Current:Home > ScamsAppeal delays $600 million class action settlement payments in fiery Ohio derailment-LoTradeCoin
Appeal delays $600 million class action settlement payments in fiery Ohio derailment
View Date:2024-12-23 18:31:27
Settlement checks related to Norfolk Southern’s disastrous 2023 derailment could be delayed up to two years now because an appeal of a federal judge’s decision last week to approve the $600 million deal has been filed, lawyers in the case said Monday.
Many residents of East Palestine, Ohio, expressed outrage online over the weekend about the appeal because it will delay the payments they had been counting on to help them recover from the toxic train crash that disrupted their lives when it spewed hazardous chemicals into their community. Some people had planned to use the money to relocate.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys had hoped to start sending out the first checks before the end of the year, but that won’t happen because the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals will first have to address concerns about whether the deal offers enough compensation and whether residents were given enough information to decide whether it is fair.
“We will do everything in our power to quickly resolve this appeal and prevent any further burdens on the residents and local businesses that want to move forward and rebuild their lives,” the plaintiffs’ attorneys said in a statement. “It is tragic that one person is substituting their judgment for the entire community who wants this settlement, and instead of opting out, they have gone this route.”
The lawyers estimated that the payments will be delayed at least six to 12 months while the appellate court considers the appeal that was filed Friday but they could be delayed even longer if the case is appealed up to the U.S. Supreme Court or sent back for additional proceedings in Judge Benita Pearson’s court.
The settlement offers payments of up to $70,000 per household for property damage and up to $25,000 per person for injuries to those who lived within two miles of the derailment. The payments would drop off significantly further out with only a few hundred dollars offered to people who live closer to the limit of 20 miles (32 kilometers) away.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether the appeal will increase the $162 million in legal fees and $18 million in expenses the judge awarded to the plaintiff’s attorneys last week.
Residents posting on the “East Palestine off the rails!” Facebook group accused the pastor who filed the appeal of being greedy because one of his objections to the deal is the frustration that any payments residents received from the railroad since the derailment to temporarily relocate or replace damaged belongings will be deducted from any settlement they receive. Some characterized that as a desire to be compensated twice for the derailment.
But the vocal few who objected to the deal have said they have deeper concerns. They have said they don’t know the full extent of the chemicals they were exposed to because the plaintiff’s lawyers have refused to disclose what their expert found when he tested in town and because the Environmental Protection Agency doesn’t disclose everything it knows about the extent of the lingering contamination.
The town of East Palestine remains deeply divided over the derailment with some residents eager to move forward and put the disaster behind them while others who are still dealing with unexplained health problems can’t see how to do that. The dispute over the appeal in the class action case only adds to the divisions.
veryGood! (4975)
Related
- Satire publication The Onion buys Alex Jones’ Infowars at auction with help from Sandy Hook families
- Jonathan Majors' accuser Grace Jabbari testifies in assault trial
- Atmospheric river brings heavy rain, flooding and warm winter temperatures to the Pacific Northwest
- 'Past Lives,' 'May December' lead nominations for Independent Spirit Awards
- Taylor Swift gifts 7-year-old '22' hat after promising to meet her when she was a baby
- Frontier Airlines settles lawsuit filed by pilots who claimed bias over pregnancy, breastfeeding
- What does the NCAA proposal to pay players mean for college athletics?
- Residents in northern Mexico protest over delays in cleaning up a mine spill
- As CFP rankings punish SEC teams, do we smell bias against this proud and mighty league?
- Tuberville is ending blockade of most military nominees, clearing way for hundreds to be approved
Ranking
- Suspect arrested after deadly Tuskegee University homecoming shooting
- Former DEA informant pleads guilty in 2021 assassination of Haiti’s president
- What Is Rizz? Breaking Down Oxford's Word of the Year—Partly Made Popular By Tom Holland
- Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree goes to No. 1 — after 65 years
- Nicky Hilton Shares Her Christmas Plans With Paris, the Secret To Perfect Skin & More Holiday Gift Picks
- Biden calls reports of Hamas raping Israeli hostages ‘appalling,’ says world can’t look away
- South Dakota Governor proposes tighter spending amid rising inflation
- Young and the Restless Actor Billy Miller’s Cause of Death Revealed
Recommendation
-
The NBA Cup is here. We ranked the best group stage games each night
-
NFL mock draft 2024: Patriots in position for QB Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels lands in Round 1
-
NCAA President Charlie Baker calls for new tier of Division I where schools can pay athletes
-
Inside Coco and Ice-T's Daughter Chanel's Extravagant Hello Kitty Birthday Party
-
Larry Hobbs, who guided AP’s coverage of Florida news for decades, has died at 83
-
In a rare action against Israel, US says extremist West Bank settlers will be barred from America
-
Amy Robach, T.J. Holmes debut podcast — and relationship: 'We love each other'
-
6 held in Belgium and the Netherlands on suspicion of links to Russia sanction violations