A federal court judge in Fort Smith has declined to certify a class of property owners suing the Whirlpool Corp. over contamination of groundwater with a toxic chemical.
U.S. District Court Judge P.K. Holmes III also rejected a proposed settlement agreement between the property owner plaintiffs and Whirlpool that would have provided payments for the devaluing of property due to the contamination in exchange for deed restrictions and access by the company to property for groundwater monitoring.
Property owners in the neighborhood north of Whirlpool's closed plant said trichloroethylene contamination from the plant had damaged their properties.
Read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.