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River Valley Organizing (RVO) in collaboration with lawyers from Community Legal Aid, Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services, Case Western Reserve University Environmental and Health Law Clinics, and the Ohio Environmental Council (OEC) held a legal clinic in East Palestine on Saturday to help residents navigate through the turbulent waters created in the wake of February's Norfolk Southern train derailment.
"We're here to advocate and educate," said RVO's Timothea Deeter, who is also a East Palestine resident. "This has been very trying on the community here and a lot of people just don't know where to start. It can be overwhelming and we just want to provide answers to legal questions and point residents in the right direction."
Since the derailment, some residents have been leery of legal talks as law firms descended on East Palestine and bombarded social media with posts pitching their services. The onslaught began just the hours after the derailment. With lengthy litigation likely and big payouts a possibility, intentions have become blurred.
"That was a concern for residents," Detter said. "Residents didn't know who was trustworthy. There were some scams around town trying to exploit the derailment and what the community has been through."
Fair Shake's Executive Director Michael Parker said the clinic's intentions are clear -- to walk residents through the legal options and legal rights.
"We are not here to solicit clients," he said. "We are here to educate and inform the public. We are here to help clarify the process, answer questions and all that kind of stuff."
Parker added that the clinic plans to be a reoccurring service in East Palestine with another to be held in August or September.
"We want to keep doing this every couple of months because the situation is going to change all the time and people will have different questions," he said. "We want to be here to answer those questions."
Aside from predatory law firms, Deeter said residents also worry about the stigma of speaking out and exercising legal options.
"Since the derailment, NFS spent a lot of time, money and resources into attempting to get the populous on their side and I think that has definitely affected the way people are looking at things and a lot of people are scared to speak out because they are scored of being looked at as a rabble rouser," she said. " They are scared of being looked at as a trouble maker and you have to remember that these are normal people who have to keep a job, and pay their mortgage even if they are getting sick and people are apprehensive. And others just don't have the time to get into all of this."
Deeter's fellow organizer at RVO, Katie Roberts, said that is not just lack of time but lack of time coupled with what is unfamilar territory when it comes to legal conversations.
"Some people don't have time but some people don't want to dive into something that can be so intimidating and that's why I think this clinic is such a good thing," Roberts said "It gives people the opportunity to learn about class action lawsuits, other legal terms and their legal options. We are here to teach them. It makes it less intimidating for people to ask for help and to get help."
Ultimately, Deeter said it's up to each resident to decide what the best option is for them. The legal clinic is just there to help the community better understand what those options are.
"We are here to provide resources and let people make the decision for themselves," she said.
selverd@mojonews.com