Claimants in the $31.9 million Smitty’s/CAM2 303 tractor hydraulic fluid settlement became eligible for a second payment in September 2026, when the court approved splitting the remaining $144,912 among 2,171 of them. The claim deadline passed in March 2025, so no new claims are accepted.
What Is This About?
On September 30, 2026, U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough approved a second distribution from the $31.9 million manufacturer settlement in In re Smitty’s/CAM2 303 Tractor Hydraulic Fluid Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2936, Master Case No. 4:20-md-02936-SRB, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. Class counsel asked for it the same day, and the manufacturer defendants did not object.The second payment is small. After the main payout in July 2025, the late claims, the reissued checks and the administrator’s fees, $161,912.42 remained in the fund. With an estimated $17,000 set aside for a second mailing, $144,912.42 is going out pro rata to the 2,171 claimants whose share comes to $5 or more. The settlement administrator, RG/2 Claims Administration, handles the mailing, so a second check comes from the same administrator as the first.
Free settlement alerts
Get notified when new class actions open to claims
Join thousands of readers who get the latest class action settlements you may qualify for — delivered straight to your inbox.
Who Gets a Second Check?
The first payout went to 5,241 claimants on July 29, 2025, when the administrator mailed $16,182,532.98, plus $25,000 in claim corrections made before distribution. A first check’s size depended on the claimant’s approved purchase units and any approved equipment repair or damage claim.The second payment uses the same pro rata method, adding 0.866% for each eligible claimant. Spread across all 5,241 claimants, the leftover money would have produced checks under $5 for most of them, in some cases as little as 5 cents, and the mailing cost would have eaten much of it. So the court limited the second round to the 2,171 claimants whose share reaches at least $5. In practice that means claimants with larger approved claims. Claimants with smaller approved claims receive no second check.
The filings do not list individual amounts. Dividing $144,912.42 by 2,171 gives an average of about $67, an average only; actual checks are larger or smaller depending on each approved claim.
Where the Leftover Money Came From
The administrator’s September 2026 declaration accounts for the remainder:- The net settlement fund, after attorneys’ fees, litigation expenses, incentive awards and anticipated administration costs, was $16,664,479.47.
- A contingency reserve of $481,946.49 covered late claims and corrections; 65 were paid, totaling $485,625.62.
- The fund earned $69,710.07 in interest during administration.
- Checks for 5,177 of the 5,241 first-round claimants were cashed. The 64 that never were, original or reissued, total $4,268.80 and are now stale after the administrator mailed letters and class counsel tried to reach each claimant.
- RG/2’s court-approved budget was $992,790; it had been paid $917,158.94.
Together that left $161,912.42 as of September 30, 2026. Before the second distribution was proposed, class counsel’s May 2026 report had said the remainder would go to court-approved charitable (cy pres) recipients once all checks were cashed or stale. The September motion asked to pay it to class members instead.
Background: Two Separate Settlements
The multidistrict litigation alleged that Smitty’s Supply, Inc. and CAM2 International sold tractor hydraulic fluids labeled “303” that did not meet equipment makers’ specifications and could damage tractors and farm equipment. The covered products were Super S Super Trac 303 Tractor Hydraulic Fluid, Super S 303 Tractor Hydraulic Fluid, CAM2 ProMax 303 Tractor Hydraulic Oil and CAM2 303 Tractor Hydraulic Oil. The manufacturers denied the allegations and settled without admitting fault.The case produced two rounds of settlements. Retailer defendants settled first, in an $18.8 million settlement covering purchases from Tractor Supply, Orscheln Farm and Home, Rural King and Atwood stores; that claim window closed in December 2021. The $31.9 million manufacturer settlement followed, received final approval on March 27, 2025 with no objectors and no appeals, and closed to claims on March 1, 2025. The second distribution approved in September 2026 comes only from the manufacturer settlement.
What Happens Next?
The September 30 order does not set a mailing date, and the settlement website had not posted one as of October 26, 2026. After the second-round checks are cashed or go stale, class counsel is expected to file a final status report with a post-distribution accounting, as the court’s July 2025 distribution order requires. That report would close out the manufacturer settlement. No new claims are accepted, and no appeal was filed from final approval.Questions
Why did some Smitty’s/CAM2 claimants get a second check and others did not?
The court approved the second payment only for claimants whose pro rata share would be $5 or more. The leftover money, $144,912.42 after estimated mailing and administration costs, was too small to split among everyone: for the other claimants a share would have been under $5, and in some cases as little as 5 cents. That left 2,171 of the 5,241 paid claimants eligible.
How much is the second Smitty’s/CAM2 settlement check?
Each eligible claimant receives an additional 0.866%, calculated pro rata on the same basis as the first payment, so larger approved claims receive larger second checks. The court filings do not list individual amounts. Dividing $144,912.42 among 2,171 claimants works out to about $67 on average, but actual checks vary.
Can someone still file a claim in the Smitty’s/CAM2 settlement?
No. The manufacturer settlement’s claim deadline was March 1, 2025, and the second distribution goes only to claimants who were already approved and paid in the first round. The earlier retailer settlements closed to claims in December 2021.
Where did the money for the second Smitty’s/CAM2 payment come from?
The administrator’s September 2026 accounting shows $161,912.42 left in the fund. It came from $69,710.07 in interest earned on the settlement fund, about $4,269 in first-round checks that were never cashed, and administration that ran under its approved budget, after a contingency reserve paid 65 late claims and corrections.
Sources
- Official Smitty’s/CAM2 303 Tractor Hydraulic Fluid Settlement website, manufacturer court documents
- Order granting second distribution, Doc. 1236, Case No. 4:20-md-02936-SRB (W.D. Mo. Sept. 30, 2026).
- Plaintiffs’ Status Report Regarding Manufacturer Settlement and Motion to Approve Second Distribution, with Declaration of Settlement Administrator, Doc. 1235 and 1235-1 (W.D. Mo. Sept. 30, 2026).
- Plaintiffs’ May 2026 Interim Status Report Regarding Settlement Administration of Manufacturer Settlement, Doc. 1234 (W.D. Mo. May 21, 2026).
