(The following story by Richard Burgess appeared on The Advocate website on April 28, 2009.)
LAFAYETTE, La. — Lawsuits against BNSF Railway in a May 17 train derailment that forced an evacuation will not move forward as a class action, a federal judge ruled Monday.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Richard Haik means any legal claims against the company must be tried as individual lawsuits rather than one large case.
Haik had not filed reasons for his ruling as of Monday afternoon, but decisions on class-action certification generally hinge on the number of people involved and whether the legal questions for each individual are similar enough to be handled together.
Thousands of residents were forced to evacuate their homes after a rail car carrying hydrochloric acid derailed and overturned on tracks near the Ambassador Caffery Parkway overpass. No major injuries were reported.
Lawsuits over the spill quickly piled up, with at least eight filed within days of the incident by law firms in Lafayette, Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
BNSF set up a claims center at the Cajundome within a week after the incident and continues to make payments.
The railroad company has already settled about 3,500 claims made by residents and business owners, with most below $300, said BNSF attorney Jack McElligott. He estimated that no more than 800 claims are outstanding.
Haik’s ruling on Monday means that any person who wishes to pursue litigation and has not already filed a lawsuit in the incident must do so before time limits run. But attorneys on both sides of the case were not certain whether the lawsuits would be subject to the normal yearlong time limit to file suit, which would expire on May 17, or whether that limit would be extended because of the class-action ruling.
In class-action cases, individuals who fit the definition of the affected class are automatically entitled to a share of any settlement without having to pursue litigation on their own.
Clay Burgess, one of the attorneys who sought class certification, said the ruling on Monday will make the litigation “a little more burdensome and a little more difficult.”
He said the hearing on Monday offered a bright spot for plaintiffs when BNSF attorneys admitted the railway company is liable for the derailment.
“Now, we can just get to the issue of how much each person is owed,” Burgess said.
McElligott said BNSF has admitted liability in the derailment but disputes legal claims for damages from residents and businesses arising out of the accident. “We deny we are responsible for any damages to anyone,” he said.