Hartford Pollution Class Action Settled for a Total of $39M

Hartford, IL: A multi-million dollar settlement has been reached in a environmental class action lawsuit that began eight years ago, brought by the residents of Hartford against Apex Oil, Sinclair Oil, BP, Shell Oil subsidiary Equilon, and Premcor Refining. The suit alleged that the defendants had created a lake of petroleum beneath Hartford, a town of 1500 people.

Apex and Sinclair have agreed to pay $1,563,000 for property damage and loss of property value, and $1,042,000 for loss of enjoyment and use. This latest settlement brings the total settlement amount to $39 million: BP, Shell Oil subsidiary Equilon, and Premcor Refining had previously settled class action claims.

The class includes all who resided in Hartford or owned property there since 1984. In his statement approving the settlement, Madison County Circuit Judge William Mudge approved wrote "All settlement class members will be compensated based upon proximity of their residence to the underground accumulation of hydrocarbons and other petroleum products and the number of years in their residence." And, "The settlement benefits allocated to property damage will be calculated based upon individual property value and the location of the property in proximity to the underground accumulation of hydrocarbons and other petroleum products and paid out automatically to all owners of record in the village," he wrote. "These automatic payments will provide record owners of property with significant individual benefits on top of those already received in the former Premcor, Equilon and BP settlements," Mudge wrote.

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Published on May-16-11