Georgia Supreme Court to hear arguments over BioLab warehouse fire class action lawsuit
A chemical fire in a BioLab sent dangerous sulfur acid clouds in the air, and caused mandatory evacuations in Conyers, Georgia, on Sept. 30, 2024. | CBS
The highest court in Georgia says that it will hear oral arguments next week in connection with a class action lawsuit dealing with the massive 2024 BioLab warehouse fire in Conyers.
On its website, the Georgia Supreme Court said that it would hear the arguments around Fannie and Albert Tartt v. Bio-Lab, Inc., and KIK Consumer Products Inc. on April 21.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Conyers residents Fannie and Albert Tartt and others in the class, alleges that they were exposed to potentially toxic substances when the warehouse caught fire on Sept. 29, 2024. As part of the lawsuit, the plaintiffs are asking for medical monitoring in case the potential exposure leads to future conditions.
Should the court decide that the plaintiffs can receive the monitoring, it will then have to decide on the legal standard.
Multiple agencies have filed briefs in support of both the Conyers residents and BioLab, including the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, which argued that “awarding medical monitoring to the non-sick raises serious public policy concerns.”
Chief Justice Nels S.D. Peterson and Justice Shawn Ellen LaGrua have recused themselves from the case, leaving seven judges to hear the arguments.
BioLab warehouse fire caused massive closures
The blaze at the plant led to the closure of a major interstate, classes being canceled for schoolchildren, and forced thousands of residents to shelter in place as the chemical cloud moved around Atlanta’s suburbs. Parts of a building collapsed during the fire, and the area remained an “active emergency response scene” for nearly four weeks.
On the morning of the fire, a BioLab employee at a storage warehouse reported hearing a “popping sound” and immediately saw that a product that was reactive to water was wet, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board said in a report filed in November 2024. Fire officials said at the time that a sprinkler head had malfunctioned, causing water to mix with a water-reactive chemical.
The worker tried unsuccessfully to isolate the chemical product and called 911 as “large toxic vapor plumes” formed inside the building, and then flames could be seen in the area. A second fire broke out later, producing “thick black smoke, followed by multicolored plumes,” the chemical safety board said.
There had been other destructive fires at the Conyers complex, including one in 2020 that prompted authorities to temporarily shut down Interstate 20.
Last April, the U.S. Department of Labor cited BioLab for six violations, including four serious violations, saying that an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found that the blaze was caused by improperly stored hazardous chemicals. The agency fined the company more than than $61,000.
In 2025, BioLab Inc. announced that it had decided not to rebuild the main manufacturing facility, saying it had been unable to resume manufacturing operations.
Other lawsuits, including one by BioLab’s insurance provider remain pending.
