City to get $795K in class action settlement

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There would be no restrictions on how Seal Beach uses the six-figure settlement money from a class action lawsuit against Monsanto and other companies, according to District One Councilman/Mayor Joe Kalmick.

During a recent closed (and virtual) meeting of the City Council, the council voted unanimously to accept a settlement in the class action lawsuit City of Long Beach, et al. versus Monsanto Corp., et al.

By California law, legislative bodies (such as the Seal Beach council) can discuss litigation, labor negotiations and real estate negotiations in sessions that are closed to the public.

According to City Attorney Craig Steele, the council’s decision to join the settlement would result in Seal Beach receiving approximately $795,000.

“That vote was unanimous,” Steele said.

During a Tuesday, July 5, interview, Kalmick said the money came with “no strings attached.”

According to Kalmick, that was because the court assumed that cities had spent the money addressing the pollution issues alleged in the lawsuit.

In March 2022 Long Beach City Attorney Charles Parkin issued a statement announcing that Long Beach and other city, county, and state agencies had reached a settlement with “Bayer AG’s Monsanto Company and subsidiaries of Pfizer and Eastman Chemical to resolve allegations that the localities continue to face increased costs due to Monsanto’s contamination with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) over the last several decades.”

According to the Parkin statement, the lawsuit had more than 2,500 class members.