Six law firms in Ontario, Canada, have filed for permission to launch a $C300m (£135m; $203m) class action suit on behalf of victims of Canada's worst incident of contamination of water by Escherichia coli, in which 14 people have died.
The defendants are the public utilities commission of the town of Walkerton, where the contamination took place; its manager Stan Koebel; the corporation of the municipality of Brockton; and the Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound health unit, the district health unit that Walkerton is in. The Ontario government will be added if the class action is approved by the Ontario Superior Court.
Lead plaintiffs Jamie Smith and Alana Dalton are each claiming $C200m. Mr Smith was unable to continue to work as a teacher because of E coli infection and moved his family to avoid further exposure. Ms Dalton and her 3 year old son, Matthew Cronin, were both infected and also relocated.
Some 2000 of the town's 5000 residents became ill as a result of the outbreak.
AP/KEVIN FRAYER