CATAWBA, S.C. (From news reports) -- After a three-year battle in court, lawyers for New-Indy Catawba LLC; parent company New-Indy Containerboard LLC and roughly 6,000 plaintiffs have reached settlement agreements of about $103 million.
The parties have reach a proposed class settlement that provides payments of $18 million in satisfaction of claims for damages for residents near the New-Indy Catawba mill, located between Van Wyck and Rock Hill in the Catawba community.
In addition, New-Indy has agree to undertake remedial activities valued at $85 million to resolve the other lawsuits it is involved in, such as violations to the Clean Water Act, and cases currently on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.
The settlement class, which is roughly 6,000 people, will be those who meet the following criteria -- those who owned a single-family home located in or within the class settlement impact area between Jan. 31, 2021, and Sept. 11, 2021; spouses or children of those individuals who resided within the area for at least 30 days between Jan. 31, 2021, and Sept. 11, 2021; and those who retained representation from counsel in connection with emission from the mill on or before April 25, 2024.
The 6,000 people get $3,000 each from the $18 million settlement. The class settlement area is roughly 6 to 20 miles wide from the mill itself stretching north to just outside of Sun City Carolina Lakes, west into the Catawba Indian Nation and down into Landsford Canal State Park. The class settlement area affects just parts of York, Chester and Lancaster counties.
District Court Judge Sherri Lydon still has to sign off on the settlement. A trial had been set for earlier this month, but the two parties agreed in April to start discussions on a settlement.
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