Mark Bryant of The Bryant Law Center in Paducah, Ky., in association with Fayard and Honeycutt of New Orleans, La., Edward J. Kionka, of Carbondale, Ill., and JoDee Favre of Belleville, Ill., fought a six year legal battle with the Canadian National Railroad and one of its vendors before reaching a confidential settlement earlier this year on behalf of 475 clients in Tamaroa, Illinois who were displaced by a 2003 derailment and fire.

Twenty-two cars of an Illinois Central freight train derailed in Tamaroa Feb. 9, 2003. Some caught fire and spewed toxic chemicals into the air. The entire town of about 750 people was forced to evacuate, some of them had to leave twice. Businesses and schools had to close. Yards and streets were tainted by chemicals released in the derailment. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that a chemical welding process on a rail caused stress fractures which led to the derailment. Evidence uncovered in the litigation showed employees of Canadian National (which purchased Illinois Central) were previously aware of the rail cracking problems yet continued to make the problematic welds.

Hundreds of Tamaroa residents rejected nominal payment offers from the railroad and refused to sign releases and sought assistance from the Bryant Law Center.

The case was appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court twice, which rejected class action status. The plaintiffs’ team then embarked on the massive task of preparing to go to trial on hundreds of individual cases. Weeks before the first trials were to commence in Perry Circuit Court in Pinckneyville, Illinois, Canadian National agreed to a confidential settlement during mediation.