Judge Approves Settlement In Carbon Monoxide Case

— After more than six years in the court system, a judge has approved an agreement in a class-action lawsuit between a Springdale apartment complex and former residents exposed to carbon monoxide.

The $2.6 million settlement, approved Friday by Washington County Circuit Judge Mary Ann Gunn, will go to tenants, residents, occupants and frequent visitors of Springdale Ridge Apartments between April 1, 2001, and Dec. 12, 2004.

The complex, previously known as Fox Run and Deer Run, was evacuated in August 2004 after carbon monoxide was discovered in several units.

Plaintiffs claimed the 192-unit complex’s design was flawed, resulting in dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.

How much money each person involved in the lawsuit gets will depend on the extent of the medical problems they suffered while living in the apartments and level of involvement in the lawsuit.

The seven class representatives are expected to receive $5,000 each in incentive payments.

The personal injury group is made up of residents who suffered some injury and contains four sub-groups. Those who had flu-like symptoms without medical proof are expected to get $300; those with medical proof they had had flu-like symptoms are expected to get $500; and, those with flu-like symptoms and some proof it was carbon monoxide-related are expected to get $2,000.

Members of the permanent injury or wrongful death group are expected to get up to $100,000. There were three deaths in the apartment complex in the 3 1/2 year period, that may have been linked to carbon monoxide poisoning.

In addition, if a plaintiff had a lease, they should be entitled to $600 for each year they were there.

“I think it’s fair,” former resident Donna Hayes said after Friday’s hearing.

As of Wednesday, the deadline for joining the lawsuit, 458 people filed claims against the defendants. Two people declined to join the lawsuit. One woman told attorneys she declined to join because living in the apartment complex did not make her ill. Another man declined to join the lawsuit, but did not give a reason.

Hayes said she was twice hospitalized while she lived in the apartments and six years later continues to have memory problems she blames on carbon monoxide exposure.

As part of the agreement the defendants deny the factual and legal allegations and do not admit liability. The defendants include Simpson Housing Solutions; Simpson Housing Limited Partnership; Deer Run Limited Partnership; Fox Run Limited Partnership; Affordable Multi-Family; Walling Development; Atlas Construction of Arkansas; A.R. Mays Construction., formerly known as Devcon Inc.; L&L Plumbing; Architecture Design and Development; and Arkansas Western Gas.

The five plaintiff attorneys — Dale Evans, Kent Hirsch, Jeff Slaton, Cindy Hawkins and Alan Lane — will split one-third of the settlement, almost $900,000.

In approving the settlement, Gunn called the resolution “fair and reasonable,” and said the amount of money going to lawyers was appropriate given the complexity of the case and length of time it took to resolve.

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