Rockton

Okay, it looks like Chemtool payments weren't sent in February

A court hearing on March 7, 2025 will discuss the timetable for payments from the class action lawsuit.

Michael McGinnis

Feb 28, 2025 — 5 min read

Photo: Tammy Olson, Stateline Connection

Residents affected by the 2021 Chemtool disaster had hoped to receive settlement payments in January or February 2025. That hasn't happened. But they may see progress after a court hearing on March 7, 2025 at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom 451, where their attorneys will discuss the status of the payments with Judge Stephen E. Balogh of Illinois's 17th Judicial Circuit Court.

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Look for our cover story on the Chemtool saga in the Stateline Connection, arriving in your mailbox this week.

More than 6,000 residents and property owners were eligible to receive a share in a $51 million compensation fund. Smoke from the June 14, 2021 fire near the Illinois/Wisconsin stateline forced many to evacuate, and debris was plentiful. About 2,300 filed claims between June 14, 2024 and the first deadline of September 12, 2024.

Hundreds were told their claims had not been received, many of them filed online at the Chemtool Class Action Lawsuit website. So attorneys set a second deadline Nov. 23, 2024, allowing these class members to correct or complete their claims.

A month later, residents were naturally anxious to hear when they would receive their payments, which could total thousands of dollars each. On Jan. 3, 2025, Judge Stephen Balogh referred class member Doug Clayburg to his attorneys for more information, saying, "I’m also sure that the plaintiffs’ attorneys can explain why final approval has not yet been given, and when the court is likely to allow the distribution. As I have explained, I am not told what the parties are doing, i.e., settlement agreements, negotiations with third parties, actual payment of settlement funds, except at the status hearings requested by the parties. The next status in front of the court is on March 7, 2025 at 1:30 p.m. At that time one of the points of discussion will certainly be when we might expect distribution of settlement funds to class members."

At first, attorneys Dan Flynn and Ed Manzke estimated that payments would go out in January 2025. Then they said the claims administrator, Analytics Consulting, needed to confirming the 2022 Equalized Assessed Value for all property owner claimants (part of the payment formula is based on property value).

Flynn said, "Once we have the PINs, then we can get each EAV and only then can payment calculations be generated. Even then, claimants who chose to receive payment electronically will need to be double checked for potential fraud."

On Feb. 28, 2025, Judge Stephen Balogh reminded Clayburg that the court still needed to approve the distribution, saying, "[Just] so you understand, because this is a class action, no distribution may occur until your attorneys demonstrate to the court’s satisfaction that the distribution will treat each class member with a valid and timely claim in a manner consistent with the provisions of the settlement agreement. With the size of the class, the number of claims and the large settlement fund, this is understandably taking some time." Our requests for updates have not been answered by the attorneys, perhaps because we aren't class members.

Some residents/class members have suspected the attorneys or the claims administrator, Analytics Consulting, of delaying the process to get more money. But according to the timeline of the Settlement Agreement, the nine attorneys and Analytics Consulting should have already gotten their money. The attorney's fees are capped at 35% of the Settlement Fund and no more. That would be about $33 million of the $94.5 million. In December, a product manager for Analytics Consulting testified their expenses were $83,016.14.

Are the lawyers keeping the interest from the escrow account, getting more money the longer it stays open? No, according to Illinois legal guidelines, since the fund is an IOLTA (Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts) fund, the Illinois Supreme Court has designated the interest to go to the charitable Lawyers Trust Fund, which helps pay for civil legal aid in Illinois.

The extended deadline was only promised to residents and property owners who had attempted to file claims by September 12, 2024. Some insisted they had, but when they called 833-457-5350 to confirm, they were told there was no record of it. One class member was told that her claim was not received, then that it was received too late. But she says she's been working with a paralegal at Romanucci & Blandin to push her claim through anyway. Others haven't been given so much hope. But the Settlement Agreement [PDF] does offer some encouragement:

5.9.4 Class Counsel and Defendants’ Counsel shall have the right, but not the obligation, to advise the Settlement Administrator to waive what Class Counsel or Defendants’ Counsel reasonably deem to be formal or technical defects in any Claim Forms submitted, including without limitation failure to submit a document by the submission deadline, in the interests of achieving substantial justice.

...though the next section provides less encouragement...

5.10 Failure to Follow Notice Instructions. Any Class Member who does not follow the instructions in the Notice of Settlement may not be entitled to any of the proceeds under the Plan of Distribution from the Net Settlement Fund...

Some members have been fuming about filing another class action lawsuit over the handling of the class action lawsuit, complaining of lost claims and the delays in payment.

But suing Analytics Consulting wouldn't be easy. They boast of having worked for "the majority of the prominent firms in the United States and Canada," including "every major federal agency that protects America’s consumers and investors," such as the SEC, FTC, DOJ, and the CFPB. We asked a FTC spokesperson to comment on the quality of Analytic's work but have not received a reply. Analytics has been administering claims for 55 years (their website still says 49 years - they haven't updated it). And after all, they were approved by Judge Balogh himself to serve as the claims administrator.

But it's true that, over the years, Analytics Consulting has accumulated a number of dissatisfied claimants. The company has a F rating with the Better Business Bureau because they failed to respond to two complaints. Their standard response to complaints is "Analytics specializes in the administration of settlements and similar programs involving notification, contact centers, claims processing, and fund distribution. Analytics is a neutral, third-party administrator engaged to carry out certain administrative aspects of this settlement and does not have the authority to act outside of its terms."