Anne Bucher  |  October 16, 2017

Category: Closed Class Actions

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take water in glass from water wet

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

CLICK HERE TO FILE A CLAIM »

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

  1. Sherry Dotson says:

    How do I find out the status of my west virginia water settlement late claim check? The other person who i filed on my claim received their check recently but I was primary and have not received my settlement

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