A settlement has been reached in the lawsuits over a 2016 explosion that destroyed two apartment buildings and killed seven people in Silver Spring, people involved confirmed Tuesday.
“The terms are confidential, but the litigation among all parties has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of all parties,” said Brian Edwards, a spokesman for Washington Gas, which was a defendant in the case. He said the settlement was reached Friday but declined to comment further.
A spokeswoman for Kay Apartment Communities, Katie Lischick, declined to comment, citing the confidentiality of the terms of the settlement, which was first reported by Fox 5 DC.
The lawsuits over the Aug. 10, 2016, explosion at Flower Branch Apartments have pitted dozens of low-income, Spanish-speaking residents against their landlord and the complex’s supplier of natural gas.
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The blast injured more than 30 people and displaced more than 100. Many people lost all of their possessions, including clothing, furniture, important documents and cash, according to the lawsuits.
In April, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that a failed gas regulator and a disconnected vent line — equipment owned and operated by Washington Gas — were responsible for the tragedy and probably allowed gas to build up “to an explosive level” in a basement meter room. Washington Gas disputed that finding, saying the NTSB did not look closely enough at other potential causes.
NTSB officials said other breakdowns also contributed to the blast. Despite numerous instances of people smelling gas in the weeks before the explosion, neither Kay Management nor firefighters notified the gas company. And Kay Management changed the meter room lock without making a new key available to the fire department, as is required by law, the NTSB said.
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In an order issued in September, the Maryland Public Service Commission demanded that the utility explain what happened to a 10-year program to replace all indoor mercury gas regulators by 2013. The commission also ordered the utility to say why, if the regulators were not replaced, it should not face a civil penalty. That proceeding remains ongoing.
One of the plaintiffs’ lawyers, Cary Joshi, told The Washington Post last year that the lawsuits would come down to which defendant was responsible — or, if the gas company and landlord were both responsible, in what proportions.
On Tuesday, Joshi said the lawsuits were “settled to the satisfaction of all of the parties” but that she was “not at liberty” to provide more details.
Joshi called it a “global settlement,” meaning the case will be resolved for the more than 150 plaintiffs involved.
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