Charlotte Motor Speedway Landfill Odor $675,000 Settlement

Environmental · Claims Open

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.

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.