The court has granted final approval to the parties' $55 million settlement in a class action against sealant manufacturer Behr Process Corporation on behalf of all residents of 19 western Washington state counties who purchased and applied any of four exterior wood sealants to their property there, at any time between May 28, 1992, and March 17, 2003, and who experienced mildew growth upon those surfaces after May 28, 1994. The action alleged that the products, which were advertised for use on exterior wood surfaces, caused extensive mildew damage to the surfaces on which they were applied, causing the company to be in violation of Washington Consumer Protection Act. Claims forms must be received by January 17, 2004, to be considered valid.

The settlement applies to all persons who purchased and applied any of the following Behr products in one of the counties listed below: Behr Super Liquid Raw-Hide No. 12, Behr Super Liquid Raw-Hide No. 13, Behr Natural Seal Plus No. 80 or Behr Natural Seal Plus No. 92. Persons covered by the settlement include those who signed a release with Behr after May 28, 1998, in exchange for a cash payment or replacement product, and wish to reopen their claims by filing a claim in this settlement. As to those persons, Behr is entitled to a setoff of any sums previously paid.

Only persons who applied the sealant to their property in Clallam, Clark, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Island, King, Kitsap, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Pierce, San Juan, Skagit, Skamania, Snohomish, Thurston, Wahkiakum, and Whatcom counties may take advantage of this settlement. If you live elsewhere, you may be eligible to take part in a class action settlement that covers the rest of the United States.

You can establish that you purchased and applied the specified Behr product by filing a verified proof of claim form. This form requires you to (1) provide sales receipts, invoices or bills for your purchase of one of the four Behr products, (2) to have partially used cans of the product, (3) to provide verified proof from yourself and a non-related witness that you purchased and applied the Behr product to your exterior wood surface, or (4) to provide a small sample of your wood surface, to which you believe the Behr Product is applied. This sample will then be tested to verify that the Behr Product was applied. You may be required to provide additional information, which will allow the claims administrator to evaluate your claim.

You can establish that your property was damaged by the Behr product by providing color photographs of the exterior wood surfaces to which the Behr product was applied, and which experienced mildew growth. If you have remediated the exterior wood surfaces affected by mildew, you can prove damage by providing a verified affidavit that your property to which the Behr product was applied suffered from mildew growth. Your verified affidavit must be accompanied by a third-party affidavit by an unrelated witness verifying that you remediated the wood surfaces to which the Behr product was applied.

The level of compensation that you will receive is determined by reference to a set of tables that allow calculation of the amount. These tables are attached to the notice that is available on the settlement website. The compensation formula is be based upon the product that was applied, the square footage of the wood surfaces, the kind of wood, whether the wood surface is on a first or second floor, and other factors that are contained in the damage matrices. The compensation formula includes $3,000 per claimant for landscaping, safety and environmental allowances, and interest at the rate of 1% per month from May 23, 2000. After the first 90 days of the claims period starting April 17, 2003, upon the recommendation by the claims administrator, the court may authorize a partial payment not to exceed 50% of each claim submitted and deemed eligible. If approved by the court, the payment will be made within 10 business days of the date of approval. All other payments of eligible claims will be made after January 17, 2004. If the processing and payment of eligible claims exceeds the settlement amount, then payments to eligible claimants will be reduced pro rata so that the settlement amount is not exceeded.

If you have experienced damage on more than one piece of property due to use of one of the sealants, you may make a claim for each property.