Minot, North Dakota Canadian Pacific Derailment Laywers Previous Updates

Rumors about “scores” of Minot cases being settled by the Canadian Pacific Railroad are grossly exaggerated. A few cases have settled in the past few weeks, but the huge majority of cases have not settled. We are working closely with all the other attorneys who have Minot cases and all of us are very frustrated with the fact that Canadian Pacific will not offer reasonable compensation to our clients. It is our intention to continue to talk to CP with the hope that eventually the railroad will offer reasonable compensation settlements. Until that happens, the battle continues on the litigation front. We are hopeful that by late winter the 8^th Circuit Court of Appeals will allow us to again proceed with jury trials.

As many of you have seen in the newspaper the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the derailment cases are a federal issue. (See Article Below) Please be assured that this is NOT a final ruling on these cases. There are many appeals and other options that we have. We do not believe that the legislature ever intended to bar the residents of Minot from being compensated for the injuries that resulted from the negligence of the railroad. This has been a very long battle with the railroad, but IT IS NOT OVER YET. Unfortunately this does mean that Canadian Pacific has successfully stalled these cases even longer. These are some very complex legal concepts that are being litigated and things are changing at a VERY FAST pace. Please be patient as we continue to battle the railroad on your behalf. We are working very hard to get you the compensation you deserve.

MARCH 6, 2006 Update - NORTH DAKOTA CLASS ACTION

On Monday, Bismarck Federal Judge Daniel Hovland dismissed the North Dakota class action against the CP railroad holding that the so-called Federal Railroad Safety Act prohibits “innocent bystanders and property owners who may be injured by the negligent actions of railroads” from making any recovery for those injuries.

This comes only two weeks after a jury in Minneapolis awarded two of our clients $1.2 million to compensate them for their injuries from the anhydrous ammonia exposure.

Judge Hovland’s dismissal is certainly not the end of the war. We are considering an appeal, also we previously also filed a class action in Minnesota state court and anticipate the action will now shift to Minnesota. We want to assure everyone that we continue to pursue you claims!

With that said, we do wish to state our extreme displeasure with the CP tactics of hiding behind this complicated legal argument known as “federal preemption”, in an effort to not have to pay one penny to people injured in Minot. This is outrageous! The federal railroad safety regulations were meant to make the railroads safer, not to allow railroads to hurt and kill people with no consequences to the railroad!

The Solberg Law Firm is happy to say that a jury in Minneapolis has awarded just under $2 Million in damages to four Minot residents who were injured in the January, 2002 derailment and anhydrous ammonia spill. We represented two of the four plaintiffs, Jodi Schulz and Jeanette Klier.

The trail lasted three weeks. The jury deliberated for about 14 hours before awarding damages:

The jury amounts were very close to what we asked for in closing arguments. The railroad, in its closing, told the jury that they should award no more than $120,000, in total, for all four Minot residents, a far cry from $1.86 Million!

It is expected that Canadian Pacific will appeal, arguing, in part, that the Minot Plaintiffs should get nothing.

Our focus now turns to the third wave trial, which is scheduled to start May 1, 2006, in Minneapolis. We represent 6 of the over 20 Minot residents who will be in that trial. The railroad has admitted liability for this round of cases. The jury will again be asked to determine what amount will properly compensate people for damages and injuries caused by the Canadian Pacific derailment and largest anhydrous ammonia spill in the world.

We remain willing to discuss settlement of our cases with the Canadian Pacific, at any time. However, the Canadian Pacific now knows that we are ready and willing to try as many cases as we have to in an attempt to get fair compensation for all of our Minot clients.

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