US Railroad Lawsuit Chugs Along With Seven Named Shippers
23 Dezembro 2009 - 2:43PM
Dow Jones News
A closely watched lawsuit seeking class-action status against
the top U.S. freight railroads for allegedly colluding to inflate
fuel surcharges by billions of dollars is set to proceed with seven
small shippers as named plaintiffs.
Stephen Neuwirth, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said it is
unlikely that additional named shippers will be added to the suit
by a Dec. 31 deadline.
"We have a group of plaintiffs that is representative of the
class," said Neuwirth, a partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver
& Hedges, which has been appointed one of two co-lead counsels
for the shippers.
If the suit is certified as a class action, any shipper during
the period of the allegations would be a member of the class and
potentially eligible for damages.
The top four U.S. freight railroads--Union Pacific Corp. (UNP),
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (BNI), CSX Corp. (CSX) and
Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC)--are defendants in the case. The
railroads, which have been unsuccessful in efforts to get the case
dismissed, have vehemently denied the allegations.
The American Chemistry Council, a trade organization that
includes many companies that ship products by rail, has claimed
that the top four railroads and Kansas City Southern (KSU)
overcharged shippers by $6.4 billion through fuel surcharges
between 2003 and early 2007.
"We believe this is a multi-billion-dollar case," Neuwirth said,
although he noted that the lawsuit hasn't asked for any specific
damage amount yet.
The shippers have until March 18 to file a motion seeking
class-action status, followed by a hearing on the class
certification, likely in September. The case is being handled by
Judge Paul Friedman in the U.S. District Court for the District of
Columbia.
Investors have been taking a closer look at U.S. freight
railroads recently, after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
(BRKA, BRKB) announced plans in early November to buy the portion
of Burlington Northern that it doesn't already own, marking
Buffett's largest acquisition.
Burlington Northern and some of the other railroads named in the
lawsuit by shippers reiterated their positions this week that the
complaint is without merit.
"Simply stated, BNSF did not conspire to fix prices on
anything," said Suann Lundsberg, a spokeswoman for Burlington
Northern Santa Fe.
The shippers that have signed on to the lawsuit as named
plaintiffs include Dust Pro Inc.; U.S. Magnesium LLC; Dakota
Granite Co.; Strates Shows Inc.; Donnelly Commodities Inc.; Nyrstar
NV; and Carter Distributing Co.
-By Bob Sechler, Dow Jones Newswires; 512-394-0285;
bob.sechler@dowjones.com
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