(The Associated Press circulated the following article on December 21.)
MINOT, N.D. — North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem is supporting a U.S. Supreme Court appeal by Minot residents who are suing the Canadian Pacific Railway in connection with a January 2002 anhydrous ammonia spill.
The accident ruptured several tanker cars that carried the chemical, sending a toxic cloud over the city. One man died and hundreds were injured.
Last May, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that lawsuits filed against the Canadian Pacific in Minnesota state court should be handled in federal court. The railroad subsequently filed a motion to dismiss the suits, which is pending.
Stenehjem said Wednesday that if the litigation remains in federal court, many Minot residents who were injured in the derailment may never be compensated.
“These folks, after five years, may wind up in federal court, only to be told … that federal law doesn’t allow them to recover anything,” the attorney general said.
Nineteen other states, including Minnesota, Wisconsin and South Dakota, signed a friend-of-the-court brief filed by Stenehjem that backs the Minot residents’ cause.
The Minot plaintiffs asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 16 to reverse the federal appeals court ruling. A decision is pending.
Other states that signed the North Dakota brief are California, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.