AMITE — The tracks through town are long cleared, but some prickly snarls remain from the Oct. 12 freight train derailment that forced hundreds to evacuate their homes, the Hammond Daily Star reported.
There is local legal pique over attorneys from outside the area piling on for class-action suits and some criticism of the scope and handling of the evacuation.
Also, Amite Council members have called a special meeting for 2 p.m. Friday to discuss how Canadian National Railroad is handling the settlement process.
“The city doesn’t have any authority because the regulation of the railroad is preempted by the federal government and the state government,” said town attorney Chuck Reid. “My understanding of some of the concerns is that some council members don’t believe the railroad people are being fair to the citizens of Amite and others who were affected by the derailment. I think they want to publicly voice those issues and find out what, if anything, they can do.”
A claims center was set up at City Hall on Tuesday, and 202 claim settlement checks were written to individuals and families that day, according to Ian Thomson, railroad spokesman. The claims center will operate through Saturday and beyond if necessary.
“I think we are certainly trying to address everybody’s concerns as quickly as we can,” Thomson said this morning.
Claims adjusters were nearly overwhelmed Tuesday by the large crowd of waiting claimants, and more staff was brought in Wednesday to speed the process.
A related effort is going on next door to City Hall where a sign proclaims, “Amite Trail Derailment Interview Office.” That office has been leased by attorneys in class-action suits filed against the railroad. It is not the Edwards Law Firm office as reported, said Frank Edwards, though one of the firm’s attorney’s is part of that effort.
Joe Simpson, who lives near the wreck site and is lead attorney in the first class-action suit filed, said the office next to City Hall was set up to accommodate clients and the other attorneys in the suit who have been appointed by the district court as the steering committee. The sign on the office was not intended to mislead those going to City Hall to settle their claims.
All the lawsuits have been moved to federal court and it is not yet known if the appointment will stand, he said.
Meanwhile Simpson said he’s unhappy with the number of outside attorneys becoming involved.
“These class actions attract lawyers from a wide area,” Simpson said. “It’s really a disgrace to the legal profession.”
The suit he filed along with several other attorneys has signed up more than 1,200 clients thus far which has strained him and his office, he said.
His overall pique over the accident and the aftermath is not about money, he said, “This is my hometown. I’ve been practicing law here for 41 years.”
Though his home is located inside the area evacuated nobody told him to evacuate and he did not.
“I wasn’t going to let them tell me to leave my five cats and two dogs,” he said.
He is suing on his own behalf for the price of the three newspapers that could not be delivered to his home the following Sunday morning as usual.
“I slipped out at 4:30 that morning passed a sleeping policeman to buy the Morning Advocate, the Times Picayune and The Daily Star,” he said.
Katie Sims of the Velma area is questioning why the evacuation area did not extend to Velma, roughly two miles away. She said people there were affected.
At the time of the accident, officials declared a half mile evacuation area around the tracks where 22 cars had derailed and some hazardous material was spilled.
Thomson said the Louisiana State Police determined the evacuation area, not the railroad. Evacuation areas are usually determined larger than necessary to ensure safety.