Appeal delays $600 million class action settlement payments in fiery Norfolk Southern derailment

The federal government agreed to a modest $15 million fine for Atlanta-based Norfolk Southern over last year's disastrous derailment in Ohio.
Portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed the night before burn in East Palestine, Ohio, Feb. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

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.