Judge: Lawsuits against Mayfield candle factory can proceed

A federal judge in Louisville is allowing some of the claims filed by workers who were trapped at Mayfield's candle factory during the deadly tornado to proceed.

Sixteen months since filing suit after the factory collapsed, employees got their first court victory in federal court.

On Thursday U.S. District Judge Benjamin Beaton ruled that the plaintiffs’ false-light and defamation claims against factory owner Mayfield Consumer Products could proceed, according to a release on Friday from the Washington D.C.-based Amos Jones Law Firm.

On the night of Dec. 10, 2021, 110 people were working the factory when the EF-4 tornado ripped through Graves County. The candle factory collapsed, leaving many workers trapped under the rubble and killing eight of them.

In March 2022, eight living former employees sued MCP. The plaintiffs claimed their supervisors threatened them with termination if they left work during the storm. 

Nine months later, 10 other employees filed a suit similar to the first lawsuit. Their attorneys allege that the candle factory owners retaliated against employees in misleading and denying certain benefits to them, including insurance claims.

That suit joins the original eight workers, making 18 named plaintiffs, and remains fully intact in state court.




(AP photo)