(Dow Jones Newswires circulated the following story by Bob Sechler on October 6, 2010.)
NEW YORK — A key ruling on class-action status could come by the end of the year in a closely watched lawsuit against the top U.S. freight railroads for allegedly colluding to inflate fuel surcharges by billions of dollars.
Two days of oral arguments on the bid for class-action status began Wednesday and are slated to continue Thursday before Judge Paul Friedman in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The top four U.S. freight railroads — Union Pacific Corp. (UNP), CSX Corp. (CSX), Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. — are defendants in the case. The railroads, which have been unsuccessful in efforts to get the case dismissed, have vehemently denied the allegations.
Attorneys for the railroads will present their arguments Thursday opposing class-action status for the lawsuit, in the wake of arguments Wednesday by Stephen Neuwirth, an attorney for the plaintiffs, in favor of it.
Seven small shippers have been named as plaintiffs in the suit. If the case is certified as a class action, however, any shipper during the period of the allegations — ranging from mid 2003 through 2008 — would be a member of the class and potentially eligible for damages.
Neuwirth’s firm, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, has been appointed one of two co-lead counsels for the shippers.