A 2017 class action lawsuit filed against a sugar company has been settled with an agreed amount of $950,000 over odors emitted by the facility.
The lawsuit was filed on October 4, 2017, in Morgan County District Court on behalf of residents who lived nearby.
The lawsuit claimed that the company owned the sugar beet facility, where it processed beets into sugar and sugar by-products, releasing noxious odors onto plaintiffs' property, causing property damage through nuisance and negligence and gross negligence.
A notification regarding the settlement has been sent to all affected residents who lived within a one and a half-mile radius of the sugar plant in Fort Morgan. The residents have an option to make a claim for compensation, to exclude themselves, to object to the settlement, or to do nothing.
Residents who claim for compensation will get around $2,500. The ones who object will still be bound by the agreement, if the settlement is approved over their objection, but can write to the attorneys to disagree with particular parts of the agreement. Residents who do not respond will be waived off by the right for any future litigation and will also be excluded from being compensated from the settlement fund. The remainder settlement amount will then be distributed evenly among settlement class members whose claim is approved by the class counsel.
All exclusions and objections must be declared before June 12, 2020, and claims for compensation before June 27. A Settlement Fairness Hearing is scheduled on June 24 at 9 a.m. in the District Court House on 400 Warner Street in Fort Morgan to determine if the settlement is fair.
