Former judge files claim against Fresno County seeking answers to what caused his cancer

James Ardaiz, former Fresno County prosecutor, Superior Court judge and appellate justice, is battling a rare form of cancer that he believes was caused by years of exposure to toxic fumes from a gas pumping station in the courthouse’s underground garage.

The 76-year-old Ardaiz has filed a claim for damages from Fresno County and a civil lawsuit is likely next, said his attorney Warren Paboojian.

Paboojian said his client is looking for answers as to what caused him to develop Myelodysplastic syndrome, an incurable form of blood cancer that prevents the body from producing healthy red blood cells, leading to anemia, recurrent infections and potentially leukemia.

The overall incidence of Myelodysplastic syndrome in the United States is estimated at close to four cases per 100,000 people, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. And one of the primary risk factors is chronic exposure to benzene, a major component of gasoline.

Along with the complaint for damages, Paboojian also filed a motion requesting the court’s permission to have an expert inspect the gas pumps, known as the Courthouse Motor Pool, and test the air and soil in the area and in the courthouse. The county uses the motor pool to fuel its vehicles.

Paboojian was trying to get the testing done prior to filing a lawsuit out of concern the county may try to fix any potential problems.

“Since Petitioner has submitted claims, there is a risk that the conditions may change, either as a precaution for the health and safety of those working in the courthouse building, or as a defensive action taken in anticipation of litigation,” Paboojian wrote in his motion to the court.

Judge Jeff Hamilton denied the request.

Hazardous fumes at courthouse?

Paboojian’s theory is that hazardous fumes from the motor pool were not properly vented and that an underground gasoline storage tank leaked into the soil and ground water, potentially causing courthouse workers to be exposed to cancer causing chemicals.

“I have concerns,” Paboojian said. “I have never seen an underground gas station and I would like to know what health hazards there are for past and current occupants of that courthouse.”

Fresno County officials have, so far, objected to the request.

Court records show that the underground storage tank was removed and replaced in 1990. Also, Daniel C. Cederborg, county counsel, acknowledged in a court document that there was an “unauthorized fuel release in December 2006 during a fuel delivery for the underground tank in the basement of the Downtown Courthouse.”

Cederborg said the spill was mitigated and the California Water Quality Control Board concluded that the “2006 release was unlikely to pose a risk to human health, the environment, or groundwater.”

County says ‘no evidence’ and ‘no relevance’

Fresno County spokesperson Sonja Dosti said that while the county is “deeply concerned to learn about Judge Ardaiz’s illness” there is no evidence the illness is due to exposure to any contaminant present in county facilities.

She added that the county has provided Paboojian with historical testing data that demonstrate there was “no measurable presence of benzene contamination in the relevant Court facility in 1990, 2007 and 2010.”

“The fueling station located in the underground parking facility under the main Courthouse is regularly maintained and monitored by the County, pursuant to all State and Federal regulations,” she said in a statement. “The testing sought by Mr. Paboojian now would have no relevance to alleged exposures that would have taken place more than two decades ago.”

Courthouse colleague with same diagnosis

Ardaiz, who is also a true crime writer, worked at the courthouse on 1100 Van Ness Avenue from 1972 to 1989 as a prosecutor with the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office and later as a Superior Court judge.

He retired from the bench in 2011 as a judge with the Fifth District of the California Courts of Appeal and remained active until he began developing flu-like symptoms that left him exhausted. After multiple doctor visits, including to the Stanford Cancer Institute, he was given a diagnoses of Myelodysplastic syndrome.

He admits that at first he did not appreciate how serious his situation was, until the day he took his grandson to see the General Sherman Tree in Sequoia National Park.

“We started walking up the hill and I couldn’t make it 100 feet without stopping to catch my breath,” he said. “That’s when it really hit home.”

As Ardaiz dug deeper into his illness and the potential causes, he made a discovery: Ernest Duran, his friend and former colleague, was also diagnosed with the same rare cancer.

Duran worked in the courthouse around the same period as Ardaiz, from 1979 to 1987 and was a criminal investigator for the Fresno County District Attorney’s office.

“There are only two ways of getting this type of cancer: either excessive radiation or benzene exposure,” Ardaiz said. “So when Ernie and I talked about it, we related it back to when we worked together and there had to be a common source. The doctors said it was almost statistically impossible for both of us to have it unless it was from a common source.”