JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — On Monday, a judge in Duval County listened to intense debates as residents of Murray Hill sought to advance a class-action lawsuit against International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF). The lawsuit claims that for years, noxious chemical odors have invaded their neighborhood and homes.

The core issue at the hearing was whether the multitude of odor complaints should be handled as a single, unified class action.

The outcome will decide if the lawsuit proceeds as a comprehensive class action or if it divides into separate individual or mass-action claims.

IFF’s defense began by challenging the plaintiffs’ case basis. Their attorneys contended that the plaintiffs’ expert relied on “fabricated” emission figures instead of using data from the company’s official state air permit.

According to the company’s defense counsel, their expert, Roberto Gasporino, testified at a deposition that using IFF’s real emission numbers would show odor concentrations too low for humans to detect.

Defense also highlighted the presence of multiple industrial odor sources in the area, saying residents’ complaints can’t reliably be traced back to IFF. They pointed out that other neighborhoods downwind of the plant reported no odors at all.

Plaintiffs’ attorney countered with a sweeping overview of evidence collected since 2018: more than 2,000 odor complaints, nearly 200 confirmed by the city, and city documents acknowledging that TRS compounds emitted by industrial facilities can travel miles if not properly controlled.

The attorneys said the plaintiffs aren’t required to prove liability yet, only that a class exists and can be identified. 

“This class essentially defined itself over four years,” Laura Sheets said, adding that residents consistently describe the same “pine-like,” chemical odor and consistently attribute it to IFF.

One of the sharpest conflicts of the hearing centered on dueling resident declarations. 

Plaintiffs accused IFF of sending private investigators through Murray Hill to gather statements from residents claiming they don’t smell anything.

Sheets said some residents later rescinded their statements, claiming they didn’t understand they were signing sworn legal documents or that the signatures were not theirs. 

She also noted that some allegedly said the canvassers said they were working on behalf of Revlon, a cosmetics company, and not IFF.

The defense denied wrongdoing and said they only produced the declarations they were asked for.

By the end of the hearing, Judge Robert Dees denied all three motions before him — including cross-Daubert challenges and a motion to strike late-filed declarations — and did not rule on whether the lawsuit will be certified as a class action.

Instead, he ordered both sides to submit proposed written orders stating exactly how they want him to rule.