Judge permits certain claims filed by western Kentucky candle factory workers to proceed

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - A federal judge is allowing some of the claims filed by night shift workers who were trapped at a western Kentucky candle factory during the deadly 2021 tornadoes to proceed.

It has been 16 months since filing suit after the factory collapsed, and employees have now received their first court victory in federal court in Louisville.

The partial victory was ordered on Thursday by U.S. District Judge Benjamin Beaton. He ruled that the plaintiffs’ false-light and defamation claims against factory owner Mayfield Consumer Products could proceed, according to a release from Amos Jones Law Firm.

On Dec. 10, 2022, Gov. Andy Beshear marked the one-year anniversary of the tornadoes by traveling to western Kentucky communities still recovering.

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