$37.5 million FEMA trailer settlement approved

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge gave his final approval Thursday to a $37.5 million class-action settlement between companies that made government-issued trailers after hurricanes in 2005 and Gulf Coast storm victims who claim they were exposed to hazardous fumes while living in the shelters.

U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt ruled from the bench after hearing from attorneys who brokered a deal resolving nearly all remaining court claims over elevated levels of formaldehyde in trailers provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency following hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Roughly 55,000 residents of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas who lived in FEMA trailers will be eligible for shares of the money paid by more than two dozen manufacturers.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys also are asking Engelhardt to approve a separate but related $5.1 million settlement with companies that installed and maintained FEMA trailers after the storms. He was scheduled to hear testimony about that later Thursday.

Gerald Meunier, a lead plaintiffs’ attorney, said the deal provides residents with “somewhat modest” compensation but allows both sides to avoid the expense and risks of protracted litigation.

“Dollar amounts alone do not determine whether a settlement is fair and reasonable,” he said.

Jim Percy, a lawyer for the trailer makers, said Engelhardt would have had to try cases individually or transfer suits to other jurisdictions if the settlement wasn’t reached.

“It was not going to end quickly, and it was going to be even more monumental for all the parties concerned,” he said.

Formaldehyde, a chemical commonly found in building materials, can cause breathing problems and is classified as a carcinogen. Government tests on hundreds of trailers in Louisiana and Mississippi found formaldehyde levels that were, on average, about five times what people are exposed to in most modern homes.

FEMA isn’t a party to the settlements and had downplayed formaldehyde risks for months before those test results were announced in February 2008. As early as 2006, trailer occupants began reporting headaches, nosebleeds and difficulty breathing.

Only three plaintiffs have opted out of the settlement with the trailer makers. Engelhardt opened the floor to objections during Thursday’s hearing, but nobody spoke up. The judge said he didn’t receive any written objections, either.

But that doesn’t mean the deal isn’t a disappointment for many residents who blame their illnesses on the cramped trailers they occupied for months on end.

“We were told not to look for much,” said Anthony Dixon, a New Orleans resident who says he developed asthma while living in a FEMA trailer for two years.

Dixon, 58, attended the hearing with his wife and mother to learn more about the deal.

“We’re glad to get it over with,” he added.

Dan Balhoff, a court-appointed special master, will determine the plaintiffs’ awards. Up to 48 percent of the total settlement money will be deducted for attorneys’ fees and costs.

Engelhardt presided over three trials for claims against FEMA trailer manufacturers and installers after he was picked in 2007 to oversee hundreds of consolidated lawsuits. The juries in all three trials sided with the companies and didn’t award any damages.

Plaintiffs’ lawyers have accused the trailer makers of using shoddy building materials and methods in a rush to meet FEMA’s unprecedented demand for temporary housing.

Meunier, however, said it was difficult for plaintiffs’ attorneys to prove a link between formaldehyde exposure and residents’ health problems because many trailers couldn’t be tested until months or even years after the fact. Many residents never sought treatment for their symptoms, he added.

“It was both challenging in the legal and factual sense,” he said.

A group of companies that includes Gulf Stream Coach Inc., Forest River Inc., Vanguard LLC and Monaco Coach Corp. will pay $20 million of the $37.5 million settlement with the trailer makers.

Shaw Environmental Inc., Bechtel Corp., Fluor Enterprises Inc. and CH2M Hill Constructors Inc. are among the FEMA contractors that agreed to pay shares of the separate $5.1 million settlement.

Only a handful of formaldehyde-related claims are still pending, including those against FEMA by a group of Texas residents.

Comments

1) Comment by wherearewegoing - 28/09/2012

@Twinkie: I did help plenty of people after Katrina. I maxed out a credit card on generators, gas, and groceries, and hauled it all in a convoy of three vehicles from north Louisiana down to Washington Parish (you may have heard of it....the eye of Katrina went right through it) right after I had to move myself and two roommates into a new place to live at college. I was 21 years old. Know how much I marked up everything so I could make a profit? About $60 TOTAL to HELP cover the gas in all three vehicles. I also ran a chainsaw and/or tractor daily for the next couple of weeks. I was unable to do much more than that. Now, onto the issue. You're missing the point. As pointed out, no one HAS to help anyone. Those of us that do it do it because we can and we want to. Some of us do it because our Lord and savior commands us to do good. But I don't help others because it's "their right" for me to help them or because they're entitled to it. You liberals need to understand what actually constitutes someone's RIGHTS. You are not entitled to be picked up when you fall down by the government, whether it be hurricane, illness, financial loss, etc. You aren't entitled to free healthcare, free homeowners insurance (which seems to be what people get out of FEMA dollars), or even free education. That's provided for you because our government and the majority of this country's people believe it's a good investment in the future of our country to provide this SERVICE, but it is not a right. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. A FEMA trailer and a ton of money from a lawsuit?.....Not included.

2) Comment by Attila - 28/09/2012

@twinkie1Cat: I am sorry for your predicament and illness, but can you prove that the FEMA trailers were the cause of your illness(s). My brother died of lung cancer at 51. He never smoked a day in his life and did not drink. These kind of things happen...life ain't fair, but that is the way it is. Take what you get and go away thankful that the taxpayers of the country paid for you to have a place to live FREE. They probably provided food, water, sewer, electricity, and Lord knows what else.That being said, IF you come jup with definitive PROOF that the cancer was caused by the trailers, then by all means sue the hell out of everyone who had anything to do with building and providing the trailers...including the guys who hauled them to the lot or place where you stayed and set them up. All you had to do was not be a party to the class action...choices have consequences. You would make a good spokesperson for the entitlement crowd.

3) Comment by TommyRucker - 28/09/2012

It does not matter if it is republicans or democrats running government, it is in our best interest to keep their function very simple and as inexpensive as possible and keep the government from dominating our lives, from being a dominant factor. Government has become to important in our lives and there is absolutely no reason for it and as a matter of fact there are lots of reasons for it NOT to be this dominating factor. The more powerful government becomes and the more dependent we are on government, the worse our problems get. It is necessary to have government but it needs to be non dominating and do everything it can to avoid having citizens dependent on it.

4) Comment by TommyRucker - 28/09/2012

The state has become the #2 god for many people as THEY themselves are the #1 little god. Unfortunately this has become a massive problem in America as the one true God has been abandoned. When you put your faith in man rather than in God, you are going to have some serious problems and this is nothing new as it has been going on since the world began. Unfortunately many people have become so dependent on government that their only hope seems to be that the government will finally really CHANGE (as Obama has promised) but it never does. We have a lot of desperate people in this country who have been manipulated into believing that their only hope is with the government and continue to vote for demagogues, socialism, etc. in spite of ongoing poor results and consequences.

5) Comment by TommyRucker - 28/09/2012

This is a sign of a broken system and a society made up of individuals who are out to exploit the system to the max for their own self serving wants. People today enter into whatever with the goal of being able to get money from someone else thru law suits. They do not mind to distort or exaggerate or outright lie in order to get as much money as possible, after all they are 'entitled to it' and any imperfection that they encounter in life is someone else's fault and trial lawyers are the means to find those at fault and make them pay. If there are real and honest problems from formaldehyde, then how about making the people up north who made these inferior trailers pay for it, not the taxpayers. This only goes to show you why you had better watch out when you depend on the government as most of the time it cannot do what it promises and many times can make things worse. You have to wonder why people keep voting to make themselves more dependent on the government when it is obvious that the government CANNOT deliver on all its promises, etc. but we keep electing people like Obama and Edwards. We are our own worse enemy and we keep doing the same thing over and over in spite of poor results-this is the classical definition of insanity.

6) Comment by markedwardmarchiafava - 28/09/2012

Sorry for your problems, but your neighbor is under no lawful duty to provide for your every need. Yes, the CHURCHES should be stepping up to the plate, but you people have replaced the LORD with the state. Read 1st Samuel chapter 8, tell me if any of this sounds familiar.

7) Comment by twinkie1cat - 28/09/2012

bourbon and soda: I have never smoked a day in my life and I got cancer from the FEMA trailer. Don't drink either, by the way. ultimate liberal: I did keep my windows open, especially at night. But they were out in the sun with no trees to shade them. We didn't notice it very much. They just smelled "new" . And our eyes burned. And I found I was short of breath at the end of the winter when I had had to use the heat. wherearewegoing: So the government doesn't help. Does that mean you personally would keep a few families in tents in your back yard???? Supply them with electricity, water, and bathrooms. If the government doesn't help, who does???? We had no homes to go back to. You conservatives are so selfish and jealous you make me sick. Yall need to get saved.

8) Comment by twinkie1cat - 28/09/2012

I asked for $110 million. My life was totally ruined by the formaldehyde. Now the state will take their piece, the lawyers will take theirs and we will be lucky if we get just enough to make us ineligible for food stamps!

9) Comment by markedwardmarchiafava - 28/09/2012

Still scouring the constitution for a lawful basis for the very existence of FEMA, just cannot find it. Would someone please help out a product of the government-run education system?

10) Comment by wherearewegoing - 27/09/2012

This is why government should just stay out of these situations. Government is not an insurance policy for everyone that can't afford (or doesn't purchase) insurance. But we try to help everyone, don't we? And how do they repay this charity? By taking their free "housing" and other forms of help and charity brought to them by the government, and then turning around and suing the same government. Government 0-2.

11) Comment by bourbon-soda - 27/09/2012

Where can I find a definitive report that formaldehyde at this level and duration actually causes anything statistically significant? Are any of the plaintiffs smokers?

12) Comment by ultimateliberal - 27/09/2012

People living in the trailers would not have been affected by or even noticed formaldehyde if they had kept the windows open and the trailers well ventilated. Can't change stupid people...........

13) Comment by zealer99 - 27/09/2012

While on the topic of FEMA trailers, there seems to be a large storage of said trailers in Denham Springs at the base of the Amite River bridge on the south side of Highway 190. I have to wonder if the Federal or State government is paying for those to be stored?