City of West sues owner, supplier of fertilizer plant that exploded

The city of West on Friday sued the owner and supplier of the fertilizer plant that exploded in April, killing 15 people and inflicting as much as $100 million in property damage on the small town. The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, accuses the company that owned West Fertilizer Co. — Adair Grain Inc. — and the company that supplied ammonium nitrate — CF Industries — of negligence. Adair Grain is accused of being negligent in the way it stored ammonium nitrate, the volatile chemical used as a fertilizer that investigators say exploded after a fire broke out at the plant April 17.