Eastman Chemical settles in lawsuit over WV water crisis

Lawyers for the company that manufactured the chemical that contaminated the drinking water supply for thousands in the Kanawha Valley in January 2014 announced Wednesday that the company had reached a preliminary settlement in a class-action lawsuit over the Elk River spill.

Claims in the lawsuit against West Virginia American Water were not settled as of Wednesday, but U.S. District Judge John Copenhaver Jr. pushed the trial back another day to give the sides more time to try to reach an agreement.

Details of the proposed settlement with Eastman Chemical Co., which manufactured the Crude MCHM that spilled into the Elk River from tanks belonging to Freedom Industries, will be filed under seal until after trial.

Trial had been set to begin with jury selection Tuesday but, on Wednesday, Copenhaver told lawyers to spend Thursday trying to reach an agreement.

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