BURLINGTON, Vt., June 8, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Johnson & Perkinson Announce the Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlements involving Vermont residents who indirectly purchased automotive refinishing paint products.
STATE OF VERMONT CHITTENDEN COUNTY, SS.
Washburn's Autobody and Thomas Brassard,
v.
PPG Industries, Inc., et al.
CHITTENDEN SUPERIOR COURT DOCKET NO. 1122-04CnC
SUMMARY NOTICE OF PROPOSED SETTLEMENTS OF CLASS ACTION
TO: ALL PERSONS WHO INDIRECTLY PURCHASED AUTOMOTIVE REFINISHING PAINT PRODUCTS IN THE STATE OF VERMONT FROM JANUARY 1, 1993, TO SEPTEMBER 24, 2004, ("THE CLASS"):
If you had all or part of the paint on your vehicle refinished during the period beginning January 1, 1993 through September 24, 2004, or you are an automobile refinisher or auto repair shop who purchased paint during that period, you may be entitled to get some of your money back. There is a class action lawsuit in which several paint companies have settled claims for a total of $780,000. That money may be available to be divided up among people who fit into the categories described above.
Thus, you are hereby notified that this action has been preliminarily certified as a class action for settlement purposes and that separate settlements have been proposed with each of the five Defendants in the following amounts: (i) Defendants BASF Aktiengesellschaft, BASF Coatings AG, and BASF Corporation (collectively, "BASF"): $125,000; (ii) Defendants The Sherwin-Williams Company and Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes (collectively, "Sherwin-Williams"): $125,000; Defendant PPG Industries, Inc. ("PPG"): $240,000; Defendants Akzo Nobel Car Refinishes B.V. and Akzo Nobel Coatings Inc. (collectively "Akzo"): $90,000; and Defendants E.I. duPont de Nemours and Company, and DuPont Performance Coatings, Inc. (collectively, "DuPont"): $200,000. As part of the proposed settlements, the claims against all Defendants will be dismissed with prejudice. A hearing will be held before the Honorable Helen M. Toor in the Chittenden County Superior Courthouse, 175 Main Street, Burlington, Vermont 05402, at 9:00 a.m., on July 20, 2009 to determine whether the proposed settlements should be approved by the Court as fair, reasonable and adequate, and to consider attorneys' fees for Plaintiffs' Counsel and reimbursement of expenses.
Indirect purchasers are persons or entities who purchased automotive refinishing paint products from someone other than the manufacturer of the product. For example, indirect purchasers include people or entities who obtained repairs to their vehicles that required the use of automotive refinishing paint products. Indirect purchasers also include repair shops and refinishers who purchased automotive refinishing paint products from independent suppliers, such as jobbers or warehouse distributors, as opposed to the manufacturers of such products.
Under the proposed settlement, a) those who indirectly purchased Automotive Refinishing Paint for the purpose of applying it to motor vehicles, such as repair or custom refinishing shops, and b) individuals without insurance who purchased refinishing paint as part of a repair to their vehicle will be entitled to submit a claim to collect a portion of the monies expended for such paint refinishing products. Those individuals with insurance will also be bound by the settlement. However, due to the expenses involved in identifying and notifying such individuals of the settlement and the administrative expenses of calculating the value of their claims, such individuals will not be entitled to submit claims and will share in the settlement solely to the extent that 25% of the available settlement funds will be donated to a Vermont charitable organization whose mission is related to the use and/or repair of motor vehicles.
IF YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE CLASS DESCRIBED ABOVE, YOUR RIGHTS WILL BE AFFECTED AND YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO SHARE IN THE SETTLEMENT FUND. Please review the full printed Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlements (the "Settlement Notice"), and a Proof of Claim form. You may also obtain copies of these documents by contacting:
Vermont Autopaint Settlement Claims Administrator
Strategic Claims Services
P.O. Box 230
600 North Jackson Street, Suite 3
Media, Pennsylvania 19063
www.strategicclaims.net
Inquiries, other than requests for the forms of Notice and Proof of Claim, may be made to Plaintiffs' Lead Counsel: Dennis J. Johnson, Esq., or Eben Duval, Esq., P.O. Box 2305, 1690 Williston Road, S. Burlington, VT 05407, Telephone (802) 862-0030.
To participate in the settlement, you must submit a Proof of Claim no later than September 8, 2009 and your claim must be received by the Claims Administrator by September 14, 2009. As more fully described in the Settlement Notice, all exclusions from the Class or objections to the settlement must be postmarked no later than June 29, 2009.
Further information may be obtained by directing your inquiry in writing to the Claims Administrator, Strategic Claims Services, at the address listed above.
By Order of the Court