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Norfolk Southern is facing a growing number of lawsuits linked to the catastrophic February 2023 train derailment and subsequent chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio. Among the plaintiffs are landlords, local businesses, and manufacturers who allege their operations and livelihoods were severely damaged by the environmental fallout.

Landlords, Businesses Sue Over Environmental Damage

In three new lawsuits filed Thursday in Ohio federal court, landlords Daniel Huff and Drew Huff, Birddoghill Kennel, and Unity Tube Inc. accuse Norfolk Southern of negligence that led to the derailment and chemical spill. The plaintiffs argue that the company ignored known safety hazards involving both the train and the East Palestine rail segment before the disaster occurred.

"The company's reckless actions have caused severe harm to our businesses, disrupting everything from tenant occupancy to customer trust," said Jon C. Conlin, counsel for the plaintiffs. His firm, Cory Watson Attorneys, has filed a total of nine lawsuits against Norfolk Southern, representing those who opted out of a $600 million class action settlement tied to the incident.

Contaminated Communities, Suffering Businesses

Norfolk Southern has already reached a $22 million settlement with East Palestine for the aftermath of the derailment and toxic spill. However, the new lawsuits spotlight the ripple effect on local businesses and property owners who claim their losses haven’t been adequately addressed.

Landlords Daniel and Drew Huff, whose properties saw a surge in vacancies, argue that many tenants fled due to the environmental contamination or faced job losses linked to the spill. Additionally, new tenants were deterred from moving into the area because of lingering concerns about health and safety risks.

"People couldn’t stay because of health issues, job uncertainty, and the fact that the environmental risk was just too great," the plaintiffs claimed in their suit.

Failures to Respond, Escalating Damage

The plaintiffs also accuse Norfolk Southern of slow and inadequate response in managing the chemical disaster. According to the suits, Norfolk Southern violated federal regulations by waiting two hours before alerting the federal government to the spill, and failed to warn first responders about the hazardous chemicals involved. The railway company’s decision to conduct a controlled burn in an effort to speed up cleanup only exacerbated the contamination, the plaintiffs argue.

Businesses like Unity Tube, Birddoghill Kennel, and McKim's Honeyvine LLC also claim they suffered severe setbacks due to the derailment. They allege lost customers, damaged reputations, and operational disruptions that have left them struggling to recover.

An Expanding Legal Battle

This latest wave of lawsuits is not Norfolk Southern’s first legal challenge tied to the derailment. In March 2023, a $150 million suit was filed by CeramFab against the railway company, with Conlin’s firm having previously filed another $500 million lawsuit related to the incident. Conlin emphasized that many plaintiffs chose to opt out of the class action settlement because their damages were too specific and severe to be fairly compensated within the settlement's framework.