Prestige, neighbors finalize settlement in class-action suit

A settlement between Prestige Feed Products and neighbors affected by odors from the former Mount Prospect animal feed plant was approved in a Cook County courtroom Tuesday.

It concluded more than a year of litigation between named plaintiffs Mary Beth Stillmaker and Sargon Merza of Des Plaines and Prestige Feed Products and Cereal Byproducts Co.

The defendants, Prestige Feed and Cereal Byproducts will pay up to $900,000 into a settlement fund, while the agreement states the animal feed company, which closed its plant at the end of 2025, does not admit fault. Attorney’s fees are capped at $300,000 of the total settlement. Plaintiffs may apply for a service award of up to $10,000.