2 lawsuits filed over Rhode Island natural gas outage

PROVIDENCE, R.I., (WJAR) — Residents and businesses in Newport have filed class action lawsuits over the natural gas outage on Aquidneck Island.

Lawyer Brian Cunha filed two lawsuits Monday against National Grid and pipeline operator Enbridge Inc.

One lawsuit was filed on behalf of eight residents and the other on behalf of three businesses.

One suit says residents “have suffered and will continue to suffer from mental anguish, depression” as a result of the outage.

The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages and inconvenience damages.

National Grid says a dramatic pressure drop forced it to suspend service to thousands of customers in Newport and Middletown for a week.

National Grid said it does not comment on ongoing legal cases. The utility has already promised to reimburse residents for expenses incurred during the outage.

The full complaints can be read below: