Judge OKs $7 Million Settlement Over Toxic Train Spill

A federal judge in North Dakota has approved a $7 million class-action settlement agreement in connection with a 2002 train accident that released a toxic cloud of ammonia.

The Canadian Pacific Railway train derailed near Minot and exposed thousands of people to fumes from anhydrous ammonia, an agricultural fertilizer.

A week later residents Trina Mehl and Jason and Susan Olsen filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court on behalf and themselves and others affected by the derailment.

The plaintiffs said Canadian Pacific was responsible for personal injuries and property damage caused by the ammonia release.

The complaint alleged state law claims of negligence, private nuisance, public nuisance, trespass on land, strict liability, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence per se.

In May 2005 Judge Daniel Hovland of the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota certified a class of all people who were exposed to the ammonia cloud and who sustained property damages, property value diminution and personal injuries as a result of the derailment and hazardous chemical release.

He then granted Canadian Pacific's motion to dismiss the state law claims, finding they were preempted by the Federal Railroad Safety Act.

The plaintiffs appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, which had not decided whether to hear the case when settlement was announced.

According to the agreement, Canadian Pacific will pay the class $7 million, which includes all attorney fees and expenses and costs of administering the agreement.

Each class member will receive up to $4,000. However, the judge approved $25,000 each for Mehl and the Olsens, as the class representatives.

Notices of the settlement have been sent to 18,800 Minot residents, but the plaintiffs' attorneys expect only about 2,000 people to file claims for shares of the award, according to the Associated Press.

Judge Hovland also approved $2.3 million in fees for the plaintiffs' attorneys, representing 33 percent of the settlement fund, and $572,400 in costs.

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