$55 Million Settlement for Herculaneum Homeowners Poisoned by Doe Run Lead Smelter

For decades, the Doe Run Resources Corporation operated the only remaining primary lead smelter in the United States in Herculaneum, Missouri, a small town on the Mississippi River about 30 miles south of St. Louis. High lead concentrations were first detected in residential soil as early as 1982. Over the years that followed, the company bought out roughly 150 homes closest to the facility, but thousands of other homeowners remained, living alongside a smelter whose airborne emissions settled into yards, gardens, and the soil where children played.

The class action, styled Doyle et al. v. Fluor Corp. et al., was filed in St. Louis Circuit Court on behalf of property owners who owned and occupied homes in the Herculaneum area on or after July 9, 2001. The plaintiffs alleged that lead emissions from the smelter had damaged the value of their properties and severely diminished their quality of life, including limiting children's ability to play outdoors and forcing families to endure repeated cycles of soil excavation and replacement.

Maurice B. Graham of Gray, Ritter and Graham in St. Louis served as lead class counsel, joined by Kevin S. Hannon of The Hannon Law Firm in Denver. Defendants included Doe Run Resources Corp., Fluor Corp., Homestake Lead Company of Missouri, and several related entities and executives. The case was presided over by Judge Lisa VanAmburg.

The parties reached agreement during four days of mediation in late August and early September 2011, with the deal struck in the early morning hours on the fourth day, weeks before the class action was set for trial in October 2011. The written settlement was finalized in February 2012. The $55 million agreement allocated roughly $26.4 million for annoyance and discomfort claims, $13.2 million for property damage, $13.75 million in attorneys' fees, and the remainder for litigation costs, class representative incentives, and a contingency reserve. Doe Run agreed to pay in four equal annual installments.

Judge VanAmburg granted final approval on April 4, 2012, following a March 2012 fairness hearing. Defendants appealed, but the Missouri Supreme Court refused transfer on June 25, 2013, ending the challenge. The Herculaneum smelter itself permanently ceased operations on December 31, 2013, under a separate $65 million federal EPA compliance agreement.