Published
October 15, 2026
People who owned, rented or leased a home within 1.5 miles of the Charlotte Motor Speedway Landfill in Concord, N.C., at any time since August 14, 2021 may qualify to claim a per-household cash payment from the $675,000 BFI Waste Systems landfill odor class action settlement. Claims close November 20, 2026, and the final approval hearing is set for January 7, 2027.
Current Status
Claims are open. Claim forms must be submitted online or postmarked by November 20, 2026; the notice does not state a time of day or time zone. The court has authorized notice of the proposed settlement but has not decided whether to approve it, and the final fairness hearing is scheduled for January 7, 2027, at 10:00 a.m. No payment date had been announced as of October 15, 2026.Free settlement alerts
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Status
Claims Open
Claim Deadline
November 20, 2026
Submitted online or postmarked by this date
Estimated Payout
Equal share per household
Net $675,000 fund ÷ addresses that file · amount not yet known
Proof Required
Yes
Government photo ID + utility bill, or a lease for renters · no notice ID
What Changed Recently?
The settlement website run by class counsel now carries the court-authorized class notice, a printable claim form, an online claim form and a map of the class area, which opened the claim period for Vines v. BFI Waste Systems North America, LLC, No. 1:24-cv-00697, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. The notice says U.S. Magistrate Judge Joe L. Webster, who oversees the case, authorized it.The lawsuit was filed August 21, 2024. The complaint was originally captioned against Republic Services, Inc. d/b/a BFI Waste Systems, and the court docket still lists the case under that name. The settlement agreement and the class notice name BFI Waste Systems North America, LLC, which the notice identifies as the owner and operator of the Charlotte Motor Speedway Landfill at 5105 Morehead Road in Concord.
The complaint alleges that odors from the landfill invaded nearby homes and public property and interfered with residents’ use and enjoyment of their homes, and it asserts claims for private nuisance, public nuisance and negligence. BFI Waste Systems North America, LLC denies all of the claims and any wrongdoing or liability. The court did not decide who was right; according to the notice, the settlement does not mean any law was broken.
According to the plaintiff’s court filings, a full-day mediation on December 19, 2024 ended without a deal, the parties agreed on settlement terms in principle on July 7, 2025, and an unopposed motion for preliminary approval was filed December 8, 2025.
Who Qualifies?
The class covers people who have owned, rented or leased residential property located in whole or in part within the class area at any time from August 14, 2021 to the present, and who do not opt out. The settlement agreement describes the class area as homes within 1.5 miles of the landfill’s property boundary. A map of the class area is posted on the official settlement page.The plaintiff’s preliminary approval brief says there are more than 2,800 households inside the boundary. The settlement agreement calls for the notice and claim form to be mailed to every reasonably ascertainable residential address in the class area, with a publication notice in a local newspaper.
How Much Can a Household Receive?
BFI Waste Systems North America, LLC agreed to create a $675,000 settlement fund. Court-approved attorneys’ fees and expenses, the class representative’s service award and administrative expenses are paid from that fund first. The notice says each approved claim is then calculated by dividing the remaining net fund by the total number of addresses for which claims were submitted, so every claiming household receives an equal share.The per-household amount is not known yet. It depends on how many addresses file valid claims and on what the court awards in fees and costs, and the notice says the amount will not be known until all claim forms have been submitted and assessed. Any figure circulating before then is an estimate and can change.
Checks are sent to the household. The claim form gives 180 days from the date on the check to cash it; after that, the check is void and the household forfeits its payment.
What Are the Odor-Control Improvements?
Besides the cash fund, the settlement requires BFI Waste Systems North America, LLC to spend at least $1.025 million on odor-control measures at the landfill between 2024 and 2027, according to the plaintiff’s preliminary approval brief. The brief says those measures may include drilling gas extraction wells, pipes, flares, pumps or other gas-control equipment, installing and operating an odor-neutralizing and masking system, or capping waste cells early. The company must report the measures and their costs to class counsel each year.The notice says people who currently live in the class area receive the benefit of these capital improvements whether or not they file a claim.
What Proof Is Required?
The claim form requires two kinds of documentation. Every claimant attaches a copy of a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license or state identification card, to establish identity and current address. A homeowner also attaches documentation of ownership, such as a current utility bill; a tenant attaches either a valid rental agreement or a current utility bill.The form also asks for the address of the property in the class area and the dates the claimant owned or lived there, and it is signed under penalty of perjury. No notice ID, claim ID or PIN is required. The claim form says documents are not returned and asks for copies rather than originals, and it warns that missing documentation may lead to a claim being rejected.
What Are the Deadlines?
- November 5, 2026: deadline to opt out or to object or comment. Both must be sent by mail and postmarked by this date.
- November 20, 2026: deadline to submit a claim online or to mail a paper claim form postmarked by this date.
- January 7, 2027, 10:00 a.m.: final fairness hearing at the federal courthouse in Greensboro, North Carolina.
How to File a Claim, Opt Out or Object
Claims can be filed through the online claim form on the official Charlotte Motor Speedway Landfill settlement page, which accepts uploads of the ID and supporting documents, or by mailing the printed claim form with copies of the documents to class counsel at the address shown on the form. The claim form is also embedded at the bottom of this page.A class member who wants to keep the right to sue on their own must mail a signed exclusion letter to class counsel, postmarked by November 5, 2026, containing the exclusion statement set out in the notice, their full name, the address of the property in the class area and the date. The notice says exclusions cannot be made by phone or email, and a person who opts out receives no money and cannot object.
A class member who stays in can comment on or object to the settlement in a written statement mailed to class counsel, postmarked by November 5, 2026. The notice lists what the statement must include, among them the case name and number, the property address in the class area and the reasons for the objection. Anyone who wants to speak at the hearing must say so in that letter, and the notice says objectors do not have to attend.
What Class Members Give Up
If the settlement becomes final, class members who file a claim, object or do nothing release BFI Waste Systems North America, LLC and its affiliated persons and entities from claims arising from or relating to alleged odor emissions from the landfill through the settlement’s effective date.The release does not cover claims for medically diagnosed personal injuries, and it does not cover odor claims arising more than 36 months after final approval, a window the notice ties to finishing the capital improvements. The notice also says class members can later sue over future conduct that causes future harm, as opposed to harm from conduct before the effective date.
The claim form adds a certification of its own: each claimant declares that they have not been diagnosed with, and have no symptoms they suspect could be associated with, any sickness, disease or injury caused by the defendant, that they have not received Medicare or other government-program benefits for such a condition, and that they will indemnify the defendant against related lien claims.
Attorneys’ Fees and Service Award
Class counsel are Liddle Sheets P.C. and Johnson & Groninger PLLC. The notice says they will ask the court for attorneys’ fees of no more than one-third of the “Total Settlement Value,” plus the expenses they incurred, and will ask for a $5,000 service award for the class representative. All of those amounts are paid from the settlement fund and must be approved by the court.What Happens Next?
The court will hold the final fairness hearing on January 7, 2027, at 10:00 a.m. at the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina in Greensboro. The notice says the hearing may be held by telephone or virtually if the court directs, with details posted on the court’s docket and the settlement website. At the hearing the court will consider whether the settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate, any objections, and the requests for fees, expenses and the service award.Under the settlement agreement, BFI Waste Systems North America, LLC pays the $675,000 into an escrow account held by class counsel only after final approval. The notice says class counsel will begin reviewing claim forms if the court approves the settlement, that payments are made after any appeals are resolved, and that no payment date can be set yet.
Sources and Verification
- Official settlement page — Charlotte Motor Speedway Landfill (online claim form and class-area map)
- Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement, Vines v. BFI Waste Systems North America, LLC (posted on the official settlement page)
- Charlotte Motor Speedway Landfill Class Settlement Claim Form (PDF)
- Court docket, No. 1:24-cv-00697 (M.D.N.C.), on CourtListener
- Plaintiff’s Unopposed Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement (ECF No. 29, filed December 8, 2025)
- Brief in Support of Unopposed Motion for Preliminary Approval (ECF No. 30, filed December 9, 2025)
Questions
Does each person in a household near the Charlotte Motor Speedway Landfill get a separate payment?
Payments are figured per address, not per person. The notice says the net fund is divided by the total number of addresses for which claims were submitted, and the claim form says an approved claim results in one check sent to the household. The claim form has room for a claimant’s spouse on the same form.
Can renters near the Concord landfill file a claim?
Renters and leaseholders are part of the class alongside owners. According to the claim form, a tenant attaches a copy of either a valid rental agreement or a current utility bill, together with a copy of a government-issued photo ID.
What happens to class members who do not file a claim?
According to the notice, a class member who does nothing receives no cash and is still bound by the settlement’s release of odor-related claims. The notice adds that people who currently live in the class area still benefit from the odor-control improvements BFI Waste Systems North America, LLC is making at the landfill.
Does the landfill settlement release personal injury claims?
The release in the notice does not cover claims for medically diagnosed personal injuries, and it does not cover odor claims arising more than 36 months after final approval. Separately, the claim form asks each claimant to declare under penalty of perjury that they have not been diagnosed with, and have no symptoms they suspect could be linked to, any sickness or injury caused by the defendant, and to agree to indemnify the defendant against related Medicare or government-program lien claims.
Why does the class notice show two different years for the hearing?
The notice’s answer about payment timing refers to a January 7, 2026 hearing, but its section on when and where the court will decide on approval gives January 7, 2027 at 10:00 a.m. The 2026 date had already passed when the notice was posted, so January 7, 2027 is the date consistent with the rest of the schedule.
How long does a household have to cash a Charlotte Motor Speedway Landfill settlement check?
The claim form allows 180 days from the date printed on the check. After that, an uncashed check becomes void, and the claim form says everyone in that household forfeits any claim to a payment from the fund.
Who reviews the claims in the Charlotte Motor Speedway Landfill settlement?
There is no separate claims administrator. Under the settlement agreement, class counsel Liddle Sheets P.C. administers the settlement and approves claim forms that meet the documentation requirements, and claim review begins only if the court approves the settlement.
Official Claim Form
OpenClassActions.com is a consumer news and information site, not a law firm. This article is general information about the Charlotte Motor Speedway Landfill odor settlement. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
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Settlement Amount
$675,000
Cash fund · plus at least $1.025 million in odor-control measures
Case Title
Vines v. BFI Waste Systems North America, LLC
Case Number
1:24-cv-00697
Court
U.S. District Court, Middle District of North Carolina
Final Approval Hearing
January 7, 2027 at 10:00 AM
Greensboro, N.C. · may be held by phone or video if the court directs
Administrator
Liddle Sheets P.C. (class counsel)
Official Website
LS Class Action — CMS Landfill
