Norfolk Southern Settlement Approved

Skadden client Norfolk Southern Railway Company won final court approval of a class action settlement of personal injury claims resulting from exposure to chlorine released following a Jan. 6, 2005 train collision and derailment in Graniteville, South Carolina, that resulted in nine deaths and caused the evacuation of 5,400 people from the area for up to 13 days. This class action settlement was approved at a fairness hearing held on June 25 before Judge Margaret Seymour of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. Notably, members of the class did not file any objections to the proposed settlement, and the claims are now being processed.