CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A limited number of resources from bankrupted Freedom Industries are part of the momentum behind a proposed $2.9 million settlement for the 24 civil lawsuits filed in the water emergency case.
The proposal, announced Friday, would take care of the cases filed in federal court directly against Freedom in the days after the Jan. 9 leak of the chemical crude MCHM into the Elk River in Charleston. The spill touched off a water emergency for some 300,000 residents in parts of nine counties.
Plaintiffs’ attorney Anthony Majestro said it’s possible money from the settlement could help fund larger projects like medical monitoring and water testing.
“The reason we reached this settlement is because Freedom’s limited assets wouldn’t allow any real compensation to anyone,” Majestro told the Charleston Daily Mail. “Instead, we thought the best thing to do was reach a settlement that would allow benefit to the class in other ways.”
Majestro added all money is going to the class.
“We’re not taking any of it,” he said.
A formal filing of the proposal is the next step.