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A $151 million class action settlement has been reached in a consolidated class action lawsuit stemming from a 2014 chemical spill that contaminated the drinking water of some West Virginia residents.
If your residence, business, government, church, or non-profit was located at an address served by West Virginia American Water’s Kanawha Valley Water Treatment Plant on Jan. 9, 2014, you may be entitled to benefits from the class action settlement.
The consolidated West Virginia water contamination class action lawsuit names as defendants West Virginia American Water Company, American Water Works Service Company Inc. American Water Works Company Inc., and Eastman Chemical Company.
On Jan. 9, 2014, a chemical leak at the Freedom Industries tank farm near Charleston, W. Va., into the Elk River caused more than 200,000 residential and business water users served by West Virginia American Water Company to be without tap water, except to use for toilet flushing and fire protection.
Multiple class action lawsuits were filed in the wake of the West Virginia chemical leak. The water contamination class action lawsuits were consolidated in West Virginia federal court in April 2014.
According to the West Virginia water contamination class action lawsuit, Freedom Industries purchased the chemical, Crude MCHM, from Eastman. The plaintiffs assert that the chemical leak could have been prevented by the defendants with better precautionary measures, the use of reasonable care, and compliance with applicable regulations.
The affected counties in West Virginia include Boone, Cabell, Clay, Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Putnam and Roane counties. More than 224,000 residents and 7,300 businesses were reportedly affected by the water contamination.
American Water and Eastman deny the claims in the West Virginia chemical spill class action lawsuit and deny any fault for the chemical leak or the drinking water contamination.
The West Virginia water contamination class action settlement was preliminarily approved on Sept. 21, 2017.
Class Members who wish to opt out of or object to the West Virginia chemical leak class action lawsuit must do so no later than Dec. 8, 2017.
Who’s Eligible
The following Class Members are covered by the West Virginia water contamination settlement:
- Residential Households: Includes any resident of a house, condo or apartment that was provided tap water service from West Virginia American’s Kanawha Valley Water Treatment Plant on Jan. 9, 2014.
- Businesses or Governmental Entities: Includes any business that operated at a property location provided tap water service from West Virginia American’s Kanawha Valley Water Treatment Plant on Jan. 9, 2014, including for-profit businesses, non-profit organizations and governmental entities.
- Wage Earners: Includes any person employed on Jan. 9, 2014 at a business that was shut down or partially shut down as a result of the chemical spill and contamination, and who has documented lost wages.
Potential Award
Varies, depending on the type of claim filed. Class Members may choose to submit a simple Claim Form that provides payments of set amounts for Residential Households, Businesses or Governmental Entities, or they may choose the Individual Review Option which provides reimbursement of documented losses for Class Members who belong in one of the above categories or who qualify as medical or pregnancy claimants.
The estimated payments are as follows:
- Residential Household: $550 for the household (including the first person in the household) plus $180 for each additional person living in the household (including children) on Jan. 9, 2014. Eligible residents may also request payment for Medical Claims ($750, or more for demonstrated permanent injury or wrongful death), Pregnancy Claims ($1,500 for women who were pregnant on Jan. 9, 2014 and who are not making other medical claims), and/or Wage Earner Claims.
- Business and Governmental Entities: $1,875. Businesses that were ordered to shut down or partially shut down are estimated to receive a payment of up to $41,875 (based on revenue). Lodging businesses are estimated to receive a payment of up to $64,000 (based on revenue).
- Wage Earner: Wage earners are entitled to recover documented hourly wages if their place of employment was shut down or partially shut down due to the water contamination.
NOTE: The Individual Review Option is available to Class Members who believe their documented eligible losses exceed the amount of the simple Claim Form payment. Class Members may be able to make claims for documented losses for specific property damage, discarded food, lost profits, lost inventory and extra expenses.
Proof of Purchase
N/A
Claim Form
Claim Form Deadline
2/21/2018
Case Name
Crystal Good v. West Virginia-American Water Company, Case No. 2:14-cv-01374, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia
Final Hearing
1/9/2018
Settlement Website
Claims Administrator
WV Water Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 4227
Charleston, WV 25364
1-855-829-8121
Class Counsel
Stuart Calwell
THE CALWELL PRACTICE LC
Van Bunch
BONNETT FAIRBOURN FRIEDMAN & BALINT PC
Kevin W. Thompson
THOMPSON BARNEY PLLC
Anthony J. Majestro
POWELL & MAJESTRO PLLC
Benjamin L. Bailey
BAILEY GLASSER LLP
Marvin W. Masters
THE MASTER LAW FIRM LC
Defense Counsel
Counsel for Eastman Chemical Company:
Deborah F. Greenspan
BLANK ROME LLP
Marc E. Williams
NELSON MULLINS RILEY & SCARBOROUGH LLP
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36 thoughts onWest Virginia Water Contamination Class Action Settlement
Got my check!!! Mailed on the 14th got it on the 18th
Any1 get their check yet?
They said when I called that they were mailing them out yesterday or Monday
Update 8/31:
Checks were set to go out at the end of august but settlement amounts are being modified and judge has to approve
Home Local Article
UPDATE: Attorney gives update on W.Va. water crisis settlement checks
Water Claims
Water Claims
W.Va. water crisis settlement finalized
Learning how to file claim in water settlement
Settlement amounts divide residents in Elk River spill
By Associated Press, Dan Klein, WSAZ News Staff |
Posted: Thu 11:45 AM, Feb 01, 2018 |
Updated: Fri 9:34 PM, Aug 31, 2018
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) — UPDATE 8/31/18 @ 5:10 p.m.
New information is being released about the 2014 water crisis settlement checks.
According to Plaintiff Attorney Kevin Thompson, the judge in the case ordered attorneys to obtain a larger settlement from the personal accounts of former Freedom Industries CEO Gary Southern.
The original amount Southern was ordered to pay was $350,000. The new settlement amount is for $1 million.
The overall settlement is for more than $151 million. It comes after a chemical leaked into the Elk River in Jan. of 2014, contaminating drinking water for more than 300,000 people in the Kanawha Valley for nearly two weeks. West Virginia American Water customers could only use the water for flushing toilets.
Thompson said the simple and residential checks were set to go out, but they wanted to wait and have the additional money prior to sending them out.
He says the simple and residential checks are expected to go out 10 days after the judge approves the new settlement with Southern.
Is each family going to actually get the full $500?
I
According to court documents, I believe its been reduced to $440 unless the deficiency process was able to winnow out enough invalid claims to bring back to the original $500
ANY “REAL” UPDATES ON PAYMENTS? I say real because I heard some already got their payments way back in June…..
I called yesterday and they said they had to have them mailed by today. But I’ve been reading a delay is possible because of Medicaid n medicare
Any updates on payment?
I hear that checks go out at the end of this month.
Yeah I called and they stated August 31st..
UPDATE VIA CLAIMS SITE:
Thank you for your interest in the WV Water Contamination Settlement. The claims filing period has passed and we are not accepting new claims. We are evaluating the claims and are in the process of sending letters to claimants whose claims are deficient (missing information). This website will be updated periodically. We will provide an update when we have more information about when settlement payments will be made. Until then, please be patient as we work diligently to process your claim. If you have an address change, please use the Contact Us form to notify the Claims Administrator.
If you received a deficiency letter, please follow the instructions on the letter to submit the requested information. If you have specific questions, regarding the deficiency letter, please contact us at 1-855-829-8121. The deadline to submit deficiency response documentation for Simple Claims is July 26, 2018.
Any updates?
They were supposed to be issued in may! I dk? 00p
The Federal judge just approved the settlement on June 9th. Then there is a 30 day period for people to appeal. Plus everyone is getting 20% less approx. 440 for hoh. Probably late July, August or September before anyone receives a check
Please add me
I have had water issues since the spill. My water still taste bad and I have to buy bottled water.
PLEASE ADD ME
Joyce, you gotta go to https://www.wvwaterclaims.com/claim-forms/ to file a claim. They’ve also been mailing out claim forms. You need to go file asap! The deadline is February 21st. If you’re still having problems you can prove is due to the spill and want to personally sue for a greater sum, you have to exclude yourself before that same deadline. If you can show damage caused to your water system that you had to repair, you can be refunded this cost.