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Chemtool

Holian Insulation settles for $5.5 million in Chemtool fire

Residents may have an opportunity to receive a payment with Holian who didn’t with Chemtool.

Adam Neblock Michael McGinnis

Adam Neblock, Michael McGinnis

— 5 min read
Holian Insulation settles for $5.5 million in Chemtool fire
Photo: Doug Clayburg

Northern Illinois residents affected by the disaster at Chemtool in Rockton, Illinois on June 14, 2021 are expected to receive $5.5 million as part of a second settlement in the class action lawsuit. Parties in the Chemtool, Lubrizol, and Holian Insulation lawsuit met in Judge Stephen Balogh's court in Boone County on Friday, June 27, 2025, either in person or via Zoom, to agree to a preliminary settlement against Holian Insulation of Spring Grove, IL. Judge Balogh, while granting preliminary approval to the settlement, will have parties appear in court again on Thursday, October 23 at 1:30 p.m. for final approval of the settlement agreement.

The basis for this portion of the settlement stems from an OSHA citation issued on December 12, 2021 against Holian Insulation. OSHA determined Holian was at fault for the fire at the 1165 Prairie Hill Road plant because their contractor did not ensure "that adequate clearance was maintained between a scissor lift and overhead obstructions while operating a scissor lift between cooking kettles (reactors) R601 and R604. While operating the scissor lift, it struck a pressure tap on a hot oil return pipe for cooking kettle R604, resulting in an oil leak and subsequent fire." OSHA fined Holian $9,557 the same day the citation was issued, which Holian paid on December 14, 2022.

Added to the previous $94.5 million settlement, this $5.5 million settlement brings the total settlement to $100 million. Judge Balogh commented that this was the largest settlement amount that Mr. Robert Libman, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs/residents, could find in the Winnebago and Boone County jurisdiction. Attorneys received $33 million of the $94.5 million from the previous settlement. The Holian agreement also provides that attorneys may receive payment from this settlement. But some of the seven lead plaintiffs, such as Charles K. Grasley, will not receive additional compensation for their Chemtool damage and loss of use of their property. The seven were awarded $18,000 each from the last settlement.

Judge Balogh highlighted how this agreement was virtually similar to the agreement between class members and Chemtool/Lubrizol. The proposed settlement agreement states that the Holian portion of the settlement will use the exact same system of notifying claimants. Analytics Consulting will continue to be the settlement administrator, with Huntington Bank continuing as the proposed escrow bank.

Previously, many residents complained they were paid slowly or not at all. Possibly hundreds of claims didn't go through the first time, so residents were allowed to resubmit them by November 23, 2024. Having to check property values took even more time. For several days, some residents were unable to get paid through Zelle or PayPal because their banks didn't accept those transfers, so many had to receive checks instead. Checks need to be cashed or deposited by Oct. 28, 2025.

But Judge Balogh commented on how well he felt the first portion of the settlement was distributed. "They [Analytics Consulting and Huntington Bank] did an admirable job given the number of variables" to decide on how funds would be distributed and how quickly they were distributed.

But one key difference: this settlement allows residents to make claims with Holian who missed out on making claims with Chemtool. The notice will be sent to members of the Chemtool class, about 7,000 people. As before, those that receive notice will have a period of time to object to or opt out of the settlement. If your neighbor gets a notice, but you don't get one, you could send an email to Chemtoolclassaction@noticeadministrator.com or call 833-457-5350 and mention the Holian settlement.

Claimants who received payments from the Chemtool settlement need to do nothing to continue to receive their portion of the Holian settlement payment. However, Balogh did stress that new class members in the Holian settlement would not be eligible for funds from the earlier Chemtool settlement, as those funds were already dispersed.

Judge Balogh further added some context to this case, stating that Chemtool and Lubrizol, who were owned by Berkshire Hathaway, was self-insured for an amount almost three times greater than the class settlement of $94.5 million. Holian Industries, on the other hand, is a fairly local company and just does not have the financial wherewithal that Lubrizol and Chemtool do. Holian probably relied heavily on their insurers. The Spring Grove, Illinois company is currently a defendant in nine Chemtool-related cases in Winnebago County, four of them from insurance companies, two closed.

Though recent hearings haven't been live streamed, the next hearing on Thursday, October 23 at 1:30 p.m. may be accessible on YouTube from https://illinois17th.com/live-streaming by selecting “Boone 3”. The hearing will be physically held at the Boone County Courthouse, 601 N Main St, Belvidere, IL 61008, where these days, Judge Balogh normally hears cases involving probate, guardianships, tax forfeiture, adoptions, foreclosures, orders of protection, family law, and evictions.

For the previous payments, Tim Storm, a former Stateline high-tech entrepreneur now living in Hawaii, helped to reverse-engineer the payment formula, based on "shares" and "fair market value." For example, he calculates that if two renters lived within one mile of the Chemtool plant, they would have received $9,753. If they were homeowners instead, living in their $200,000 home, they would have received an additional $8,444. The Holian amounts are likely to be much smaller.

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