Pollution suit against Hatfield’s Ferry ends in default
A federal civil suit lodged against Hatfield’s Ferry power station and its parent company FirstEnergy by three Masontown residents alleging property damage from the plant’s discharge has ended in default.
On Monday, Peter Macuga, the attorney representing Julius and Francine Jesso and Sheilah Novasky and a class of 1,004 homeowners within an area allegedly polluted by the coal-fired electrical generation plant, requested that a federal judge enter a default judgment in the case, as the defendants had entered no response to the complaint filed Aug. 27.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge David S. Cercone entered the requested default against Hatfield’s Ferry and FirstEnergy, “for failure to plead or otherwise defend” within the statutory time frame.