A federal jury cleared GATX Corp. from any financial responsibility in the $600 million class action settlement award for damages caused by the 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment in Ohio. GATX owned the railcar with a faulty bearing that was determined to be the cause of the train derailment, which resulted in chemical spills and fires; evacuations; and air, water, and soil contamination.
“GATX has maintained Norfolk Southern operated and inspected the train and all the cars and was responsible for delivering the cargo safely,” CNN reports.
“GATX is pleased with the trial outcome, which affirms what we have known for some time: Norfolk Southern alone is responsible for the derailment and resulting damage in East Palestine,” the company said in a statement.
“Norfolk Southern called the verdict disappointing but said it won’t affect the railroad’s commitments to everyone affected by the derailment.”
After the initial derailment, officials decided to detonate five railcars carrying the chemical vinyl chloride, manufactured by OxyVinyls, due to what some felt was an impending explosion. Blowing those railcars resulted in a massive black chemical smoke cloud that forced further evacuations.
“The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed in its investigation that the vent-and-burn operation was unnecessary because the tank cars were starting to cool off and the railroad failed to listen to the advice from OxyVinyls’ experts or share their opinions with the officials who made the decision,” according to AP News. “But during the trial, Norfolk Southern raised questions about conflicting information that OxyVinyls’ representatives on scene and at headquarters provided as officials were deciding whether to release and burn the vinyl chloride.
“Norfolk Southern has said all along that it believes OxyVinyls should help pay because the railroad says the chemical manufacturer provided inconsistent and inaccurate information about its vinyl chloride before officials decided to burn it.”
During the current trial, OxyVinyls and Norfolk Southern announced they’ve reached an agreement in sharing financial responsibility in the $600 million class action settlement but didn’t disclose details.
Norfolk has reportedly already spent more than $1 billion on environmental cleanup costs.
At a previous trial last year, Norfolk’s attempts to hold OxyVinyls and GATX financially responsible for the environmental cleanup costs were unsuccessful.
The current lawsuit is for individuals who were impacted by the derailment, many of whom remain concerned about long-term health consequences.
There are approximately 55,000 personal injury claims within the class action lawsuit.
“The lawyers haven’t provided any breakdown of how many of the roughly 55,000 claims they received are for injuries and how many are for property damage, nor have they said how much each person will receive. Only 370 households and 47 businesses opted out of the deal,” according to an AP News article dated October 8, 2024. “Residents who lived within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of the train crash that happened near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border in February 2023 were eligible to receive up to $25,000 apiece as long as they gave up the right to sue later if someone develops cancer or any other serious health condition.
“The property damage portion of the settlement provides larger payments of up to $70,000 per household for those living within two miles (3.2 kilometers) of the derailment, with payments decreasing the further away people lived, up to 20 miles (32 kilometers) out. About the only payment that is relatively certain is the $162 million in legal fees the judge approved as part of the settlement. That won’t change unless the deal is overturned on appeal.”
Making it right
In the immediate aftermath of the derailment and in subsequent congressional testimony, interviews, and community meetings, former Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw promised his company would “make things right.”
However, several community members believe Norfolk hasn’t followed through on that promise.
For example, according to nonprofit Spotlight PA, the East Palestine school district isn’t satisfied with Norfolk Southern’s efforts and filed a lawsuit against the railroad on April 30, 2025.
“Its lawsuit accuses the railroad of failing to reimburse the schools for using its buildings during the disaster and abandoning construction of the community wellness center,” the article says. “The derailment also caused more than 200 students to transfer — 25% of the district’s enrollment — which cost more than $1 million in lost state and federal funding last year alone. And property and income tax revenues have dropped, leaving future school finances uncertain.”
“To abruptly walk away, it says a lot about what a corporation can do to a community,” Superintendent James Rook noted in the article.
The wellness center, with a $30 million estimated price tag, was planned to offer student job training and health and wellness services. An architect and a construction firm were hired by Norfolk to design the center, but the project has since stalled.
With so many impacted people and various entities, both public and private, it’s not surprising that the town remains deeply divided about what constitutes making things right.
Norfolk has stated it remains committed to its promise.
“East Palestine and the railroad announced a $22 million settlement in January that included $13.5 million already paid to the town and formalized the railroad’s additional $25 million pledge to renovating the village’s park,” Spotlight PA adds. “Without offering explanations or details, the joint statement said both sides agreed the promised training center isn’t feasible.”
To date, Norfolk’s commitments include $115 million for communities and residents, which includes $1 million for the school district.
“But residents like Misti Allison say it doesn’t feel like ‘making it right’ when the railroad refuses to pay for cost overruns beyond its $25 million pledge to the park project,” Spotlight PA continues. “She said people are also mourning the loss of the training center for first responders, which would have brought jobs to town and helped firefighters throughout the region prepare to handle rail disasters.
“‘Now that Alan Shaw is gone and there is a new CEO in place, all the board cares about is getting those shares as high as possible and to be able to make it right for their shareholders,’ Allison said. ‘And if the East Palestine community is a casualty in that, then so be it. This is yet another example of putting profits over people.’”