Developer sues IBM over toxic waste

ERIE — Stratus Redtail Ranch LLC, a company operated by real estate developer Richard Dean, is suing IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) for allegedly improperly disposing of hazardous waste in Erie, which has resulted in a costly cleanup and development delays for Dean’s residential housing project.

Also named as a defendant in the suit is WWD LLC, which was the prior owner of the roughly 300-acre Redtail property just southeast of Erie. WWD is a holding company formed in 1992 by Ken Pratt — and upon his death passed to wife Susan Pratt — to manage the Redtail plot.

The Pratt family is a major Longmont property owner and developer. Representatives of Pratt Management Co. LLC could not be reached for comment.

In the 1960s, IBM manufactured computer equipment, magnetic tape and other products at its Boulder County facility. That manufacturing process involved the use of toxic, volatile organic compounds, which were stored in barrels and ultimate buried at the former Neuhauser Landfill, located within the Redtail property.

“This lawsuit is attempting to impose liability for legal waste-disposal activities in the 1960s,” an IBM spokesperson told BizWest in an email Monday. “IBM will vigorously defend all claims in this lawsuit.”

Stratus, citing ongoing litigation, declined to comment.

Dean’s firm bought the property from WWD in 2015 with the intent of building a 600-home residential community. The Redtail land is located just west of Interstate 25 between Baseline Road and Erie Parkway.

When he purchased the land, Dean has unaware “of the existence of hazardous substances on the property,” according to Stratus Redtail Ranch’s lawsuit filed late last week in U.S. District Court in Denver. The Pratts, on the other hand, “had actual knowledge of the serious and toxic landfilling,” the lawsuit stated.

Court documents show that at least 1,100 decaying and leaking 55-gallon drums, which were labeled as belonging to IBM, were discovered on the site after Stratus purchased it. That discovery came as the result of an environmental assessment required by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

The suit, to which neither IBM nor WWD have as yet submitted legal responses, claims that Stratus has spent more than $4 million on remediation and cleanup costs. The company anticipates that it will have to spend another $3.5 million on expenses related to the hazardous waste.

The developer plans to continue remediation work through 2021 and “long-term monitoring and maintenance requirements may extend for up to an additional 30 years,” according to the suit.

Stratus’ lawsuit demands compensation for past and future cleanup costs.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect IBM’s response to BizWest’s request for comment.

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