CHARLESTON – A class action settlement in the January 2014 water crisis that left nearly 300,000 residents in nine counties without water has been finalized.
U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver Jr. approved the settlement on Jan. 31.
There have been 57,221 claims filed in the settlement as of Jan. 21, according to court documents. The deadline to file a claim is Feb. 21.
Of the nearly 58,000 claims, 47,388 are residential simple claims of known customers; 6,466 are residential simple claims for households not on the customer list; 53 are individual review claim forms from known customers; and 53 are individual review claim forms from other households.
As of Jan. 21, approximately 54 percent of customers have filed claims.
The total number of all business claims is 2,275.
The total claim value of all simple claims filed is $51,315,698.
The class action lawsuit alleged that West Virginia American Water did not adequately prepare for or respond to the chemical spill and that Eastman Chemical, the maker of the chemical MCHM, did not properly warn Freedom Industries of the dangers of its chemical or take any action when officials learned that the Freedom facility along the Elk River in Charleston was in disrepair.
WVAW and Eastman both deny any liability and blame the crisis on Freedom Industries.
Residential households can file a simple claim form and obtain $550 for the first resident and $180 for each additional resident, or they may file more detailed information about their losses if they provide proof of those expenditures on a separate type of claim form.
Businesses and nonprofit organizations can likewise obtain flat payments, based on their size, or can submit documentation of specific losses to be reimbursed.
The settlement also provides additional payments to women who were pregnant at the time of the chemical spill, residents who had medical expenses and hourly-wage earners who lost money when businesses they worked at closed because of the crisis.
Government agencies also are eligible to submit claims.
The deadline for claims submissions is Feb. 21. You can file online at www.wvwaterclaims.com or call 1-855-829-8121.
Checks are expected to be mailed out in May.
