Story perspectives

Motion to Dismiss Hearn Case Amid $14.7 M Pool Leak Findings

8/1/2026

Summary

Story summary

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Spence filed a motion on July 31, 2026 to dismiss David Hearn’s case.
Interior Department records say an installation by Atlantic Industrial Coatings—awarded $14.7 million in contracts—caused the Reflecting Pool liner damage and leaks million gallons per week.
Hearn, indicted July 2, 2026 for felony destruction after a June 19, 2026 incident and faced a Sept. 28, 2026 trial, pleaded not guilty, with his attorneys claiming the prosecution abuses government power.

History

Historical Context

In August 1978 President Jimmy Carter declared a health emergency at Love Canal after Hooker Chemical’s buried 19,800 metric-tonnes of toxic waste caused widespread illness. Congress responded with the 1980 Superfund law, holding Occidental Petroleum liable and funding a 21-year cleanup that ended with the site’s removal from the National Priorities List in 2004. The case now underpins Jeanine Pirro’s motion to dismiss a corporate-pollution lawsuit.

1 of 2

Story summary

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Spence filed a motion on July 31, 2026 to dismiss David Hearn’s case.
Interior Department records say an installation by Atlantic Industrial Coatings—awarded $14.7 million in contracts—caused the Reflecting Pool liner damage and leaks million gallons per week.
Hearn, indicted July 2, 2026 for felony destruction after a June 19, 2026 incident and faced a Sept. 28, 2026 trial, pleaded not guilty, with his attorneys claiming the prosecution abuses government power.

1 / 2