EAST PALESTINE — Norfolk Southern wants GATX (the owner of the tank car that failed and led to the 2023 train derailment) and OxyVinyls (the owner of the chemicals that were vented and burned days following the it ) to reimburse the railroad for money spent to settle the class action lawsuit, court documents filed in Youngstown’s federal court say.

Norfolk Southern seeks a “contribution action” to compel GATX and OxyVinyls to “reimburse Norfolk Southern for their proportionate share” of the $600 million settlement reached last April between the railroad and residents impacted by the rail disaster according to the “Statement of Facts” filed by Norfolk Southern on Friday.

“Norfolk Southern reached a settlement agreement with the class members. As part of that settlement, the class members agreed to release certain of their claims against Norfolk Southern, GATX, and OxyVinyls,” court documents state. “In other words, Norfolk Southern’s settlement with the class members ended the class action lawsuit against Norfolk Southern, GATX, and OxyVinyls. GATX and OxyVinyls were not parties to the settlement and did not contribute any money to it.”

Norfolk Southern is arguing that both GATX and OxyVinyls share responsibility in the events of February 2023. Those vents were put into motion when a wheel bearing overheated on the 23rd car, leading to failure of the component. When the bearing failed, that car and 37 others derailed. Those included damaged tank cars carrying OxyVinyl’s vinyl chloride headed to New Jersey. Three days after the derailment, the five tankers of vinyl chloride were deemed “unstable” and at risk of exploding. The contents of all five — over 1 million pounds — were then released and burned off over the village. The necessity of that vent-and-burn has since been questioned with the National Transportation Safety Board finding the chemical reaction needed to rupture the tanks was not occurring.

Norfolk Southern claims that GATX was negligent because it “failed to maintain and inspect Car 23” after it was damaged by Hurricane Harvey that hit Texas in 2017.

“This failure led the front right wheel’s roller bearing on that car to fail and cause the derailment in East Palestine,” the document states.

As for OxyVinyl’s role in the disaster, the railroad charges the Texas-based company failed “to provide accurate emergency response information about vinyl chloride monomer in its federally required Safety Data Sheet.” Norfolk Southern said the decision to perform the vent-and-burn was made based on the information in that date sheet.

“After the derailment and vent and burn, individuals and businesses in East Palestine and the surrounding communities filed a class action lawsuit against Norfolk Southern. The individual and business plaintiffs alleged that the derailment and vent-and-burn caused them harm,” the court documents state. Norfolk Southern alleges GATX and OxyVinyl “were each partially responsible for the harm to the class members” but Norfolk Southern was the only company who paid.

GATX denies that it failed to maintaining or inspecting Car 23 and denies it was damaged in the hurricane. Instead, GATX contends that “Norfolk Southern’s cost cutting measures” and failure to adequately inspect and properly monitor the train alone caused the derailment.

OxyVinyls insists that the Safety Data Sheet provided to Norfolk Southern “complied with federal law and industry guidance and that it matched Norfolk Southern’s own emergency safety guidance for [vinyl chloride].” OxyVinyls also claims that Norfolk Southern did not “substantially rely on OxyVinyls’ Safety Data Sheet” when making the decision that a previous contract with NorfolK Southern waived the railroad’s “right to recover the type of damages that it is seeking from OxyVinyls in this case.”

Other documents filed on Friday, asked for an extension for residents appealing the final approval of settlement. That motion was filed by David Graham — the attorney representing Rev. Joseph Sheely, Zsuzsa Troyan, Tamara Freeze, Sharon Lynch and Carly Tunno. That motion “respectfully requests” that Judge Benita Pearson extend the time for appeal of her Jan. 16 ruling that orders the appellants to post a $850,000 bond. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a motion by Graham to stay Pearson’s bond order. Graham admitted he mistakenly filed a request to reduce or eliminate the bond as a ‘stay,’ leaving the court no choice but to deny it on the grounds of a lack of jurisdiction. Graham wants seven days to file a separate appeal against the bond order.

selverd@mojonews.com