Challenge

This settlement involved claims by people allegedly exposed to toxic releases from a refinery in California. Epiq was hired to merge claim and process data from more than 40 law firms, and perform preliminary calculations based on frequency, duration, site of exposure and degree of injury.

The Solution

Epiq developed plume maps of likely air exposure, which were used to calculate a person’s potential level of exposure and entitlement to compensation. The case involved 13,500 complex claims, and disbursement of $68 million in settlements.

Epiq entered claims data from discovery questionnaires about locations during the 16-day catacarb plume that was released from the refinery. The addresses were geocoded and used to determine the entitlement level for the cash-out allocation scheme. Copies of the overlay maps were forwarded to all firms, the Court, the Special Master and the steering committee. Epiq worked with the attorney firms to resolve discrepancies and fraudulent addresses.

The Results

Settlements were calculated and those with serious injury were forwarded to a neutral party for review and hearing. Epiq facilitated the review process, tracked serious injury awards and recorded hearing dates, awards, appeals, adjustments and payments. Serious injury award reports were distributed to the processing attorney firms. Payments were made on a rolling basis in 277 separate payment runs utilizing various calculation and payment formats.