September 2005 Update

CP asks court to dismiss class action because of federal preemption.  A copy of CP's memo is attached.  We will respond by October 6.  We are confident that the judge will not dismiss the case. Trial of first derailment cases is still on for October 10 in Minneapolis. We have been working hard with Minneapolis attorneys preparing for this trial. The second wave of trials, which includes two of our clients, is set for February 2006 with more to follow every few months in Minneapolis. We hope the CP may get more serious about trying to settle all cases, now that trials are starting.

Click here to see CP's memo: CP Memorandum of Law

May 5, 2005 Update - CLASS CERTIFICATION HAS BEEN APPROVED

On May 5, 2005, Federal Chief Judge Daniel Hovland certified our case against Canadian Pacific Railway as a class action. The class has been defined as:

A class consisting of all persons who have not signed releases with the Defendants or who have signed releases within the "cooling-off period" as prescribed by Section 9-08-08 of the North Dakota Century Code and wish to void the releases, and who were exposed to the anhydrous ammonia cloud in and around the city of Minot, North Dakota, and who were adversely affected by the release of the hazardous chemical on January 18, 2002, and who have sustained property damages, property value diminution, personal injuries, and economic or non-economic damages as a result of the derailment and hazardous chemical release.

All class members will receive notice within the next couple months with instructions explaining how the class will proceed. We are very happy with this decision and look forward to helping everyone that was injured in Minot. 

To read Chief Jude Daniel Hovland's decision click on the following link: Minot Class Certification.pdf

To read the memorandum we have filed asking the court to allow us to seek punitive damages click on the following link: Memorandum Supporting Punitives.pdf

In the meantime, we continue to evaluate each retained client's file. Also, our firm has filed additional individual lawsuits in Minnesota. Trials for select cases in Minnesota will commence in October of this year.

NOVEMBER 2005 UPDATE

The "first wave" of cases settled in Minneapolis. These were cases that were settled "on the doorsteps of the courthouse". The settlements were confidential but we assume that they were fair. There is more good news, just before the trial CP had admitted liability (i.e. they admitted that they were negligent in causing the derailment), so  damages were the only issue that were going to go to trial. We are finally seeing that the railroad is admitting that the derailment was their fault.

The "second wave" of cases are set for trial in Minneapolis, starting Jan. 15. The railroad has again admitted liability on this  "wave" of cases, which, again, is very positive for everyone that was in Minot on that horrible night.  After this "wave", we expect a number of other "waves" to go to trial in Minneapolis during 2006. 

As far as the class action, we are waiting for the North Dakota's Chief Judge to rule on some very important issues. Among these issues are: (1) CP's Motion to dismiss the entire case on federal preemption grounds (An issue that the Minneapolis judge denied), (2) Our motion for punitive damages, which, under the law, can be allowed to punish the railroad for its wrongdoing (An issue that was denied in the Minneapolis cases), and (3) Our motion to give notice to all class members about their rights (which the railroad has strongly opposed).  As soon as the judge rules on these issues, we expect the class action to move forward. Perhaps we may have trials starting in the class action as early as April or May of 2006

As always, we continue to evaluate each and every individual case on a daily basis so that when the Canadian Pacific is ready to actually discuss each individual case we are ready to tell them exactly every issue in each case. If you have any questions please contact Darcie at our office. We wish this these issues could all be solved quickly, but unfortunately this is a process that is very slow, as you all know. We appreciate your patience and will try to continually  update all of you on the status of each of your cases.

Click here for: 2006 Updates

MORE INFORMATION:

The NTSB synopsis report:  http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2004/RAR0401.htm

The Fargo Forum's continued coverage of the tragic derailment in Minot: http://www.in-forum.com/specials/minot/index5.cfm

CONTACT US:

If you have any questions concerning this case please feel free to contact Darcie Wahl at 701-237-3166 or toll-free 877-237-3166 or her by e-mail at: dwahl@solberglaw.com

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