Class Action Alleges New Indy Containerboard Abandoned Previous Owner’s Commitment to Pollution Control [UPDATE]
Last Updated on July 30, 2024
White v. New-Indy Catawba LLC
Filed: May 18, 2021 ◆§ 0:21-cv-01480
A Catawba, SC containerboard producer has allegedly pivoted from the previous business owner’s commitment to pollution control and sent into the air dangerous pollutants.
July 30, 2024 – New-Indy Agrees to $18M Settlement Over South Carolina Facility’s Alleged Environmental Pollution
New-Indy Catawba has agreed to pay $18 million to resolve the class action lawsuit detailed on this page, and the official settlement website can be found at NewIndyClassAction.com.
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The New-Indy settlement, which was preliminarily approved by the court on June 5, 2024, covers anyone who, between January 31 and September 11, 2021, owned a single-family home located within the class settlement impact area, or was a spouse or child who resided at the home for at least 30 days during that period. The settlement also covers those who, before April 25, 2024, retained the representation of the plaintiffs’ counsel in connection with alleged emissions from New-Indy’s facility.
The settlement website shares that New-Indy will pay $18,000,000 to be distributed among eligible class members who file a timely, valid claim. To receive a portion of the settlement fund, class members must submit a registration form online or by mail by August 14, 2024.
To submit a registration form online, head to this page. You may also download the PDF registration form to file by mail.
Per the website, submitting the form online requires a unique username and password, which can be found on the settlement notice you may have received by mail or email. If you do not have a username and password, you may request via the settlement website that the credentials be emailed to you, or you can contact the settlement administrator to have them sent.
According to the settlement allocation plan, the settlement class—estimated to include more than 6,000 people—will be divided into five tiers based on the distance of each member’s home from the facility and whether they suffered personal injuries or health effects related to the alleged emissions as of January 31, 2021. The document says that the precise amount of each class member’s settlement payment will depend on the number of valid claims submitted in their particular tier.
Records indicate that the plaintiffs first notified the court of the settlement agreement with New-Indy, and filed an unopposed motion detailing the terms of the deal, on May 29, 2024. The parties now await final approval of the settlement from United States District Judge Sherri A. Lydon.
A final approval hearing is set for September 5, 2024. The website explains that payments will be made to eligible class members should the court grant final approval to the deal, and after any objections or appeals are resolved.
Are you owed unclaimed settlement money? Check out our class action rebates page full of open class action settlements.
A Catawba, South Carolina containerboard producer has allegedly pivoted from the previous business owner’s commitment to pollution control and sent into the air dangerous pollutants that can be smelled within a 30-mile radius.
A 16-page proposed class action alleges New-Indy Catawba LLC, doing business as New Indy Containerboard, has, since its conversion from a paper mill to a producer of virgin containerboard last year, stopped sending “foul condensate” to a steam stripper and incinerator and instead sent pollutants to open-air lagoons, such that hydrogen sulfide and other dangerous contaminants evaporate into the air.
The result, according to the complaint, is an “eight- or ninefold” increase in the amount of foul condensate piped into the open-air lagoons. Those living and working within a 30-mile radius of the mill—which at the end of 2018 was bought by the defendant, a joint venture between Schwarz Partners LP and The Kraft Group, LLC, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s holding company—have filed a mountain of complaints about strong, foul odors resembling hydrogen sulfide, the lawsuit says.
Once its conversion to producing containerboard was complete, New Indy began high-volume production in February 2021, the case states. Per the suit, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), in response to “an unprecedented number of complaints” about the odors, immediately began an investigation. As of May 7, 2021, the DHEC has received more than 17,000 complaints of noxious odors linked to New Indy Containerboard, the lawsuit says. Also on that day, the DHEC determined that the smell wafting into nearby areas is “injurious to the welfare and quality of life and is interfering with the use and enjoyment of property,” and ordered New Indy to remedy the unlawful air pollution, the suit relays.
Nearly a week later, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency weighed in, issuing an emergency order under the Clean Air Act for New Indy to remedy the unlawful air pollution at the Catawba mill, the lawsuit says. According to the complaint, the EPA stated that an emergency order was necessary given New Indy’s actions were “so harmful to public health and welfare” that it was not practicable to wait for legal action at the district court level.
The case says, however, that air quality in the area near the mill was not a problem prior to New Indy’s acquisition and conversion of the facility. According to the suit, the DHEC awarded the mill in 2011 the “Spare the Air” outstanding business award for going beyond regulatory requirements in improving air quality.
The reason for the defendant’s conversion to containerboard production is to maximize profits, even if that means ignoring the previous owner’s commitment to environmental protection, the lawsuit claims:
“New Indy likewise decided to maximize its profits by abandoning the previous Mill owner’s commitment to compliance with air pollution laws and regulations—most obviously, by changing the production process to send all pollutants to open-air lagoons instead of continuing to use specialized equipment to bring pollution levels under the applicable legal limits.”
According to the suit, inhalation of elevated levels of hydrogen sulfide can cause headaches, nausea, difficulty breathing for those with asthma, and eye, nose and throat irritation. Residents within a 30-mile radius of New Indy have reported a loss of sleep, desire to stay indoors, stress and anxiety, per the suit. Others have reported that odors from the facility are noticeable inside of their homes; that they’ve been woken up at night due to the smell; and that they’ve generally been unable to enjoy their home and community, the case says.
The lawsuit looks to represent all persons or entities who have or had any beneficial interest in any real property located within 30 miles of the facility at 5300 Cureton Ferry Road, South Carolina 29704 from February 1, 2021 through the present.
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