Credit: NTSB
The Bucks County Employees Retirement System claims they were negatively impacted after a 150-car Norfolk Southern cargo train derailed last month in East Palestine, Ohio.
The Bucks County Retirement Board, which administers retirement benefits for close to 1,700 retired county employees, voted this month to file a federal class-action lawsuit against Norfolk Southern for securities fraud.
“The Retirement System’s suit alleges Norfolk Southern made false and misleading statements that concealed safety risks and misrepresented the value of the company, which artificially inflated the company’s stock price. The Retirement System lost about $78,000 as a result,” the county said in a statement.
The statement added: “It was only after a Norfolk Southern train derailed Feb. 3 in East Palestine, Ohio, near the Pennsylvania border that the company’s unsound safety practices were revealed to the public and investors. The company’s stock price tumbled as a result, causing financial harm to investors like the County Retirement Fund.”
The Bucks County Retirement Board voted unanimously during its March meeting to make their claim, which is filed in federal court in Ohio. The board is made up of the three county commissioners, the controller, and the treasurer. The make up is three Democrats and two Republicans.
“It is of paramount importance to the Bucks County Retirement Board that we safeguard the fund that supports the retirees who dutifully served the County of Bucks during their working years,” said Commissioner Chair Bob Harvie, the chairperson of the board. “Corporations that harm the fund – and by extension our retired employees – through fraud or deceit should be held accountable for those actions.”
The county is represented in their lawsuit by the firm of Robins, Gellar, Rudman, and Dowd.
Bucks County Solicitor Joe Khan said: “As we’ve done in lawsuits against major opioid manufacturers, PFAS polluters, and most recently, social media giants, this administration stands united in seeking accountability from corporations who have caused real harm to Bucks Countians. Our case against Norfolk Southern is no different. According to the complaint, their actions in the East Palestine, Ohio derailment, and subsequent ecological disaster that unfolded, caused their stock value to plummet and our Retirement Fund to take a hit through no fault of our investors or retirees. Our lawsuit demands that Norfolk Southern answer for this loss.”
Preliminary findings from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found the derailment was linked to an overheated wheel bearing that was 253 degrees hotter than the air temperature on the train that derailed in East Palestine, near the Pennsylvania state border, on February 3.
“I can tell you this much: This was 100% preventable,” NTSB Chairperson Jennifer Homendy told NBC News. “We call things accidents. There is no accident. Every single event that we investigate is preventable.
