(The Center Square) – The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear a challenge of the $600 million settlement with Norfolk Southern Railroad and victims of toxic train derailment in East Palestine more than three years ago.
The high court let stand the ruling by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in November, rejecting a challenge of the settlement.
The train was carrying hazardous chemicals when it derailed in February 2023.
“Unfortunately, the clean-up efforts vented toxic chemicals across the
surrounding area,” according to a synopsis of the case in the Sixth Circuit ruling last year. “So affected residents and businesses sued the railroad, railcar owners, and
other parties in federal court.”
The cases were consolidated into a single master class action case.
“After months of exhaustive discovery, motions, and mediation, the railroad agreed to pay $600 million to the class,” according to the appeals court synopsis. “The district court approved this settlement in September 2024.”
Five members of the master class appealed the settlement.
Last January, a federal district judge required the members who appealed to post an $850,000 appeal to cover the administrative costs caused by delaying payments to the plaintiffs who had not challenged the settlement.
Attorneys for the class members who challenged the settlement filed a motion with the Sixth Circuit asking for the appeal bond to be eliminated or reduced but did not request the appeals court to issue a stay of the district court ruling.
“Even if the objectors had sought a stay of the appeal bond, they still wouldn’t have prevailed.” the appeals court later said.
The attorneys for the settlement challenges later asked the district court for more time to appeal the bond order but missed the deadline for the request by one day, according to the appeals court synopsis.
“It doesn’t matter whether the motion to extend was one day, one hour, or one minute late,” the appeals court ruled. “When the 30 days ended, the district court lost jurisdiction over the objectors’ motion to extend their time to appeal the bond order.”
The challenges appealed the appeals court ruling to the Supreme Court, which this week declined to hear the case.
The appeal, however, delayed some payments to plaintiffs in the lawsuit, according to a website by a third party administrator of claims in the case. The website has not been updated to reflect this week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision not to consider the case.
