Rockton

Chemtool deadline is Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024

Saturday is the last day to respond if you received a Notice of Claim Deficiency from the Chemtool lawsuit claims administrator.

Michael McGinnis

Nov 23, 2024 — 8 min read

If you received a Notice of Claim Deficiency from the Chemtool claims administrator, Saturday is the last day to respond. Image: thedustyphoenix

"It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen."

In a Friday post to the Citizens for Chemtool Accountability Group on Facebook, Doug Clayburg quoted George Orwell’s novel ‘1984’ and said, "Tomorrow, November 23rd, will likely be bright and cold as well and it is the last day for qualified Chemtool Class Action Lawsuit members to dispute their claim denial, submit additional documentation, or refile. Claims Administrator: (833) 457-5350. Don’t wait for the clock to strike thirteen."

When's the deadline? Today?

By Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, residents must contact the claims administrator by phone at 833-457-5350 or by email at Chemtoolclassaction@noticeadministrator.com. The class action administrator, Analytics Consulting, says all eligible claimants should have received a Class Action Notice and possibly a Notice of Claim Deficiency, explaining exactly what documentation is still missing.

Chemtool Class Action Notice Administrator P.O. Box 2009 Chanhassen, MN 55317-2009 Chemtoolclassaction@no- ticeadministrator.com 833-457-5350 www.chemtoolclassaction.- com NOTICE OF CLAIM DEFICIENCY YOU MUST EMAIL OR MAIL RESPONSE TO CURE CLAIM BY NOVEMBER 23, 2024 — Notice of Claim Deficiency gave residents another chance to complete their claim.

September 12, 2024 was the original deadline for people less than three miles from the 2021 Chemtool disaster to file claims for property damage. Analytics Consulting sent 6,000 notices to eligible residents, but said they only received 2,300 claims. Low response rates are typical for class action lawsuits, except this case involves a share of $51 million, which should have motivated more people to file claims.

But after the deadline, more than 100 Rockton-area residents were told by Analytics Consulting that there was no record of their claim to the $94.5 million settlement from the Chemtool explosion and fire on June 14, 2021. Dozens of residents received curt messages that, "Your claim form was never received... You are not eligible to receive a payment from the settlement." Except that many of them could prove they had filed on time. They had confirmation of their online claims or postal records of their submissions.

Shawna Flock told us on Sept. 30, 2024, "I had filled out our claim July 22nd, hit the submit button, and it brought me back to the sign in page, so I figured it went through. I was notified that may not have been the case just this weekend." When she reached out to the claim email, "they notified me we are not included in the Chemtool settlement and there was nothing we could do now. I heard this exact thing has happened to two of my family members as well as a lot of other people."

Okay, you get another chance

But after attorneys intervened on behalf of their class action clients, Analytics Consulting took another look at their records and sent out "deficiency notices." Attorney Ed Manzke of Collins Law told us on Sept. 29, "For each of these class members, where we have digital evidence that a claim was attempted to be submitted, those class members will have the opportunity to re-submit their claims." Attorney Dan Flynn of the firm of DiCello Levitt has also been working on the missing claims problem. He told us, "We also appreciate your efforts to make sure the class is informed of the process."

Analytics Consulting began sending more encouraging replies such as, “For those members for which we have a record that they started a claim online but did not submit it, a deficiency letter will be sent offering them the opportunity to submit their claim by email or mail along with supporting documentation. We are in the process of finalizing that list so I'm not able to confirm at this time whether you are on it.”

It turns out Attorney Ed Manzke wasn't keeping a list either. On Oct. 17, he told Doug Clayburg, “I am merely helping direct people to the claims admin. I have not kept track of the people I have spoke with.” But he agreed that more than two dozen had been affected. Residents estimate the number was much higher, but Analytics Consulting has not released that number.

"Standard process in settlements such as this"

Richard W. Simmons, president of Analytics Consulting since 2003, told us in an Oct. 29 email, "The online claims submission system logs all attempts to file claims, including those not completed for any reason. For example, a person might start a claim, realize they must provide proof of residency, and leave it unfinished. This would also apply to anyone who encountered technical issues (for whatever reason) after logging in to start their claim."

Simmons added, "Out of an abundance of caution, letters were sent to all individuals who initiated a claim and did not complete it. These letters offer them support and an opportunity to complete the submission process. This is a standard process in settlements such as this."

On Oct. 31, Doug Clayburg told us, "It appears that Dan and Ed delivered on their word... Several class members are reporting their recently denied Chemtool claims are now valid." Now one of Clayburg's co-workers received a new message:

Thank you for your email. Your claim was re-reviewed and your claim is now valid.
Sincerely,

Office of the Claims Administrator

When do we see the money?

Evan Schoepski, moderator of the Facebook group, expects payments to be sent in December 2024 or later. With a total pool of $51 million, each claim is estimated at thousands of dollars. Compensation for property damage is not taxable. The exact amount each resident will receive is unknown. If each of the 6,000 potential class members had received an equal share, it would have been $8,500. But the formula is more complicated.

Schoepski estimates "between 2500-4000 homes included with 1 or 2 shares per home depending on their distance from the disaster, as well as their residents whom receive .2 shares per individual." Any payment over $25,000 must be approved by the attorneys.

Residents say they have been told so many things they don't know what to believe. Though one woman didn't receive a notice that anything was wrong with her claim, she says, "I did call 5x every time the story sounded iffy!"

One resident says she originally received verbal and written confirmation that "I was good to go." Then she received a deficiency notice saying that she was "missing documents" and that she had to send them in by November 23. "So I sent them the same documents and requested an email back stating they were in fact acceptable and I was good to go again." But she says they didn't want to send her any confirmation.

What does it mean to join the class?

By joining the class action, residents gave up any further rights to sue for damages. But that doesn't exclude medical claims. The Chemtool fire produced an estimated one thousand tons of smoke particles, almost 700 tons of carbon monoxide, almost 58 tons of VOCs, 19 tons of sulfur oxides, and 185 pounds of nitrogen oxides. Though the EPA did not find significant air pollution besides smoke, many residents say their gardens or dogs have died since the fire. Residents could sue separately for medical claims, but none have.

Not all residents opted into the class action lawsuit. Some were suspicious of the process and refused to join, or didn't need the money. Apart from the class action lawsuit, the only alternative to receive compensation was for residents to hire their own attorneys. That's what a few people did: Nicole Ghinazzi, Jackie Rotello, Jolene Smith, Thomas Henry, and Anthony and Karmen Chiodini. We asked Karmen Chiodini to comment about her lawsuit and she replied, "Thank you for the opportunity; however, we are not allowed to discuss the case."

More lawsuits

Many residents filed insurance claims, so several insurance companies are suing Chemtool and Holian to get their money back: Allstate, Liberty Mutual, Auto Owners Insurance Company, Society Insurance Company, and Insurance Company of Illinois. Several had hearings scheduled on Nov. 22, but Judge Stephen E. Balogh was unavailable today, and the court dates were reset until January.

For example, Gary A Marek, the attorney in Insurance Company of Illinois et al. vs. Chemtool Incorporated, has his next court date with Judge Balogh on Jan. 3, 2025. He represents Liberty Mutual, Insurance Company of Illinois, and resident Keanlynn McWilliams. Also a party in the lawsuit: Brian Elmer.

Another lawsuit began brewing almost before the fire stopped burning. Winnebago County States Attorney J Hanley is leading a state lawsuit which he filed along with Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul on July 9, 2021. People of the State of Illinois et al. vs. Chemtool Incorporated alleges that Chemtool violated the Illinois Environmental Protection Act by releasing smoke, debris, and contaminated water. They want the company to pay a $50,000 fine for each violation and $10,000 per day of violation. The fire burned for about nine days. Hanley has another hearing with Judge Lisa Fabiano on January 16, 2025.

"Analytics is not liable..."

Despite all the problems, Analytics Consulting hasn't admitted they did anything wrong or that anything was unusual. Their website indicates they are among the best in their class: "Throughout our history, we have served the majority of the prominent firms in the United States and Canada, and have overseen settlements ranging from less than 1 million dollars to more than 1 billion dollars. In competitive bidding processes, we have been awarded long term contracts by every major federal agency that protects America’s consumers and investors – the SEC (10 Years), the FTC (25 Years), the DOJ (10 Years) and the CFPB (5 Years)."

But their website also claims that if something goes wrong, it's probably your fault. Their terms of service say, "You understand, acknowledge, and agree that Analytics is not liable and you shall indemnify and hold Analytics harmless if the forms are not received by Analytics in a timely manner or are otherwise not submitted in the proper manner or form. This includes, but is not limited to, Analytics not receiving the forms in a timely or in a proper manner or form because of (a) problems with computer systems at the claimant site, (b) failure to fully complete all of the forms, (c) failure to click ‘submit’ and receive a confirmation message, or (d) failure to contact the administrator to determine (1) why you did not receive a confirmation message, and (2) whether any alternative means to submit a claim are available to you."