APEX, N.C. — An Apex couple filed a lawsuit against Environmental Quality Friday, one day after the explosion of the company's chemical plant.

The couple filing suit, Michael and Betsy Borden, live in the Surrey Meadows subdivision, which is almost a mile from the EQ plant.

Lawsuit Filed In Apex Chemical Fire

The lawsuit seeks financial compensation for those affected by potentially toxic fumes. The environmental negligence and liability lawsuit names EQIS North Carolina, EQ Industrial Services and The Environmental Quality Co. -- three related Michigan corporations doing business in Apex.

The lawsuit was filed by Raleigh lawyer J. Michael Malone and Richard S. Lewis, an environmental lawyer in Washington with the law firm of Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld and Toll. The firm said in a statement that it has successfully represented plaintiffs in the $5 billion jury verdict in the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Two lawsuits are pending against EQ in Michigan after a similar fire there last year.