The years-long Closed Loop Refining and Recovery legal dispute is nearing the end, at least for one state. When Closed Loop went under in 2016, the company left behind hundreds of millions of pounds of CRT material in warehouses. Warehouse owners Garrison Southfield Park and Olymbec USA then used dozens of CRT material suppliers, OEMs, and MRFs, claiming they were legally responsible for helping pay for the cleanup. As a result, defendants in 39 legal settlements have agreed to pay over $16 million to help fund the cleanup.
Years later, the case continues to wind down. The last warehouses have been cleaned and sold, and plaintiffs have dropped allegations against two defendants while settling with a third.
Until last month, only three defendants remained in the Columbus court, Robert A. Erie/ E-World Recyclers, Westinghouse Digital, and Moshe Silagi. The plaintiffs dropped the case against Eri when he served prison time after his business failed. There was “no reason to believe that defendants Eri or E-World have sufficient assets to warrant further pursuit of claims,” according to the landlords’ attorneys.
Appearing defunct, Westinghouse Digital could not be served with court papers, and the case against the company was dropped. The plaintiffs filed a motion on Dec. 2 to approve a settlement with the final defendant in the Columbus court, Silagi, who has agreed to help fund the cleanup. Once a judge approves, the settlement will officially end the Ohio Closed Loop case.
Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) like HOBI collect e-waste and ensure proper disposal. Failure to do so can result in environmental liabilities, which is why it is so important for CRT materials to be disposed of properly.
HOBI is an R2v3, RIOS, and ISO-14001 certified IT asset management and disposition enterprise with more than 30 years of industry experience. For more information about our ITAD services, call 817-814-2620 or contact HOBI at sales@hobi.com.