Limetree Bay Settlement

If you received a Notice about the Settlements by mail or email, you are likely in the Settlement Class and may be eligible to file a Claim for a potential Settlement Payment. Settlement Class Members live in the Affected Geographic Area (defined here) that is alleged to have been impacted by the release Incidents from the Limetree Bay Refinery. Class action lawsuits were filed concerning these events and Settlements have now been preliminarily approved by the Court with the Settling Defendants. This Notice provides information about the Litigation, the Settlements, and your options as a Settlement Class Member. Please read this Notice carefully because it affects your legal rights. A federal court authorized the sending of this Notice to you. This is not a solicitation.

To address the harm caused by the failed restart of the Refinery, Plaintiffs filed their first lawsuit on May 19, 2021, immediately following the release Incidents. On March 5, 2024, Plaintiffs filed a Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint, which they later amended on August 4, 2025. Through the Litigation, Plaintiffs seek to hold accountable all entities and persons allegedly responsible for the release Incidents and to seek to remedy the property damage, nuisance, trespass, economic losses, physical and emotional health manifestations, and non-reimbursed out-of-pocket expenses suffered by Plaintiffs and Class Members as a result of the release Incidents. The Settling Defendants deny the allegations asserted by Plaintiffs in the Litigation and deny any wrongdoing or liability in connection with the release Incidents at the Refinery.

Following an extensive mediation process overseen by a Court-appointed mediator, Plaintiffs and the Settling Defendants have agreed to settlements that have been preliminarily approved by the Federal Court. Settlement Class Members are entitled to submit a Claim to the Settlement Administrator to apply for a Settlement Payment, as further addressed in the Notice and the Settlement Agreements. Settlement Class Members can submit such a Claim by printing, filling out and mailing a Claim Form to:

Limetree Bay Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 2420
Portland, OR 97208-2420

Or by submitting a Claim Form online here by no later than November 3, 2026.

The United States District Court of the Virgin Islands has preliminarily approved the Settlements as fair and reasonable and authorized that a Settlement Notice be sent to potential Settlement Class Members. The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing on December 14, 2026 at 9:30 AM AST, in a courtroom to be determined, United States District Court of the Virgin Islands, Almeric L. Christian Federal Building and Courthouse, 3013 Estate Golden Rock, Suite 219, St. Croix, Virgin Islands 00820. Additional information about this Litigation and the Settlements can be found on this website.

The Plaintiffs and Defendants do not agree about the legal claims made in this lawsuit. The lawsuit has not gone to trial, and the Court has not decided in favor of the Plaintiffs or Defendants. Instead, the Plaintiffs and Settling Defendants have agreed to settle the lawsuit. The lawyers representing the Settlement Class believe the Settlements are best for the Settlement Class because of the Settlement Class Member Benefits available and the risks and uncertainty associated with continuing the lawsuit.

Plaintiffs have not settled their claims against the remaining Defendants in the Litigation and will continue to litigate those claims against the Defendants who are not parties to the Settlement Agreements.

In a class action, one or more people (called class representatives) sue on behalf of all people who have similar legal claims. Together, all these people are called a class or class members. One court resolves the issues for all class members, except for those class members who timely exclude themselves (opt-out) from the class.

The term “Settlement Class” means all persons or entities: a) who owned or rented property (real and/or personal) in the Affected Geographic Area on or after February 3, 2021; or b) who resided in, worked in, owned or operated a business in, or were present in the Affected Geographic Area during the time period from February 3, 2021 to May 26, 2021, and includes, without limitation, all persons or entities who are retained clients of any law firms comprising Class Counsel before the date of execution of the Settlement Agreements and who assert or could assert claims arising out of the Incidents.

The term “Affected Geographic Area” means the western portion of the Island of St. Croix, more particularly described as bounded by 64.74 degrees West Longitude and the sea. A Settlement Map of the Affected Geographic Area is located here, and is also available at the law offices found response to Question 11, and pasted below:

If you are still not sure whether you are a Settlement Class member, you may contact the Settlement Administrator by calling toll-free 1-888-859-9973.

Under the terms of the Settlement Agreements, copies of which are available at here, the Settling Defendants have agreed to collectively pay the non-reversionary cash amount of Fifty-Nine Million, Seven Hundred Ninety-Five Thousand Dollars ($59,795,000) (the Gross Settlement Fund) to settle Plaintiffs' claims against the Settling Defendants. By entering into the Settlement Agreements, the Settling Defendants do not admit any liability, fault, or violation of law and deny all allegations and claims against them, but entered into the Settlement Agreements to avoid the risk, burden, and expense of continued litigation. However, none of this money will ever be returned to the Settling Defendants under any circumstance if the Settlements are finally approved.

The Settlement Fund will be used to pay: (a) all Settlement Payments to Settlement Class Members; (b) all settlement administration fees and costs as approved by the Court; (c) Class Counsel’s attorneys’ fees, not to exceed one-third (33%) of the Gross Settlement Fund, plus costs, subject to the approval of the Court; and (d) service awards in an amount not to exceed $5,000.00 for each Settlement Class Representative.

To become eligible for a Settlement Payment, a Settlement Class Member must submit a Claim Form with all requested information and documentation to the Settlement Administrator by the Claim Deadline, which is November 3, 2026. The Settlement Administrator shall receive, process and make determinations regarding all Claim Forms and will calculate any Settlement Payments to eligible Settlement Class Members using a pro rata point system taking into account claimed property damage (including but not limited to contamination to water cisterns), nuisance, trespass, economic losses, physical and emotional health manifestations, and non-reimbursed out-of-pocket expenses incurred that arose from the Limetree Bay Refinery release Incidents. The Settlement Administrator shall tally the points for each eligible Settlement Class Member based upon the Settlement Payment Grid (available here) for use by the Settlement Administrator, and shall calculate each eligible Settlement Class Member’s payment based upon the total amount of points awarded to all eligible Settlement Class Members.

If a Claim Form submitted to the Settlement Administrator is determined to be deficient, the Settlement Administrator shall send a deficiency letter giving the Settlement Class Member who submitted the deficient Claim Form twenty-one (21) days to respond and cure any deficiency. The Settlement Class Member shall have one opportunity to cure any deficiencies identified by the Settlement Administrator.

If a Claim Form submitted to the Settlement Administrator conclusively establishes (as determined by the Settlement Administrator) that the Claim is not eligible for a Settlement Payment under the Settlement Agreements, then the Settlement Administrator shall deny the Claim.

Unless you exclude yourself (opt-out), you will remain in the Settlement Class. If the Settlements are approved and become final, all Court orders and any judgments will apply to you and legally bind you. You will not be able to sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against the Released Parties about the Released Claims in this lawsuit. The specific rights you are giving up are called “Released Claims.”

The Settlements do not release claims against the remaining Defendants in the Litigation.

In consideration of the benefits provided to Settlement Class Members by the Settling Defendants as described in the Settlement Agreements( found here), Plaintiffs and the Settlement Class shall release and discharge the Released Parties from all claims, demands, actions, and causes of action of any kind or nature whatsoever, whether at law or equity, known or unknown, direct, indirect, or consequential, liquidated or unliquidated, foreseen or unforeseen, developed or undeveloped, arising under common law, statutory law, or otherwise, whether based on federal, state or local law, statute, ordinance, regulation, code, contract, common law, or any other source, or any claim that Plaintiffs or any Settlement Class Members ever had, now have, may have, or hereafter can, shall, or may ever have against the Released Parties, on the basis of, arising from, or relating to the claims alleged in the Litigation and Parallel Litigations, less any opt-out Plaintiffs as contemplated herein. With respect to the subject matter of the Litigation and Parallel Litigations, Plaintiffs and Settlement Class Members hereby expressly waive the benefits of any statutory provision or common law rule that provides, in substance or effect, that a general release does not extend to claims which the party does not know or suspect to exist in its favor at the time of executing the release, which if known by it, would have materially affected its settlement with any other party.

The Settlement Agreements shall also be binding upon, and inure to the benefit of, the heirs, successors, assigns, executors, and legal representatives of the Parties to the Settlement Agreements and all Released Parties.

The term Released Parties is defined in the Settlement Agreements and shall not include Non-Released Parties or Non-Settling Insurers.

Please note that the Claim Form is solely for Settlement Class Members who have suffered harm because of the release Incidents that took place at the Limetree Bay Refinery from February to May 2021. If you do not claim to have suffered harm because of those Incidents, then you should not fill out the Claim Form.

To be considered valid and timely, Claim Forms must be submitted by November 3, 2026. Settlement Class Members may submit multiple Claim Forms before November 3, 2026 but shall not recover twice for the same item of alleged damage or harm. An adult family member can submit one Claim Form on behalf of each member of their immediate family, including their spouse and minor children (but not adult children). Otherwise, however, all adults (apart from spouses) need to submit their own Claim Form. If you are submitting this Claim Form on behalf of your immediate family, the Claim Form will ask you to list the immediate family members on whose behalf the Claim Form is being submitted.

You may fill out the Claim Form you may have received in the mail, download and fill out the Claim Form here, or fill out an electronic Claim Form via the HIPAA-compliant portal on this website. If you fill out the Claim Form in hard copy, you may return it by uploading it using the HIPAA-compliant portal on this website or by mail to the following address:

Limetree Bay Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 2420
Portland, OR 97208-2420

If you have any questions about the Claim Form, please call the Settlement Administrator toll-free at 1-888-859-9973 or contact the Settlement Administrator using the Contact Us form located here. For additional information about the Settlements, please review this website. You may also visit or otherwise contact the following law offices:

Important: It is your responsibility to let the Settlement Administrator know if your mailing address changes at any time before you receive a Settlement Payment or if you want future mail sent to a different mailing address. If you fail to keep your address current, you may not receive your Settlement Payment to the extent that you are entitled to one.

Timing of Payments. The Settlement Administrator will issue all payments owed to Settlement Class Members as soon as practicable and within one hundred twenty (120) days after the Settlement Agreements receive final approval by the Court and the time for any appeals have expired, or any appeals have been resolved. The Settlement Administrator will issue its payments via check (standard mail), Venmo, Zelle, or ACH at the election of the Settlement Class Member, who can make such election on their Claim Form or via the Settlement Website.

Uncashed Checks. All checks issued by the Settlement Administrator will remain valid for one hundred eighty (180) days (“Check Cashing Period”). Ninety (90) days after the later of the Check Cashing Period or the conclusion of the Litigation, the total amount of any uncashed settlement checks will be distributed to a cy pres recipient to be agreed to by the Parties, subject to approval by the Court.

If you wish to exclude yourself from the Settlements so that you do not receive any Settlement Payment to which you may be entitled and are not bound by any release of claims, then you must submit a written request to opt out of the Settlements to the Settlement Administrator, postmarked by October 27, 2026.

Your request for exclusion must include your printed name, address, telephone number, email address, a statement that you request exclusion from the Settlement Class, and it must be personally signed by you. Requests for exclusion cannot be made on a group or class basis.

All Settlement Class Members who do not timely and properly request exclusion from the Settlement Class will in all respects be bound by all terms of the Settlement Agreements and the Court’s Final Approval Order.

The request for exclusion must be sent to the Settlement Administrator at:

Limetree Bay Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 2420
Portland, OR 97208-2420

Any person who requests exclusion from the Settlement will not be entitled to any Settlement Payment and will not be bound by the Settlement Agreements or have any right to object, appeal, or comment thereon.

No. If you opt-out, you will not be able to receive Settlement Class Member Benefits, and you will not be bound by the Settlements or any judgments in this lawsuit. You can only get Settlement Class Member Benefits if you stay in the Settlements and submit a timely and valid Claim Form.

No. Unless you opt-out, you give up any right to sue any of the Released Parties for the legal claims the Settlements resolve and release, and you will be bound by all the terms of the Settlements, proceedings, orders, and judgments in the lawsuit. You must opt-out of this lawsuit to start or continue your own lawsuit or be part of any other lawsuit against the Released Parties about the Released Claims in the Settlements. However, the Settlements release only your claims against the Settling Defendants and the other Released Parties. Your right to pursue claims against the remaining, non-settling Defendants in the Litigation—who are not parties to the Settlement Agreements—is not affected, and the Litigation against those Defendants will continue.

If you are a Settlement Class Member, you can tell the Court you do not agree with all or any part of the Settlements and/or Application for Attorneys’ Fees, Costs, and Service Awards.

If you wish to submit a Claim Form and seek a Settlements Payment but submit an objection to the Settlements, you must submit a written objection to the Settlement Administrator postmarked by October 27, 2026, explaining why you believe that the Settlement Agreements should not be approved by the Court as fair, reasonable and adequate.

The written statement must include the following information:

1. the objector’s name, address, telephone number, email address, and, if represented by counsel, the name, address, telephone number, and email address of his or her counsel;
2. all grounds for the objection, accompanied by any legal support for the objection known to the objector or his or her counsel;
3. copies of any papers, briefs, or other documents upon which the objection is based or upon which the objector or his or her counsel intends to rely;
4. a statement of whether the objector or their counsel intends to appear at the Court’s Final Approval Hearing concerning the Settlements, either in person or through counsel; and
5. the objector’s handwritten signature.

If you wish to send the Settlement Administrator a letter in support of the Settlements, you are free to do so, and may send your letter to:

Limetree Bay Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 2420
Portland, OR 97208-2420

Objecting is simply telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlements. You can object only if you stay in the Settlement Class. Opting-out is telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the Settlement Class. If you opt-out, you cannot object because you are no longer part of the Settlements.

The attorneys who represent the Settlement Class are listed in the chart below. You may hire your own lawyer at your expense if you so choose, but you do not have to.

You do not have to pay the attorneys who represent the Settlement Class. The Settlement Agreements provide that attorneys’ fees and costs will be paid from the Gross Settlement Fund subject to the approval of the Court. The attorneys’ request for fees will not exceed one-third of the Gross Settlement Fund plus reimbursement of reasonable out-of-pocket expenses.

The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing on on December 14, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. before the Honorable Judge Mark A. Kearney at the United States District Court of the Virgin Islands, Almeric L. Christian Federal Building and Courthouse, 3013 Estate Golden Rock, Suite 219, St. Croix, Virgin Islands 00820. At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlements are fair, reasonable, and adequate and decide whether to finally approve the Settlements and the Application for Attorneys’ Fees, Costs, and Service Awards.

If there are objections that were filed by the deadline, the Court will consider them.

Note: The date and time of the Final Approval Hearing are subject to change without further notice to the Settlement Class. The Court may also decide to hold the hearing via video conference or by telephone. You should check this website to confirm the date and time of the Final Approval Hearing have not changed.

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. However, you are welcome to attend at your own expense. If you file an objection, you do not have to attend the Final Approval Hearing to speak about it. As long as you file your written objection by the deadline, the Court will consider it.

If there are objections that were filed by the deadline, the Court will consider them. If you file a timely objection, and you (or your lawyer) ask to speak at the hearing, the Court, at its discretion, may hear objections at the hearing.

If you need more information or have any questions, please call the Settlement Administrator toll-free at 1-888-859-9973 or contact the Settlement Administrator using the Contact Us form located here.

This website only summarizes the Litigation, the Settlements and related matters. For more information, you may also inspect the Court files at the Office of the Clerk, United States District Court of the Virgin Islands located at 3013 Estate Golden Rock, Suite 219, St. Croix, Virgin Islands, 00820, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT.