Michigan woman files federal class-action lawsuit in response to Toledo chemical leak
A Michigan woman filed a class action lawsuit in federal court over the impact of a chemical leak in Toledo that resulted in a shelter-in-place order, along with school and business closings, along the Ohio-Michigan border.
This is one of several litigation efforts emerging in the aftermath of the Oct. 20 chemical leak. WTOL, the CBS affiliate in Toledo, says there are also multiple lawsuits pending in Lucas County Common Pleas Court in Ohio in response to the incident.
Nearly 1,000 Toledo residents within a mile of the incident site were included in the evacuation order; thousands more were affected by a three-mile shelter-in-place order that extended into Monroe County, Michigan.
The substance released into the air as a result of a chemical reaction was glycidyl methacrylate, an irritant that Toledo officials said can cause burning of the eyes, nose, mouth, and skin. ProMedica health care officials said they treated dozens of people for symptoms potentially related to the chemical in the atmosphere.
The City of Toledo's Fire and Rescue ordered everyone within a 1-mile radius of 1266 Progress Ave. (the MC Tank Terminal site) to evacuate the area. Some of them were evacuated to Toledo city buses parked at the Meijer supermarket on Alexis Road, just south of the Ohio-Michigan state line.
As the emergency response continued, Toledo Fire and Rescue then asked everyone within a 3-mile radius to shelter in place.
Part of southern Monroe County was in that response zone. The Mason Consolidated School District in Erie and the Bedford Community Schools in Temperance announced school closures on Oct. 21. Lake Erie Transit canceled public bus service in Bedford Township on Oct. 21. Bedford Township government offices closed on Oct. 21.
Kathy Thiede of Erie, Michigan, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan against M.C. Tank Transport and the Kenan Advantage Group. Her lawsuit seeks to bring a class action on behalf of everyone living within a 15-mile radius of the M.C. Tank facility. This includes more of Monroe County, Michigan, than the 3-mile emergency response radius.
"The governmental shelter-in-place perimeter was established as an emergency response measure based in part upon preliminary plume modeling. It was not intended to define the ultimate geographic extent of the release," her lawsuit said.
Thiede, whose home is about 2.1 miles from the industrial site, said she did smell a strong chemical odor after the hazmat emergency began about 9:30 p.m. Oct. 20. The emergency alert that expanded a shelter-in-place order into parts of Michigan was not issued until about 4:24 a.m. Oct. 21, according to the lawsuit and Monroe County officials.
"The chemical odors and visible atmospheric conditions experienced at Plaintiff's residence reflected the off-site migration of chemical material and vapors from the release into the residential area surrounding their property and directly interfered with Plaintiff's use and enjoyment of her home," the lawsuit said.
Thiede said she also incurred lost work time and other expenses due to the emergency.
The above video originally aired on Oct. 21, 2026.
