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Sandy Springs, GA Resident Works for ‘Class Action’ Lawsuit Over Health, Property Values

Posted by Bob Pepalis | May 26, 2020

A Derby Hills resident who got the city of Sandy Springs to stop installation of a 5G wireless pole on his property due to the COVID-19 pandemic has filed suit against Verizon Wireless to prevent it from ever happening.

William Kaspers filed what he wants declared a class-action suit eligible for the 110 property owners of his Derby Hills subdivision. He wants the wireless company stopped from installing any 5G towers in the neighborhood, citing allegations that antenna frequencies could cause cancer and decreased property values.

Verizon under fire in Georgia over health and property value concerns

A photo, taken by resident Ann Bates, of Verizon Wireless subcontractors on April 1 trying to begin work on 5G poles in Sandy Springs’ Derby Hills neighborhood.

If the U.S. District Court judge assigned the complaint decides the installation can’t be legally stopped, he asked that Verizon Wireless be ordered to pay every one of the 110 homeowners in the subdivision $128,200 in compensation for what he claims will be reduced property values.

Kaspers, who is an attorney, said in his suit that installation and operation of 5G cells in a neighborhood “is viewed by the general public as analogous to residing adjacent to a toxic waste site” in justifying his claim of a 20% devaluation of a residence.

“Verizon takes very seriously the health and safety of our employees and customers, and of all residents in the communities we serve,” said Kate Jay, a spokesperson with Verizon Consumer Group. “All Verizon facilities, including the small cells that Verizon is deploying to provide 5G service, are required to comply with the FCC safety standards.” She referred to the website of the wireless industry association CTIA, which states experts agree that wireless devices have not been shown to pose a public health risk and cell phone towers operate within safety limits.

Verizon said it does not comment on pending litigation.

Kaspers helped to trigger a temporary halt to the local pole installation in April. Kaspers said he first encountered a subcontractor for Verizon who came to his door to tell him the 5G pole would be installed on his property. The worker got within 6 feet of Kaspers repeatedly despite being asked to respect social distancing and being told that Kaspers was an at-risk individual, he said.

The representative left, but returned another day with a sheriff’s deputy. Kaspers called Sandy Springs City Attorney Dan Lee, who had contracted COVID-19 himself. A Sandy Springs city official arrived and told the subcontractors they would not be allowed to work there during the pandemic. The city issued a stop-work order for all installation in residential neighborhoods until the pandemic crisis ends, city spokesperson Sharon Kraun said.

The issue is not a new one. Version spokesperson, Matt Hurley, acknowledged in a Feb. 4 City Council meeting that the company dropped the ball on notifying residents about the 1,000 poles they planned to install in Sandy Springs. Local residents were on hand to complain about holes being dug on their property without any notification.

“My wife and I were out of the continental U.S. on vacation when the thing came before Sandy Springs City Council,” Kaspers said about that meeting.

The logo on the local website stop5gsandysprings.com.

He said his first concern when the Verizon subcontractor approached him within social distancing guidelines was his health. He said he’s almost 72 and was working from home under stay-at-home orders. His mindset was to reach his 72nd birthday.

After news got out about his confrontation with the Verizon subcontractors, Kaspers said he was contacted by resident Michael Prolman. By that time Prolman had created a website, Stop5GSandySprings.com, to publicize some scientists’ call for more study on 5G to determine if it is safe.

Kaspers’ suit calls attention to the 5G pole being within 100 feet of his bedroom and directly beside the street where many cars and pedestrians pass daily in declaring the potential health risks.
Kaspers served Verizon Wireless by registered mail on May 22.


Attorney’s lawsuit claims Verizon’s contractor put him at risk and a 5G pole cheapens his realty by $128K

In Featured News by Wireless EstimatorMay 26, 2020

In his “corporate invasion” lawsuit, attorney Bill Kaspers said a worker from Network Installation Specialists breached social distancing and that Verizon on its website doesn’t state anything about the potential health risks associated with the installation of a Verizon pole on his property.

An Atlanta attorney representing himself and 110 of his neighbors in a class action has filed a lawsuit against Verizon Wireless claiming that the carrier sent unmasked contractors to his City of Sandy Springs, Ga. home, in a “corporate invasion,” that put his family and neighbors at risk of contracting COVID-19 as well as diseases rumored to be linked to 5G.

In his complaint, he also states that the 5G poles will lessen the value of all of his neighbors’ properties by at least 20% and each homeowner should be awarded $128,200 and is asking for at least $14.1 million.

Bill Kaspers, of 1165 Churchill Downs Rd., in the Derby Hills residential subdivision, whose firm Kaspers & Associates Law Offices LLC is in midtown Atlanta, said In his proposed class action that in the late afternoon on March 27, 2020, he responded to a man ringing his doorbell who was standing past the front doorway which Kaspers said was less than six feet away.

Kaspers said the contractor, Wesley Ryan, did step back when requested and explained that he worked for a Verizon installation subcontractor, Network Installation Specialists (NIS).

The Ball Ground, Ga. contractor’s representative, according to Kaspers, temporarily breached social distancing by handing him a business card with the name Verizon on it and other carrier contact information.

Kaspers said he asked Ryan that he wanted to see what was painted on the street in front of his home. Ryan informed him that they were going to dig a hole and place a pole there that Verizon would install a 5G cell radio transmission unit in the utility easement.

The seventy-one-year-old attorney identified in the complaint that on March 30, a crew from Verizon’s installation subcontractor showed up, accompanied by a uniformed officer from the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department.

Kaspers said the officer’s attendance  was “presumably to provide the appearance that the Verizon installation contractor was in the Derby Hills residential subdivision pursuant to and under the color of the law.”

Kaspers then called City Attorney Daniel Lee and said that the contractor “appeared to be bringing the threat of contracting Covid-19 to Plaintiff, Plaintiffs spouse, and the rest of the Derby Hills residential neighborhood.

Lee, according to Kaspers, sent a representative from the city’s health department who ordered the crew to “cease and desist” and to leave the neighborhood.

A representative of the contracting crew said they had no intention of discontinuing their activities, but did, stating that it would only be temporary and they would return.

To prevent that from occurring Kaspers filed the lawsuit that last week alleging unlawful trespass and resulting property devaluation, unlawful taking of property and of the joy and benefits of homeownership, fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

According to Zillow.com’s evaluation service, according to the complaint, every one of the 110 residences in Derby Hills has a current market value in excess of $375,000.

Kaspers’ 3-bedroom, 3-bath 2,600 square-foot home has an approximate value of $541,000.

According to Kaspers, Verizon’s website “states absolutely nothing about the serious, toxic and potentially deadly health risks which necessarily follow the installation and subsequent use of a 5G cell unit in a populated area as a result of the high-frequency (28 and 39 GHz) millimeter waves which are transmitted from the 5G cell unit. According to a number of published reports following studies of the health effects of a 5G cell unit, the radiation from a 5G cell unit can cause cancer and other serious and potentially permanently debilitating health conditions in people of all ages. Indeed, there have been over one hundred studies, followed by over one hundred reports, relating to the serious and potentially deadly health risks to people who live near, or even just drive by, a 5G cell unit which is transmitting high-frequency radio waves.”

Kaspers said in the complaint that Verizon’s website says “nothing about any potential health risks associated with the installation and use of 5G cell units in a populated area.”

https://www.reporternewspapers.net/2020/05/26/sandy-springs-resident-sues-verizon-over-5g-poles-alleging-property-devaluation-and-health-risks/

https://www.stop5gsandysprings.com/litigation.html

5 Replies to “Sandy Springs, GA Resident Works for ‘Class Action’ Lawsuit Over Health, Property Values

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