Bullseye Glass Settles Lawsuit With SE PDX Residents For $6.5M

PORTLAND, OR – Almost three years after Southeast Portland residents filed a lawsuit against their neighbor, Bullseye Glass, saying that the company knowingly sent toxic heavy metals into the air, a settlement has been reached. Bullseye will pay $6.5 million.

As part of the settlement, the company does not have to admit any harm.

The suit was filed in March 2016 and more around 2,000 families – all of whom live in the area of Bullseye – are attached to it. It followed actions by the state against Bullseye for using heavy metals such as cadmium and chromium, which were sending toxic emissions into the air.

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Bullseye, an artisan glass manufacturing company, says that the agreement "establishes a Qualified Settlement Fund" that will pay for air quality monitoring for two years, air purifiers for residents, and reimbursement for soil testing and clean-up.

The fund will also pay for attorney fees, which are expected to amount to around $2.4 million.

Residents attached to the suit will have until April 6 to file claims with the fund.

"We are pleased that the settlement agreement ends a challenging chapter in our small company's decades of compliance with Oregon's environmental values and regulations," Bullseye's Jim Jones says.

"Now we can get back to doing what we are known for, being the world's best artisan glass manufacturing company, proudly started and proudly operating in Oregon."

The company is still pursuing a $30 million suit against Oregon, charging that the state singled them out and caused serious harm to the company.

File photo via Bullseye.