(The following story by Jason Riley appeared on the Louisville Courier-Journal website on October 4.)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal class-action lawsuit over a fiery train derailment in Bullitt County in January 2007 has been settled for $3 million, with about 17,000 people eligible for claims.
Nobody in the lawsuit can receive more than $10,000.
The lawsuit, filed shortly after the Jan. 16, 2007, crash off Huber Station Road, claimed that CSX Transportation was responsible for the derailment and that the railroad did not warn residents of possible danger quickly enough afterward as “a combustion plume spread throughout neighboring communities resulting in chaos, fear (and) evacuation.”
During the incident, about 500 residents were evacuated, some people were taken to hospitals, and thick, black smoke spread for miles.
The train was carrying chemicals considered hazardous, and some residents went to the hospital complaining of breathing problems. General Electric later was added as a defendant after CSX claimed that a defect in a derailed railcar GE owned caused the accident.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Russell tentatively approved the settlement Aug. 28, according to a Web site authorized by the court that details the settlement. The National Transportation Safety Board has not released its final report on the accident’s cause. CSX and GE deny any wrongdoing in the settlement.
John Spainhour, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said he could not comment because the judge in the case directed lawyers not to speak to the media unless all the involved parties agreed to talk.
Part of the settlement includes an order to not issue a press release unless all parties agreed on the language.
Edward Stopher, an attorney for CSX, referred a reporter to a CSX spokesman. The spokesman, Garrick Francis, declined to comment. An attorney for GE did not return a telephone call.
The lawsuit, which claimed that the derailment led to physical injury, emotional trauma, inconvenience and property damage, said “the matter in controversy exceeds the sum of” $5 million.
Those who may have claims in the lawsuit — people who lived, worked or had property within 31⁄2 miles of the derailment site — are being notified.
The closer people lived to the site, the more money is available to them, according to the settlement. The most any plaintiff can receive is $10,000, and those victims must make claims as to why they deserve higher compensation.
CSX already has paid about $1.7 million in hotel bills for evacuees, cleanup of homes and cash payments to victims immediately after the crash.
Those who have received some money from CSX will have that deducted from their settlement amounts, according to court records.
People who lived within 1,500 feet of the crash are not eligible for the class action, according to the agreement. The settlement does not say why those individuals are excluded; however, some have filed individual lawsuits.
People have until Nov. 28 to file claims. They have until Oct. 18 to opt out of the settlement — in case they want to file their own lawsuits — or object to the agreement in writing to the court.
The lawsuit included residents who were forced to evacuate their homes as well as people who were ordered to stay in their homes.
The named plaintiffs in the lawsuit, such as Barbara Neuschwander, will get an additional sum for representing the class.
Neuschwander, who claimed she and a minor child were exposed to chemicals released by the derailed cars, would not comment because the settlement is not final.
Russell will hold a hearing Dec. 15 in Louisville to hear any objections to the settlement and decide if it is fair and adequate and should be approved. He also will decide how much of the settlement will go toward attorney fees.
Some individual lawsuits against CSX are still pending.