The International Flavors and Fragrances in West Jacksonville is shown in November 2025. | Michelle Corum, Jacksonville Today
Published on January 14, 2026 at 5:24 pm
Free local news and info, in your inbox at 6 a.m. M-F. Sign up for the Jacksonville Today newsletter.
A lawsuit over noxious odors in the Murray Hill neighborhood will move forward as a class action representing thousands of residents.
Judge Robert Dees on Wednesday granted class action status to the lawsuit against International Flavors and Fragrances, a company on Lane Avenue in West Jacksonville that makes flavors, fragrances and ingredients for products ranging from food to perfume to laundry detergent.
Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.
Three Murray Hill residents — Jenny Wright, Natalie Soud and James Cobb — sued the company nearly four years ago, claiming noxious odors from the plant damaged their quality of life and property values.
As a class action, the lawsuit will proceed on behalf of more than 6,000 households in the area.
Residents from many of those households crowded into a Duval County courtroom in November. They included Richard Eckler, who said people have complained about the objectionable smells for years.
Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.
Eckler listened as lawyers argued grounds for a class action lawsuit.
“I thought (the lawyer) made a pretty good argument that they have those things in common, especially with the maps and showing, you know, the area affected, and then she showed where the complaints come from, to show that they overlap,” Eckler said.
An attorney from Holland and Knight LLP, representing IFF, argued that the suit did not qualify as a class action because the plaintiffs failed to show that class members all suffer the same injury.
Laura Sheets, an attorney from Liddle Sheets PC representing the residents, was pleased with the judge’s decision.
“This has been a long road for these residents, and we are anxious to proceed with the next steps in this case,” Sheets said.
IFF issued a statement saying it was disappointed and would appeal.
“Data from the city’s own odor study, as well as numerous declarations from residents in Murray Hill, confirms what we’ve stated repeatedly: that IFF is not the source for the increased odor complaints in Jacksonville,” the statement said.
Attorneys for the residents now must prove that IFF is the source of the odors and failed to implement proper odor control practices.
The judge gave the parties 30 days to agree on notice to inform class members of their rights and their options going forward.
