SUNSHINE CANYON LANDFILL • LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
Were You Affected by the Sunshine Canyon Landfill?
What Is Happening at Sunshine Canyon Landfill?
HBK Lawyers Is Reviewing Potential Sunshine Canyon Landfill Claims
Sunshine Canyon Landfill is located in Sylmar, California, and is owned and operated by Browning-Ferris Industries of California, Inc., a subsidiary of Republic Services, Inc. The landfill serves as a major waste-disposal facility for Los Angeles County.
Since January 2023, South Coast AQMD has received more than 4,000 odor complaints from nearby residents and a local school and has issued more than 150 Notices of Violation related to public-nuisance odors. In March 2025, the South Coast AQMD Hearing Board issued an Order for Abatement requiring additional odor-control, monitoring, and landfill-gas management measures.
Separately, residents of communities near the landfill have filed lawsuits against Browning-Ferris Industries of California alleging that landfill operations and emissions have caused noxious odors and other impacts. These allegations are being litigated and should not be treated as established facts. HBK Lawyers is reviewing potential claims involving people who may have experienced persistent odors or other impacts associated with the Sunshine Canyon Landfill.
WERE YOU AFFECTED?
You may want to speak with an attorney if you experienced any of the following while living near the Sunshine Canyon Landfill.
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PERSISTENT LANDFILL ODORS
You experienced repeated or severe odors at your home or in your neighborhood.
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LOSS OF USE OR ENJOYMENT OF YOUR HOME
Odors interfered with your ability to comfortably use your home, yard, or outdoor spaces.
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PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS
You experienced headaches, nausea, respiratory irritation, or other symptoms during odor events.
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PROPERTY VALUE CONCERNS
You believe conditions associated with the landfill may have affected the value or desirability of your home.
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FAMILY OR HOUSEHOLD IMPACTS
Landfill odors disrupted everyday activities for you, your children, or other members of your household.
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ADDED HOUSEHOLD EXPENSES
You spent money trying to reduce, avoid, or respond to persistent odors or related conditions.
Find Out If You May Have a Claim
If you have been affected by persistent odors or other conditions associated with the Sunshine Canyon Landfill, tell us what happened. HBK Lawyers can review your information and help you understand what legal options may be available.
If You Were Affected, Start Keeping Records
You do not need to have every document collected before contacting HBK Lawyers. But keeping records now can help preserve important details about odors, complaints, household impacts, expenses, and other conditions you experienced near the Sunshine Canyon Landfill.
Odor Log
Write down the date, time, location, duration, and severity of odor events while the details are still fresh. Note whether the odor affected your ability to use your home, yard, or outdoor spaces.
AQMD & Agency Complaints
Save complaint numbers, confirmations, emails, reports, and other records from South Coast AQMD or other agencies concerning odors or conditions associated with the landfill.
Home & Property Records
Keep photographs, videos, property records, appraisals, repair or maintenance records, and other documents that may help show conditions at your home or changes affecting its use or value.
Medical & Symptom Records
Save medical records, visit summaries, prescriptions, receipts, and notes showing when you or members of your household experienced symptoms during or around odor events.
Household Expenses
Keep receipts and invoices for air filters, air purifiers, HVAC service, cleaning, temporary lodging, or other out-of-pocket costs you incurred in response to conditions you experienced.
A Simple Timeline
Write down important dates while they are still fresh, including odor events, symptoms, agency complaints, household disruptions, property concerns, and major expenses.
Keep original records when possible, save digital copies in a secure location, and continue documenting new odor events or related impacts as they occur.
UNDERSTANDING POTENTIAL LOSSES
How the Sunshine Canyon Landfill May Have Affected You
The impact of persistent landfill odors may extend beyond the odor itself. South Coast AQMD has documented repeated nuisance-level odors affecting nearby communities, while lawsuits involving the Sunshine Canyon Landfill allege interference with the use of homes, physical symptoms, property-value impacts, relocation or temporary lodging expenses, and other losses.
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Loss of Enjoyment of Home Use
Repeated odor events may interfere with how residents use and enjoy their homes, yards, and other outdoor spaces.
- Inability to comfortably use a home, yard, patio, or other outdoor areas
- Keeping windows or doors closed because of persistent odors
- Disruption of normal household or outdoor activities
- Other documented interference with the use or enjoyment of a home
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Impact to Your Health
Residents involved in litigation have reported physical symptoms during odor events. Whether particular symptoms are related to landfill conditions depends on the individual circumstances.
- Headaches, nausea, or respiratory irritation
- Other symptoms reported during or around odor events
- Medical visits or evaluations
- Prescriptions and other documented health-related expenses
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Loss of Value of Home
Current litigation includes allegations that persistent landfill odors and related conditions have affected the desirability or value of residential property.
- Concerns about changes in a home’s market value
- Concerns about the desirability of residential property
- Appraisals or other property-value records
- Other documented property-related impacts or concerns
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Relocation and Household Costs
Some households may incur additional expenses while trying to reduce, avoid, or respond to persistent landfill odors and related conditions.
- Temporary lodging or other expenses incurred to avoid odor conditions
- Air filters, air purifiers, or HVAC service
- Additional cleaning or other household mitigation costs
- Other documented out-of-pocket household expenses
Every Situation Is Different
The type and extent of a potential claim will depend on where you lived, the conditions you experienced, how often they occurred, and any resulting impacts or expenses. HBK Lawyers can review your circumstances and the records you have available.
Frequently Asked Questions
People who lived near the Sunshine Canyon Landfill and experienced repeated odors or other significant impacts may want to have their circumstances reviewed. This may include homeowners, renters, and tenants in surrounding communities such as Sylmar and Granada Hills. Whether someone may have a potential claim depends on where they lived, the conditions they experienced, how often they occurred, and the resulting impacts or losses.
Not necessarily. Depending on the circumstances, potential claims may involve interference with the use and enjoyment of a home, documented household expenses, property-related concerns, or other losses even when there is no diagnosed physical injury. If you did experience symptoms or seek medical care during odor events, those facts may also be relevant.
Yes. Renting your home does not automatically prevent you from having a potential claim. Renters and tenants who lived near the Sunshine Canyon Landfill may have experienced interference with the use and enjoyment of their home, physical symptoms, added household expenses, or other impacts. HBK Lawyers can review your individual circumstances to determine what issues may be relevant.
Los Angeles County reports that landfill gases can include sulfides, ammonia, methane, and carbon dioxide, and that odors near landfills may cause nuisance conditions and short-term health effects for some people. South Coast AQMD has also documented thousands of odor complaints involving Sunshine Canyon Landfill and has issued numerous Notices of Violation after inspectors verified nuisance odors and traced them to the facility.
South Coast AQMD reported in 2025 that more than 4,000 complaints had been received since January 2023 and that more than 150 Notices of Violation had been issued, leading to an Order for Abatement requiring additional odor-control and monitoring measures.
Potentially relevant losses may include interference with the use and enjoyment of a home or outdoor space, documented household expenses incurred in response to odor conditions, medical expenses associated with reported symptoms, and other documented impacts. Current litigation has also raised property-value concerns. The losses that may be legally recoverable depend on the facts of each individual case.
HBK Lawyers handles these matters on a contingency-fee basis. Attorney’s fees are contingent upon a recovery. HBK Lawyers advances litigation costs. If there is no recovery on your behalf, you owe no attorney’s fees and no repayment of costs advanced.
Submitting your information allows HBK Lawyers to review the circumstances of your situation and the losses you experienced. The firm may contact you for additional information or documents if needed.
Submitting a form does not create an attorney-client relationship. An attorney-client relationship is formed only after you and HBK Lawyers enter into a written agreement.