Published
October 14, 2026
People who owned, rented or leased residential property within 1.75 miles of the Rhode Island Bioenergy Facility in Johnston, Rhode Island, at any time since January 1, 2016 may qualify to claim an equal per-address share of an $850,000 fund from the Rhode Island Bioenergy odor class action settlement. Claims close November 3, 2026, and the final approval hearing is set for November 4, 2026.
Current Status
Claims are open. Class counsel’s settlement website lists November 3, 2026 as the claim form deadline and does not give a time of day or time zone. The Rhode Island Superior Court has preliminarily approved the settlement and scheduled the final fairness hearing for November 4, 2026 at 10:30 a.m.; no final approval order has been entered and no payment date has been announced. The deadline to opt out of the settlement or object to it comes sooner, on October 19, 2026, and both must be sent by mail.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.
Status
Claims Open
Claim Deadline
November 3, 2026
Opt-out and objection postmark deadline: October 19, 2026
Estimated Payout
Share of $850,000
Net fund split equally by claimed address · amount set after claims are counted
Proof Required
Yes
Government-issued photo ID plus a deed (owners) or lease or rental agreement (tenants) · no notice ID
What Changed Recently?
The Rhode Island Superior Court for Providence/Bristol County has preliminarily approved a settlement in Sullivan et al. v. Rhode Island Bioenergy Facility, LLC, C.A. No. PC-2024-04461, which is before Associate Justice Brian P. Stern. Class counsel has posted the court-approved notice, a printable claim form, an online claim form and a map of the class area on its settlement website.The lawsuit concerns the Rhode Island Bioenergy Facility on Scituate Avenue in Johnston. The plaintiffs alleged that noxious odors from the facility invaded nearby properties, and they brought claims for private nuisance, public nuisance and negligence. Rhode Island Bioenergy Facility, LLC denies liability on every claim and denies that anyone suffered damage to their property, or a loss in its value, connected to the facility. Before the settlement, the Court denied the company’s motion to dismiss but made no other rulings on the claims or the defenses, and the settlement resolves the case without a finding for either side.
Records of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) describe the facility as an anaerobic digester that produces natural gas from recycled food and other organic waste. According to a RIDEM notice of violation, the agency issued the facility an immediate compliance order over offsite odors in September 2023 after receiving odor complaints from the surrounding area.
Liddle Sheets P.C., one of the two class counsel firms here, also served as class counsel in an earlier neighborhood odor case, the Prestige Feed Products settlement in Mount Prospect, Illinois.
Who Qualifies?
The class covers everyone who owned, rented or leased any residential property located in whole or in part within 1.75 miles of the Rhode Island Bioenergy Facility at any time since January 1, 2016, except people who opt out. The court notice ties the boundary to a Class Area map attached to the settlement agreement, and class counsel’s settlement website displays that map. Owners, renters and leaseholders are all included, and the definition does not require a class member to still own, rent or live at the property today.The official materials do not agree on one point. The court-approved notice and the printable claim form both use the January 1, 2016 start date, while the eligibility question on the online claim form asks whether the claimant owned, occupied or rented a residence in the Class Area “from October 28, 2018, to the present.” The settlement website does not explain the difference. The same web page also describes the radius as “one and three quarter (.75) miles,” where the court notice states 1.75 miles.
How Much Can You Get?
No per-person or per-household figure has been announced, and none can be until the claims are counted. The settlement creates an $850,000 Settlement Fund. Before class members are paid, the fund covers court-approved attorneys’ fees and expenses and incentive awards. Class counsel, Liddle Sheets P.C. and Hamel, Waxler, Allen & Collins, will ask the Court for fees of no more than one-third of the total settlement value, plus their litigation expenses, and for a $2,500 incentive award for each named plaintiff.Whatever remains is divided by the total number of addresses for which claims are submitted, so the formula pays one equal share per claimed address, and each share shrinks as more addresses are claimed. A claim form covers a single property; someone who owned or rented more than one home in the Class Area files a separate claim form for each one.
Separately, Rhode Island Bioenergy Facility, LLC has agreed to spend about $150,000 on odor-control improvements at the facility that no government agency had specifically required at the time of the settlement. If the settlement receives final approval, the notice says every class member benefits from those measures, including people who opt out and people who never file a claim.
What Proof Is Required?
The claim requires documents rather than a notice ID. Every claimant attaches a copy of a government-issued photo ID (a driver’s license, a state identification card or another government-issued photo ID) to establish identity and current address. Each claimant also documents their interest in the claimed property:- Owners attach a copy of the deed or other proof of ownership. The online form adds that an owner whose ID shows a different address also attaches a utility bill or other proof of having lived at the property, and the printable form gives a utility bill for the property in the owner’s name as an example of ownership documentation.
- Tenants attach a valid lease or rental agreement. The printable form also accepts other proof of occupancy, such as a utility bill for the property in the tenant’s name.
What Is the Deadline?
Claim forms are due November 3, 2026. Class counsel’s settlement website lists that date without a time of day or time zone, and the court notice says mailed claim forms must be postmarked by the claim deadline.Requests for exclusion and objections are both due October 19, 2026. Each must be mailed to class counsel and postmarked by that date, and the notice states that exclusion requests are not accepted by phone or email.
The court-approved notice posted on the settlement website was printed with its deadline and hearing-date lines left blank. Every date on this page comes from class counsel’s settlement website, which lists the claim, opt-out, objection and hearing dates.
How Do You Take Action?
Claims are filed through class counsel’s Rhode Island Bioenergy settlement page, which hosts the online claim form, the Class Area map, the notice and a printable claim form. The web address printed in the notice now forwards to that page; the page’s own address refers to “resource recovery,” but its content covers this settlement. The online form asks for the claimant’s name, current mailing address, email address and daytime phone number, the claimed address in the Class Area, when the property was first and last owned or rented, the ID and property documents, and a signature. A spouse or roommate can be listed and sign on the same form.The printable claim form can be completed by hand and mailed with copies of the documents to class counsel at the address printed on the form.
Under the notice, a class member who leaves the settlement does so with a signed, dated letter sent by first-class mail that states the request to be excluded from the Rhode Island Bioenergy Facility settlement and gives the person’s full name and the address of the Class Area property. Someone who opts out receives no payment and keeps the right to pursue their own claims, though the notice cautions that statutes of limitations may bar some individual claims. An objection is a written statement mailed to class counsel with the objector’s name, current address, Class Area property address, dates of ownership or residence, phone number and signature, the case name and number, and the reasons for the objection; an objector who intends to speak at the hearing says so in the same letter. Only class members who stay in the settlement can object.
What Happens Next?
The Court will hold the final fairness hearing on November 4, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. at the Frank J. Licht Judicial Complex in Providence. The notice says the hearing may be held by telephone or virtually if the Court directs, with attendance details posted on the court docket and the settlement website. At the hearing the Court will consider whether the settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate, consider any objections, and may rule on class counsel’s request for fees and expenses and on the incentive awards.Payments come only after final approval and the resolution of any appeals. If the settlement is approved, class counsel will begin reviewing claim forms. The notice says the payment date cannot yet be determined, and none has been announced.
Sources and Verification
This page is based on the court-approved notice and claim form in the case, the online claim form and the deadline listing on class counsel’s settlement website, and a RIDEM enforcement record:- Liddle Sheets P.C. — Rhode Island Bioenergy settlement page (class counsel)
- Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement (Exhibit B)
- Settlement Claim Form (Exhibit C)
- RIDEM Office of Compliance and Inspection — Notice of Violation, Rhode Island Bioenergy Facility, LLC (File No. OCI-AIR-23-80)
Questions
How is the settlement fund divided among households?
By address, not by person. After court-approved fees, expenses and incentive awards are paid, the remaining fund is divided by the total number of addresses for which claims are submitted. The claim form lets a spouse or roommate be listed and sign on the same form as the main claimant, and an owner or renter of several homes in the Class Area files a separate claim form for each property.
Do neighbors who opt out still benefit from the odor-control work?
The notice states that, if the settlement is finally approved, all class members benefit from the roughly $150,000 in odor-control measures, including those who exclude themselves and those who never file a claim. Only class members who file a valid claim receive a cash payment.
Does the settlement release health-related claims?
The release covers claims arising from odor or other emissions from the facility through the settlement’s Effective Date. According to the notice, it does not release claims for medically diagnosed personal injuries, and it does not release claims based on emissions from the facility after the Effective Date.
Why does the online claim form ask about October 28, 2018?
The online claim form’s eligibility question asks whether the claimant owned, occupied or rented a residence in the Class Area from October 28, 2018, to the present. The court-approved notice and the printable claim form define the class as people who owned, rented or leased residential property in the area at any time since January 1, 2016. The settlement website does not explain the difference between the two dates.
How much will the lawyers be paid?
The Court decides. Class counsel, Liddle Sheets P.C. and Hamel, Waxler, Allen & Collins, will ask for attorneys’ fees of no more than one-third of the total settlement value plus litigation expenses, and for a $2,500 incentive award for each named plaintiff. Any amount the Court approves is paid from the $850,000 Settlement Fund before class members’ shares are calculated.
Official Settlement Notice
The court-approved notice below was printed with its deadline and hearing-date lines left blank; the deadlines on this page come from class counsel’s settlement website.
For more class actions keep scrolling below.
Settlement Amount
$850,000 fund plus about $150,000 in odor-control measures
Case Title
Sullivan et al. v. Rhode Island Bioenergy Facility, LLC
Case Number
C.A. No. PC-2024-04461
Court
Rhode Island Superior Court, Providence/Bristol County
Final Approval Hearing
November 4, 2026 at 10:30 a.m.
Frank J. Licht Judicial Complex, Providence · may be held by phone or virtually
Administrator
Liddle Sheets P.C. (Class Counsel)
Official Website
Rhode Island Bioenergy Settlement Page
