People who lived, worked or owned property in western St. Croix during the 2021 Limetree Bay refinery releases have until November 3, 2026 to file a claim, nine days from today. The settlements total $59,795,000, according to ClaimDepot, and the money is split by a point system rather than a flat check. Anyone who misses the deadline gets nothing from these settlements.
Four 2021 incidents, one strict deadline
The official settlement website ties the case to incidents at the refinery on February 4, April 23, May 5 and May 12, 2021. It calls November 3 “a strict deadline” and says people must file by then to receive a payment. Claim filing opened on September 10, 2026.
The court gave preliminary approval on August 27, 2026. A final approval hearing is set for December 14, 2026, in Case No. 1:21-cv-00253 in the U.S. District Court for the Virgin Islands. Final approval is still ahead, so a claim filed now is a place in line, not a check.
A second date arrives sooner. Anyone who wants out of the settlement, to keep the right to sue on their own, must mail a signed request for exclusion by October 27. Objections to the deal carry the same October 27 date. The administrator says claims must be filed by November 3 to receive a payment, so a person who excludes themselves is choosing to go without a share of these settlements.
Who is in the class
The site says anyone who received a notice by mail or email is likely in the settlement class. ClaimDepot’s summary gives the underlying definition: the area is western St. Croix, bounded by 64.74 degrees west longitude and the sea. Residents, workers, owners or operators of a business, and people present there between February 3 and May 26, 2021 are included.
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People who owned or rented property, real or personal, in the area on or after February 3, 2021 also count. Immediate family, meaning a spouse and minor children, can file together on one form, while adult children must file separately. That detail matters in households where grown children lived at the same address.
How the $59.8 million is divided
Several companies are paying. The official site names 14 settling defendants, among them Limetree Bay Holdings, ArcLight Capital Partners, Freepoint Commodities, Pinnacle Services and EIG Global Energy Partners. Plaintiffs are continuing to litigate against the remaining defendants, so these settlements do not close the whole case.
The defendant list mixes owners and contractors. Besides the Limetree Bay and ArcLight entities, it includes Universal Plant Services (VI), Excel Construction and Maintenance VI, Versa Integrity Group and Elite Turnaround Specialists, all named on the administrator’s site as settling parties.
ClaimDepot reports that attorneys’ fees may take up to $19,932,350 and service awards up to $5,000 for each class representative, with administration costs and attorneys’ expenses still to be determined. Subtracting the fee cap alone leaves about $39.9 million for class members, before those other deductions.
No fixed amount is promised. Each claimant gets a share based on a pro rata point system that weighs property damage, nuisance and trespass, economic losses, health effects and unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses. The harm period runs from February through May 2021.
Filing, proof and help on the island
The fastest route is online through the site’s Start Your Claim link. ClaimDepot says claimants can also download a PDF form and mail it to the Limetree Bay Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 2420, Portland, OR 97208-2420. A mailed form needs time in the post, which is tight with nine days left.
Proof is required, according to ClaimDepot’s settlement summary. Examples include proof of residence or presence, property damage documentation, medical records, receipts, and financial records for business losses. Payment can come by check, direct deposit, Venmo or Zelle.
In-person help is available in two places. The Whim location is at 27 Whim in Frederiksted, open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with appointments by text to 340-277-2799. The Five Corners location is in the Computer Solutions Building, 4031 Estate La Grande Princesse Drive, Christiansted, where October hours vary by day.
The settlement administrator’s toll-free number is 1-888-859-9973. A household that had a notice in the mail should have it in hand, since it identifies the claim. Anyone who did not receive one but lived, worked or owned property in western St. Croix in early 2021 can still check the site before the deadline.
The calendar for the next nine days is short: October 27 for exclusion or objection, November 3 for claims, December 14 for the hearing. For anyone filing, the harder work is assembling records from 2021 that show where they were and what was lost. The administrator’s site was last updated on October 22, 2026 and still lists November 3 as the date, with no extension posted, so the deadline should be treated as firm.
Did a 2021 refinery release reach a St. Croix address?
Anyone in western St. Croix in early 2021 who files after November 3 is out of these settlements, and a claim that arrives without proof of where the person lived or worked can lose points. Nine days is not long to gather 2021 records.
The Settlement & Refund Recovery System includes the four-date rule for reading a settlement notice, a step-by-step filing walkthrough and a claim log and payment tracker. It keeps the exclusion, claim and hearing dates in one log, and it comes with a 5-tab Excel tracker pre-filled with all 51 state unclaimed-property offices.
Get the filing walkthrough and claim log for open settlements in the settlement recovery system →
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
