AMITE, La. — Lawyers and lawsuits are stacking up against Canadian National Railway over Saturday’s freight train derailment that dumped 22 railcars and hazardous material near downtown Amite and forced hundreds to evacuate their homes, the Hammond Daily Star reported.
Four class-action lawsuits petitioned by 15 attorneys have so far been filed in the Tangipahoa Parish Clerk of Court’s Office. Two of them were filed on Monday when the office was closed for a federal holiday.
“We called them, and they opened up,” said attorney Joe Simpson, one of the evacuees and first in line to file suit.
All the cases were moved to federal court in New Orleans this morning at the request of CNR, Simpson said.
Meanwhile the Louisiana State Bar Association has issued a press release advising victims and attorneys about the Rules of Professional Conduct. The group is monitoring the situation in Amite.
“After an incident such as this, those affected and their families can be emotional and confused, often making it difficult to make informed decisions,” said Larry Feldman Jr., president of the association’s Disaster Response Team. “Residents in the area of the derailment are vulnerable, and we are trying to ensure that no one takes advantage of their distress.”
The rules prohibit attorneys from initiating written communications with prospective clients within 30 days of an accident or disaster. Solicitation through personal visits or calls by an attorney or anyone acting on their behalf with no prior association to prospective clients is a violation of the rules, according to the Bar Association. Prospective clients may not be harassed, coerced or be subjected to undue influence. Solicitations by mail may not resemble contracts or legal documents.
“All our clients came in the front door and are known to me. We’ve got 50 or 60 and more coming in,” Simpson said this morning. “We don’t solicit business in our firm.”
Simpson, a well-known political activist, and attorneys Rick Caballero, state Rep. Robby Carter, Blayne Honeycutt, Eric Pittman, Gordon Matheny, John Edwards and Sherman Mack filed a class-action suit.
Judge Zoey Waguespack in 21st Judicial District Court signed an order Tuesday appointing those attorneys plus Wayne Stewart, Richard McShan, Hugh Sibley, Greg Murphy and Calvin Fayard to a Plaintiff’s Steering Committee in order to streamline the litigation. The action may be moot now because the cases will be heard in federal court.
Fayard, Edwards and Pittman filed a second class-action suit Monday by on behalf of derailment victims.
On Tuesday, attorney Frank Dudenhefer Jr. of New Orleans and Frederick Stolzle Jr. of Baton Rouge filed separate class-action suits.
All the suits ask for damage awards, although not the precise amounts.
Any complaints about attorney conduct may be filed with the state Bar Association’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel at 4000 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd., Suite 607, Baton Rouge 70816. The phone number is (800) 326-8022.