Buzzards Bay Oil Spill Class Action Reaches Preliminary Settlement

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Boston, MA: Preliminary approval of a settlement has been reached in the first environmental class action to be certified in Massachusetts. The suit was brought against Bouchard Transportation Company by more than 1000 homeowners in Mattapoisett whose properties were affected when Bouchad barge B-120 spilled 98,000 gallons of oil into Buzzards Bay, contaminating roughly 90 miles of shoreline on April 27, 2003.

According to a report in the Wicked Local News, this lawsuit is not related to several others settlements against Bouchard, which include a $13 million settlement with 27 Buzzards Bay communities, and $6.2 million settlement with NOAA finalized last year for beach and environmental restoration.

The terms of the agreement, reached January 7, state that Bouchard Transportation will provide up to $12.375 million to settle the class claims. The funds will be made available to persons who owned the affected Mattapoisett homes April 27, 2003.

Final settlement approval is scheduled for April 25th, 2011. If approved, eligible homeowners could receive between $1,500 and $30,000, depending on how severely their property was affected, and whether or not their property included a private or shared beach. Eligible homeowners will have to submit a simple claim form to receive payment.