Judge Benita Y. Pearson of the Northern District of Ohio, an Obama appointee, approved a $600 million class-action settlement on Wednesday, requiring Norfolk Southern to pay residents within East Palestine, Ohio, and a 20-mile radius around the town following last year's toxic train derailment disaster that essentially nuked the small town with thick, black plumes of dangerous chemicals.
The deal that Judge Pearson signed off on was approved on Wednesday. It covers the February 3, 2023 derailment in the small blue-collar town of about 5,000 people. The settlement was first announced in April.
During yesterday's hearing in Youngstown, the judge called the settlement proposal "fair, reasonable, and adequate," yet she also authorized $162 million in attorney fees.
The lawsuits stem from the February 2023 derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train in East Palestine that led to a controlled burn of tanker cars holding thousands of gallons of vinyl chloride. The burn created toxic plumes of phosgene gas, a chemical weapon used on World War I battlefields.
Despite continuing concerns about long-term health issues among town residents, health officials, including EPA officials, have assured residents that air and drinking water testing shows everything is safe. Many dispute otherwise.
AP News spoke with resident Jami Wallace, who explained, "These attorneys were bullying people and telling them they were never going to get any money if they didn't take this. People felt backed into a corner."
Residents aren't wrong...
. @stevemellon412: Some East Palestine residents "claim the settlement was more about fat paychecks for lawyers and less about ... a working-class community [getting] fair compensation for a human-made disaster with human damage that’s still in dispute." https://t.co/UEvKaot7Rv
— Pittsburgh Union Progress 📰 (@ThePUPNews) September 26, 2024
The payout includes $70,000 per household for property damage plus up to $25,000 per person for health problems within 2 miles of the derailment area. Payments for residents fall as distances from the incident area increase.
"This outcome would not have been possible without the resilience and support of the East Palestine community and the broader class of impacted residents and business owners," the lawyers handling the class action lawsuit said in a statement.
They said, "We look forward to beginning the distribution of funds in the coming weeks to help this community rebuild and move forward."
The class action is represented by Zoll & Kranz LLC, Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine PC, Grant & Eisenhofer PA, Simmons Hanly Conroy LLP, and Morgan & Morgan PA, among others, according to Bloomberg, adding, Norfolk Southern is represented by Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP and Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote PC.
Even though no one was killed or injured during the derailment, long-term health issues are expected to persist for some residents exposed to the harmful chemicals. Many residents are still outraged by the laggard response by the Biden-Harris team, which only ignited a political firestorm.
"It seems like everybody kind of just wanted it to be over with. Like the attorneys and obviously Norfolk," said resident Tamara Lynn Freeze.
