In Re Behr Dayton Thermal Products, LLC
United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
Western Division at Dayton
Case No. 3:08-cv-00326-WHR
If, on or after April 1, 2006, you owned property in a portion of the McCook Field neighborhood in Dayton, Ohio, a pending Settlement Agreement may entitle you to compensation and affect your legal rights.
In 2008, several residents of the McCook Field neighborhood of Dayton filed a class-action lawsuit against Chrysler LLC, now known as Old Carco LLC (“Old Carco”), Behr Dayton Thermal Products LLC and Behr America, Inc., now known, respectively, as MAHLE Behr Dayton LLC and MAHLE Behr USA, Inc. (collectively “Behr”), and Aramark Uniform & Career Apparel, LLC (“Aramark”). These residents alleged that they had experienced vapor intrusion from underground plumes of chemical contamination. The lawsuit is pending in the United States District Court of the Southern District of Ohio and presided over by the Honorable Walter E. Rice, U.S.D.J., in Dayton, Ohio.
Old Carco, Behr or Aramark deny the claims asserted against them and deny that they did anything wrong and no trial has been held to resolve any of the claims.
Instead of going through a trial, the parties have preliminarily agreed to settle this case for a total of $9,000,000 (nine million dollars), as further detailed in the Settlement Agreement (the “Proposed Settlement”), with a portion of this sum to be divided between the owners of the allegedly impacted properties.
This Settlement Agreement, if given final approval by the Court, will provide monetary compensation to any person who owned residential, commercial, or tax-exempt real property in one of the two shaded areas on the Class Area map (“Settlement Class A Area” or “Settlement Class B Area”) on or after April 1, 2006. The Court has given this Settlement Agreement preliminary approval.
Your legal rights may be affected by this Settlement Agreement. There is a deadline for you to act and you have a choice to make now!
1 You can find general information on vapor intrusion at https://www.epa.gov/vaporintrusion/what-vapor-intrusion. You can find information about the alleged plumes at https://response.epa.gov/site/site_profile.aspx?site_id=5302.
YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS
| ACTION | EXPLANATION |
FILE A CLAIM FORM BY JANUARY 2, 2024. |
Stay in this lawsuit. File a Claim Form to receive monetary compensation. Give up certain rights. If you submit a valid Claim Form, and documentation, if necessary, by the deadline and the Proposed Settlement receives final approval, you will receive a share of the Settlement Fund as provided for in the Settlement Agreement. You MUST submit a Claim Form by the deadline to receive a share of the settlement funds. |
ASK TO BE EXCLUDED BY DECEMBER 4, 2023. |
Get out of this lawsuit and get no benefits from it. Keep rights. If you ask to be excluded from the lawsuit, you will not be bound by this Settlement Agreement. And you will NOT receive a share of the settlement money. To try to get money from the Defendants, you will have to bring your own lawsuit and prove and prevail in your entire case. |
OBJECT BY DECEMBER 4, 2023. |
Stay in this lawsuit. Object to the Proposed Settlement AND File a Claim Form to receive monetary compensation. Write to the Court setting forth the reasons why you do not like the Proposed Settlement as provided in the manner below. But you MUST still file a Claim Form by the deadline to be eligible to receive a share of the Settlement Funds. |
FAIL TO TIMELY FILE A CLAIM FORM OR ASK TO BE EXCLUDED BY DEADLINE |
Take no action. Forfeit rights. Receive no money. If you fail to timely file a Claim Form and if you fail to ask to be excluded, YOU WILL BE BOUND BY ALL OF THE COURT’S DETERMINATIONS and you will NOT receive a share of the Settlement Funds; and you will forfeit your rights to ever bring a claim. |
ATTEND A HEARING ON JANUARY 22, 2024. |
Stay in this lawsuit. Be heard by the Court AND File a Claim Form to receive monetary compensation. Ask to speak to the Court about the fairness of the Settlement if you file a request to do so by December 4, 2023 (referred to as the “Fairness Hearing” or “Final Approval Hearing”). But you MUST still file a Claim Form by the deadline to be eligible to receive a share of the settlement funds. (The date and time of the Final Approval Hearing is subject to change by Court Order and without further notice to the Class. This hearing may proceed by video conference if so indicated on the Court’s Electronic Filing System.) |
Your options are explained in the notice. To ask to be excluded, you must request to be excluded before December 4, 2023 or you will be bound by this Settlement Agreement.
Do not contact the Court directly about this lawsuit or this Notice.