Settlement approved in lawsuit against Tulsa appraisal firm

Former residents of the old mining town of Picher, Oklahoma, have reached a settlement with a Tulsa-based appraisal firm they say intentionally undervalued their property for a federal buyout.

The Joplin Globe reports that a judge signed off on the $1.3 million settlement in the class-action lawsuit Thursday. The 161 plaintiffs could receive their share of the settlement before Christmas.

The former residents of Picher in Ottawa County had alleged that their properties were intentionally undervalued by the appraisal company, Cinnabar Service Co. The company conducted appraisals, along with Van Tuyl, for the Lead-Impacted Communities Relocation Assistance Trust, which oversaw the buyout of Picher with guidance from state environmental officials. Van Tuyl has since filed for bankruptcy.

The settlement provides $650,000 to the plaintiff’s lawyers and $650,000 to the plaintiffs. Each of the Cinnabar-appraised households could receive about $4,000, which is about $1,700 less than originally anticipated.

The town lies in the heart of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Tar Creek Superfund Site. Studies conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers prompted by years of zinc and lead mining determined that 86 percent of the properties in the town were undermined and were at a high risk of caving in. The results of the studies led to the buyout action, which completed in 2009.

Hundreds of buyout offers were made totaling nearly $45 million for property in the area. Properties were sold to the trust for an amount equal to the average cost of housing in other parts of Ottawa County.