grand Central Terminal, releasing a colossal geyser that burned bystanders, showered the neighborhood with debris and created a 25-foot crater that swallowed a truck.
Relatives of the woman who was killed, Lois Ellen Baumerich, also filed a notice of claim with the city Monday, saying they intend to sue for $50 million. That claim accuses both the city and Con Edison of "gross negligence, recklessness, willful indifference and outrageous misconduct."
City spokeswoman Kate O'Brien Ahlers said city lawyers were awaiting the legal papers from Baumerich's family.
Con Edison spokesman Chris Olert said the utility wouldn't comment on the family's action.
The city faces at least 242 claims — seeking a total of $600 million — related to the explosion, according to a spokesman for city Comptroller William Thompson.
