The field of companies fighting Closed Loop Refining and Recovery’s former Ohio landlords continues to decrease, after three more defendants agreed to settle.
On Sept. 30, Sunnking, Environmental Coordination Services and Recycling, and Quicksilver Recycling Services announced they reached settlements with the landlords. The deals obligate them to pay a combined $167,000.
The agreements are with Garrison Southfield Park and Olymbec USA, which own warehouses in Columbus, Ohio that were occupied by CRT outlet Closed Loop before it failed in 2016.
The properties hold roughly 159 million pounds of CRT materials. Garrison and Olymbec estimate it’ll cost over $18 million to clean up their properties. Garrison won a judgment against Closed Loop in an Ohio state court but hasn’t been able to recover money.
In March, Garrison and Olymbec filed a federal lawsuit against dozens of e-scrap firms that had supplied CRTs to Closed Loop, seeking funds to pay for the cleanup. That case is in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.
Some defendants have decided to fight in court, and others, particularly those that shipped smaller amounts of material, have moved to settle.
According to the latest tally by E-Scrap News, 18 defendants have agreed to settle. They shipped a combined 6 million pounds to Closed Loop, according to court documents, and they’ve agreed to pay a combined $850,000. That means settling parties are paying on average about 14 cents for each pound they shipped.
Latest settlements
The following parties have reached settlement agreements, although they haven’t yet been approved by the court:
Sunnking of Brockport, N.Y.
- Settlement amount: $88,900
- Payments: $11,109 per month over eight months
- Pounds shipped: 636,000
- When shipped: October 2014 to December 2014
Environmental Coordination Services and Recycling of Cochranton, Pa.
- Settlement amount: $44,800
- Pounds shipped: 321,000
- When shipped: June 2012 to July 2014
Quicksilver Recycling Services of Tampa, Fla.
- Settlement amount: $33,200
- Pounds shipped: 238,000
- When shipped: January 2013 to May 2015
In addition, on Aug. 23, Chief U.S. District Judge Edmund Sargus Jr. approved previously announced settlements with eRevival, eWorks Electronics Services and E-Lot Electronics Recycling. Here are details on those settlements:
eRevival of Garfield, N.J.
- Settlement amount: $82,900
- Pounds shipped: 593,800
- When shipped: July 2014 to October 2015
eWorks Electronics Services of Freeport, N.Y.
- Settlement amount: $51,700
- Payments: Upfront $10,340 and then payments over 11 months
- Pounds shipped: 370,200
- When shipped: January 2016 and February 2016
E-Lot Electronics Recycling of Glenmont, N.Y.
- Settlement amount: $28,600
- Payments: Initial $10,000 and then payments over six months
- Pounds shipped: 204,800
- When shipped: April 2015
Non-settling parties
A total of 24 defendants haven’t settled. That number includes 14 that have put up defenses, one that is still asking for extensions of time to submit, and nine that haven’t responded in court in any way. In some cases, the lack of response is because the company is bankrupt. For example, that’s the case with Maine processor eWaste Recycling Solutions, which closed in April and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on June 28.
Overall, the 24 non-settling parties shipped an estimated 113.5 million pounds to Closed Loop’s Ohio facilities. The biggest supplier, by far, is Kuusakoski Recycling and related company Vintage Tech, which together shipped an estimated 46 million pounds, according to the legal complaint.
During the 2019 E-Scrap Conference and Trade Show, a couple of stakeholders in the case spoke on stage about CRT cleanup liabilities. Attorney Karl Heisler, who represents Garrison, and recycling industry veteran Eric Harris, who is working as a consultant for defendant American Retroworks spoke during the closing plenary session.
