The Compass Minerals lawsuit most investors are asking about is a securities class action that settled for $48 million in 2025, covering shareholders who bought CMP stock between October 31, 2017, and November 18, 2018. A separate SEC enforcement action produced a $12 million penalty that is being distributed to investors through a Fair Fund with claims open until July 12, 2026. A second class action over fire retardant disclosures settled for $4.9 million, and a shareholder derivative case ended with governance reforms rather than a cash payout.
The $48 Million Class Action Settlement
Two union benefit funds sued Compass Minerals in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas in late 2022, alleging the company and certain officers misled investors about costs and production at the Goderich salt mine in Ontario. The case is Local 295 IBT Employer Group Welfare Fund v. Compass Minerals International, Inc., No. 2:22-cv-02432-EFM-ADM, brought under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
The Retail Wholesale Department Store Union Local 338 Retirement Fund was appointed lead plaintiff, with Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP and Kirby McInerney LLP as co-lead counsel. Chief Judge Eric F. Melgren allowed the major claims to proceed past a motion to dismiss.
The class covers anyone who purchased Compass Minerals common stock between October 31, 2017, and November 18, 2018. The parties reached a $48 million cash settlement on March 27, 2025. Judge Melgren gave preliminary approval on April 7, 2025, and final approval on July 31, 2025.
From the fund, the court awarded more than $11.3 million in attorneys’ fees (about 24 percent of the recovery) and $368,527 in litigation expenses. Each lead plaintiff received a $10,000 service award. Verita Global is administering claims, with a claims deadline of August 5, 2025. Investors whose calculated share of the net settlement fund comes to less than $10 will not receive a payment.
The SEC $12 Million Penalty and Fair Fund
On September 23, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Compass Minerals had agreed to pay a $12 million civil penalty to settle charges that it violated antifraud, reporting, and internal controls provisions of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act. The order was filed as Administrative Proceeding No. 3-21145.
The SEC found that from 2017 to 2018 the company repeatedly misled investors about progress on the Goderich mine’s mechanization project, overstated the mine’s salt production capacity, and filed materially misstated financial results that did not comply with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The order also addressed a separate matter: a former Compass subsidiary near the Botafogo River in Pernambuco, Brazil, discharged excessive mercury into the river and, according to the SEC, submitted inaccurate test reports to Brazilian environmental authorities to cover it up. The agency said Compass’s disclosure controls were so deficient that senior management lacked enough information about the environmental liabilities to assess whether they had to be disclosed.
Compass settled without admitting the findings, agreed to stop further violations, and agreed to retain an independent compliance consultant.
The $12 million penalty was placed into a Fair Fund under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for investors who purchased Compass common stock between March 2, 2017, and October 23, 2018. The SEC approved a distribution plan on January 28, 2025, and approved an amended plan on March 13, 2026, after correcting an error in the allocation formula. Simpluris Inc. is the fund administrator. The claims filing deadline is July 12, 2026.
The two class periods overlap, so many affected investors are eligible to file in both the class action and the SEC Fair Fund. They are separate recoveries with separate claim forms and separate administrators.
The Second Class Action Over Fortress Fire Retardant
A different Compass Minerals class action, Valentine et al. v. Compass Minerals International, Inc. et al., No. 24-cv-02165, was filed in the same Kansas federal court and also assigned to Judge Melgren. The class period runs from February 8, 2023, through March 26, 2024. It involves a different set of allegations from the Goderich case.
The complaint alleged that Compass and several officers, including former CEO Kevin S. Crutchfield, CEO Edward C. Dowling Jr., CFO Lorin Crenshaw, Chief Supply Chain Officer Jenny Hood, and James Standen, made false or misleading statements about Fortress North America and its fire retardant products. Compass had invested tens of millions of dollars to acquire the business, which manufactured a proprietary magnesium chloride-based aerial fire retardant. Fortress products were added to the U.S. Forest Service’s Qualified Product List in December 2022, and the company won a contract to supply mobile air tanker bases during the 2023 wildfire season.
The relationship collapsed in March 2024 after U.S. Forest Service inspections found significant corrosion on aircraft that had used the Fortress retardant. On March 25, 2024, Compass announced that the Forest Service could not define terms for a new contract until the National Transportation Safety Board and the National Institute of Standards and Technology completed an independent safety assessment. Dowling acknowledged the magnesium chloride-based formula would not be used “for the foreseeable future.”
The parties settled for $4.9 million. Judge Melgren granted final approval on January 7, 2026, and the case has concluded.
Shareholder Derivative Settlement
Shareholders also filed derivative suits on behalf of Compass Minerals against current and former officers and directors. Two cases, Stein v. Crutchfield, No. 23-cv-2038-EFM-ADM, and Morelli v. Malecha, No. 24-cv-2495-EFM-ADM, were consolidated with Stein as the lead case.
The Stein complaint named 17 current or former officers and directors and alleged breaches of fiduciary duty tied to statements about the Goderich mechanization project, mine output, and internal controls between October 31, 2017, and October 21, 2022.
The court preliminarily approved a settlement on August 15, 2025. It does not include a cash fund for shareholders. Compass agreed to adopt specific corporate governance reforms to remain in place for at least eight years. The individual defendants’ insurers agreed to pay $1.4 million in attorneys’ fees and expenses to plaintiffs’ counsel, subject to court approval, and each derivative plaintiff may apply for a service award of up to $2,000. A settlement hearing was scheduled for October 14, 2025.
What the Underlying Conduct Was
The Goderich mine, on Lake Huron in Ontario, is one of the world’s largest underground salt mines. In late 2014 Compass approved a $70 to $80 million project to convert it to a “continuous mining and continuous haulage” system, projecting more than a 23 percent cut in unit costs and $27 to $30 million in annual savings once the mine hit 7.5 million tons per year.
Production fell far short. In 2016 the mine produced only about 1.4 million tons. By 2017 internal forecasts had been revised down to roughly $18 million in savings even at target production, but executives continued to tell investors the $30 million figure was on track. Shortfalls grew from about 800,000 tons below target in 2016 to 1.5 million in 2017 and 2.4 million in 2018. By 2018 actual production was under four million tons and unit costs had more than doubled compared with pre-project levels.
On October 23, 2018, Compass warned that lower Goderich production would cut third-quarter salt segment earnings by an estimated $15 million and slashed full-year guidance. The stock fell more than 32 percent over two days. A November 19, 2018, disclosure acknowledged “major ongoing issues” with the upgrade, and shares dropped again.
Leadership Change
Kevin Crutchfield departed as CEO on January 17, 2024. Compass entered into separation and consulting agreements under which he received severance and served as a consultant at $22,500 per month during the transition. The company’s proxy statement did not characterize the departure as either a resignation or a termination, and it did not link his exit to the litigation. Board chair Joe Reece said Compass was entering “its next chapter” with a focus on reducing costs and generating free cash flow. Edward C. Dowling Jr. became CEO on January 18, 2024.