Freedom Industries Inc., the company behind a chemical spill that contaminated a significant swath of West Virginia's water supply, filed a creditor-payment plan that aims to start resolving the claims brought by those affected by the spill, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Freedom Industries in a Monday court filing provided an outline of its plan, on which creditors must eventually vote. That includes general unsecured creditors, who would receive nearly a dime for every dollar of the approximately $8.5 million they are owed. The proposal is buoyed by two recent settlements. The first is a $2.9 million compromise with attorneys representing local residents and businesses, with the money earmarked for health studies, water testing or other projects to benefit individuals as well as the businesses that were forced to close in the wake of the spill. The settlement would end about two dozen lawsuits filed against Freedom Industries. The other deal is one Freedom Industries struck in June with AIG Specialty Insurance Co., which provided insurance coverage to Freedom Industries before the Jan. 9 spill. The agreement calls for AIG to pay nearly $3 million to Freedom Industries, which has faced a number of claims in connection with the spill, from civil lawsuits to cleanup costs.
