WILLIAMS et al v. BASF CATALYSTS LLC et al

Filing 650

ORDER ADOPTING 649 CLAIM DISTRIBUTIONS REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION. Signed by Magistrate Judge Andre M. Espinosa on 6/2/2022. (jd, )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
KIMBERLEE WILLIAMS, et al.
Plaintiffs,

vs.

BASF CATALYSTS LLC, et al.

No. 11-cv-01754-BRM-AME
ORDER

Defendants.
Special Master's Claim Distributions
Report and Recommendation
WHEREAS, this matter having come before the Special Master in the above­
captioned matter upon Class Counsel's motion requesting entry of a Distribution
Recommendation pursuant to§ 9.5.1 of the Plan of Distribution (the "Plan") 1 on the
basis that the Claims processes and notices under the Plan have been completed; and
WHEREAS, the appointed Settlement Administrator, Verus LLC ("Verus"),
having

completed the

Plan's claim administration processes,

procedures,

adjudications and notifications, and having submitted to the Special Master
schedules and statistical summaries of approved and disapproved claims regarding
each compensation Part of the Plan as required under§ 9.4.2.1 of the Plan, 2 along

Additional capitalized terms have the same meaning as in the Parties' Class Action
Settlement Agreement and Plan of Distribution.
1

Sections §§ 9.4.2.1 and 9.5.1.1 of the Plan require, respectively, the Claims
Administrator to prepare and submit to the Settlement Trustee, and the Settlement
Trustee, in turn, review and publish upon her acceptance, three statistical summaries
regarding the Settlement Fund's claims administration results as follow:
2

with a Declaration of Mark Eveland, Verus' Chief Executive Officer, in support of this
Report and Recommendation attesting to: (1) the Settlement Fund's fulfilment and
completion of the Plan's claims intake, review, adjudication, audit

and notice

processes and procedures; and (2) the content and accuracy of the claims
administration statistical

summaries' and schedules of allowed and disallowed

claims for each of the Plan's three compensation Parts; and
WHEREAS, the Special Master having independently reviewed the statistical
summaries, and having further received Class Counsel's advice that after their
review of the statistical summaries they have no issue concerning either their
accuracy or conformity to the Plan's requirements, the undersigned accepts, approves
and adopts the Settlement Fund Claim summaries as the Settlement Trustee's report
on the results of the Plan's Claim Administration; and
WHEREAS, in fulfillment of the Plan's requirement that the summaries be
made available to the public by the Settlement Trustee (See Plan§ 9.5.1.1.), a copy of
the statistical summaries has been posted on the Settlement Website (See Eveland

1) A statistical summary of the number of Part A (Base Compensation) claims
approved and disallowed and the amount of a Part A share;
2) A statistical summary of the number of Part B (Supplemental Injury Level
Based Compensation) claims approved and disallowed and the dollar amount
applicable to each of the four Part B Injury Levels; and
3) A statistical summary of the number of Part C (Extraordinary Injury Fund
(EIF)) claims approved and disallowed and the range and average of the EIF
payments.

Declaration) and is included as part of the Distribution Recommendation Appendix
("DRA") accompanying this Report and Recommendation. ( See DRA at 1); and
WHEREAS, having also independently reviewed the schedules of allowed
claim distribution awards and of disallowed claims prepared by Verus relating to the
Plan's three compensation Parts ("Distribution Recommendation Schedules), 3
true and correct copies of which are included in the accompanying DRA, and having
additionally received Class Counsel's advice that after their reviewing the
Distribution Recommendation Schedules they have no issue concerning their
accuracy or conformity to the Plan's requirements, the undersigned has approved and
adopted the Distribution Recommendation Schedules as: (1) the formal adjudications
and claim awards of all Claims received by the Settlement Fund; and (2) as the
Settlement Trustee's and Special Master's Distribution Recommendations; and
WHEREAS, there is good cause shown to submit the Distribution
Recommendation Schedules to the District Court for approval and conclusion of the
Plan's Claims Adjudication activities and bring this process to a close as provided in
the Plan,

Section §9.5.1.1. of the Plan requires the Claims Administrator to prepare and
submit to the Settlement Trustee separate schedules of approved and disallowed
claims for each of the three compensation "Parts" of the Plan and the amount of
compensation to be paid for each type or level of claim award. The awards amounts
stated in the schedules of approved claim distributions and in statistical summaries
are the gross award amounts. They reflect, however, reserves that the Claims
Administrator and Settlement Trustee established to cover certain fees and expenses
to be paid from the Fund under §9.2 of the Plan. In addition, the amounts of claim
awards listed in the schedules or referred to in the summaries are subject to potential
further reduction for payments necessary to clear medical or other liens which apply
to particular awards as is required under both the Settlement Agreement and Plan.
3

IT IS THEREFORE HEREBY RECOMMENDED to the District Court on this
11th day of May 2022, that:
1. The District Court accept and approve the Distribution Recommendations in
the annexed DRA as the determinations and adjudications of the Settlement Class
Members' Claims to the Settlement Fund under the Plan; and
2. That the District Court authorize the Settlement Trustee and Claims
Adminstrator to forthwith begin making payments and distributions from the
Settlement Fund under the Plan to the Settlement Class Member Claimants listed
in the Distribution Recommendations as being awarded compensation under one or
more of the Plan's Parts, subject to the Lien Clearance requirements of the Plan and
Settlement Agreement; and
3. That the District Court authorize the Settlement Trustee and Claims
Administrator to forthwith pay the Class Representatives the Class Representative
Service awards which the Court has previously approved and make payment of
remaining costs and expenses of the claims administration; and
4. That the District Court authorize the Settlement Trustee and Claims
Adminstrator to take any and all further steps necessary to effectuate the orderly
distribution of the Settlement Fund in accordance with the Plan.
BY THE COUR
Marina Corodemus, Special Master

ORDER
THIS MATTER having been opened to the Court upon the Claim
Distributions Report and Recommendation [D.E. 649] of the Honorable Marina
Corodemus, J.S.C. (Retired), whom the Court appointed as Special Master and
Settlement Trustee in this matter; D.E. 649 having been issued pursuant to Fed. R.
Civ. P. 53; no opposition having been filed; the Court having reviewed and
considered the Claim Distributions Report and Recommendation; and for good cause
shown,
IT IS on this 2nd day of June 2022,
ORDERED that the foregoing Claim Distributions Report and
Recommendation of the Special Master is hereby accepted, approved and entered as
the order of this Court, with further direction to the Settlement Trustee and
Settlement Administrator to forthwith carry out the provisions of this Order and the
Plan.
/s/ André M. Espinosa
ANDRÉ M. ESPINOSA
United States Magistrate Judge