$10.35 Million Settlement for 2017 Outage Receives Preliminary Approval
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina overseeing the class action filed against PCL Civil Constructors, Inc. and PCL Construction Enterprises, Inc. (collectively PCL) granted preliminary approval to a $10.35 million settlement to compensate businesses, vacationers, and residents of the Ocracoke and Hatteras Islands who were affected by the power outage beginning on July 27, 2017.
Class members in the three classes – Business Class, Rental/Vacationer Class, and Resident Class – may receive 100% of their total economic damages caused by the power outage. If additional funds are available, class members may receive up to 20% of their total losses to compensate for their non-economic damages, such as suffering and inconvenience. Additionally, Business Class members may opt to receive a flat sum of $2,500 upon a showing of a valid business tax ID number and a written statement of economic loss incurred.
“We are pleased that the Court recognized the tremendous effort put into settling the case so that those on Hatteras and Ocracoke can start to receive much needed relief in advance of the summer tourist season,” says Dan Bryson, co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs. “I along with my co-lead counsel, Mona Lisa Wallace and Robert Zaytoun, and my law partner Gary Mason, look forward to helping class members obtain their benefits.”
Now that the court has preliminarily approved the settlement, claims can begin to be paid and information will soon be sent to class members about the settlement benefits. Potential class members will soon be able to visit the settlement website, www.obxsettlement.com, for more information. The court is scheduled to hold a final hearing to decide whether to grant final approval on September 14, 2018 at 2 p.m.
