A group of 24 Carson-area residents won a multimillion-dollar verdict in a mass tort against Prologis, Liberty Property LP, and the Nourollah brothers over a putrid odor from the Dominguez Channel.

Regulatory and legal context includes actions by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board and notices of violations issued to Virgin Scent for discharging air contaminants.

This case is one of several against the same defendants, with questions about the remaining 13,750 plaintiffs and how the court will proceed, whether through further trials or settlements.

The broader context dates to a 2021 fire at Virgin Scent’s Carson warehouse that released ethanol-based hand sanitizer components into the environment, triggering odor and water contamination that reached the Dominguez Channel and spurred public nuisance declarations and odor complaints.

The 2021 incident involved thousands of pallets of hazardous hand sanitizer products, prompting oversight by the South Coast Air Quality Management District and extensive odor complaints.

Carson was described as a working-class community affected by the odor, with residents reporting headaches, nausea and irritation, and a temporary mass displacement as people sought shelter or air purifiers.

The verdict awarded $6 million in punitive damages and $2.89 million in compensatory damages to be distributed among the 24 residents, roughly $250,000 per person in punitive damages and $40,000 to $240,000 in compensatory damages per client.