On February 6, 2026 a Los Angeles jury returned a verdict in favor of twenty four residents of Carson, California who were exposed to toxic hydrogen sulfide gas for several months in the Fall of 2021. The residents were sickened by the “rotten egg” smell of the gas, which is known to cause headaches, nausea, and breathing problems. Carson is a working-class community in an industrial area. The Defendants denied responsibility for causing the odor, claimed the odor was an unforeseeable result of their conduct, and contended that the plaintiffs were not injured.
The gas formed after a massive hand sanitizer fire at a Prologis Warehouse in Carson, California. The sanitizer was stockpiled outside the warehouse for more than six months by the warehouse tenants Day to Day Imports, Inc. and Virgin Scent, Inc., owned by the Nourollah family of Beverly Hills, California. The sanitizer was piled high on pallets, sometimes 10 or 15 feet high, over approximately two acres of yard outside the warehouse property throughout the hot summer months. Numerous citations had been issued by fire department officials prior to the fire. The chemical fire burned so hot that it took two days and 200 firefighters to extinguish.
The chemicals, along with millions of gallons of firefighting water, entered the storm drain and ultimately the Dominguez Channel, which flows through the City of Carson. The chemicals formed Hydrogen Sulfide Gas in the Channel, that dispersed throughout the community wherever the wind blew. Thousands of odor complaints were logged with local government. The odor persisted for months, during which time residents were relocated from their homes and were provided air purifiers and hotel stays by the City of Carson and County of Los Angeles.
The lawsuit alleging negligence and nuisance against the property manager (Prologis), the property owner (Liberty Property LP), and the tenants was filed in 2021. Defendants contended the odor was not a foreseeable result from the fire, among other things, and denied all responsibility. At trial, counsel for Defendants asked the jury to return a $0 verdict for compensatory and punitive damages.
Trial began in November 2025 in Department 11 of the Los Angeles Superior Court in front of Judge David S. Cunningham III, and lasted 50 days, with 24 members of the Carson Community serving as the first set of Trial Plaintiffs from a case-wide population of more than 13,000 plaintiffs. Over 80 witnesses testified, including the Trial Plaintiffs, firefighters, County Flood Control personnel, and dozens of experts in wide ranging fields of science and medicine.
The jury returned a verdict of $2,869,000.00 for compensatory damages to the 24 Trial Plaintiffs and another $6,000,000.00 for punitive damages for the malicious conduct of stockpiling the sanitizer and dumping it in the storm drain. The jury found the Landlord Defendants Prologis and Liberty to be 7% responsible.
The case remains pending with 13,750 additional Plaintiffs awaiting their day in court. If all Plaintiffs received the same allocation, the total amount would exceed One Billion Dollars.
“The suffering of the Carson community was denied and downplayed for far too long. This months’ long trial exposed Defendants’ brazen and reckless creation of one of the largest environmental disasters in the history of Los Angeles. The verdict could not have happened without the hard work of our trial team, the Court, the jury, and all counsel, and is a small step toward safer handling of flammable chemicals” said Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy Partner, Kelly W. Weil.
“The Plaintiffs have been waiting for this moment for over four long years. The Defendants who caused the unprecedented hydrogen sulfide event that poisoned their community resisted taking responsibility, but they could not delay justice any longer once the jury heard the overwhelming evidence of their negligence. The verdict unequivocally confirms that Prologis and its Tenant could have prevented this disaster and we hope the bravery of the plaintiffs who filed this lawsuit will prevent other powerful companies from making the same mistakes again.” said Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy Partner Theresa E. Vitale
“This case was always about Environmental Justice for all, including working class communities like Carson. The Defendants refused to recognize this community’s right to clean air. The verdict sends a message that everyone has the right to clean air. This stands to be the largest per person verdict for a toxic odor case in California history. We are grateful to the jury for their 50 day service, and for enforcing the right to clean air” said Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy Partner, Gary A. Praglin
The Plaintiffs were represented by Gary A. Praglin, Kelly W. Weil and Theresa E. Vitale of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy. Defendant Prologis and Liberty were represented by Paul Hastings. Tenant Defendants were represented by Kutak Rock, Clark Hill, Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, Kennedys, and Yoka | Smith.
