Folks still considering filing a claim in the Norfolk Southern train derailment settlement in East Palestine need to act fast.

The deadline to file a claim is this Thursday, Aug. 22. Then, a final approval hearing for the settlement will take place on September 25th.

If approved, payments could then go out - at the earliest - by the end of the year.

Anyone living within 20 miles of the derailment, who didn't opt out is a part of the settlement.

But, it doesn't guarantee you'll get paid.

Meanwhile, a motion has been filed regarding the timeline, among other things, to opt into the settlement - which was just 31 days.

David Graham, the attorney that filed the motion. says that time was not adequate for people to opt out of individual lawsuits and be a part of the $600 million settlement.

The motion alleges that attorneys representing the residents in the lawsuit didn't show any results of the testing done by testing expert Stephen Petty, who was retained by the counsel.

Petty originally explained how dioxins, which is used in Agent Orange, could have been released from the burning of Vinyl Chloride in the days following the derailment, according to the motion.

However, none of Petty's findings were filed in the lawsuit.

"Fast forward to their present, post-settlement posture and class counsel and their PR machine have now forgotten all about their star testing expert," the motion says.

It goes on to say that class counsel brought in a different expert, Arch Carson, to "run a ten-minute commercial" telling residents of East Palestine that everything was fine.

Recently, a new study revealed the aftermath of the Feb.3, 2023 East Palestine Train Derailment spread much farther than initially expected. 

Researchers in Wisconsin found air pollutants spiked in the week after the derailment from the Midwest to the Northeast. 16 states in the U.S. and southern parts of Canada had a spike in chloride, PH’s, calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium in their air. 
 
Additionally, the motion claims there's a questionable relationship between class counsel and Norfolk Southern because Rebuttal PR, which worked with class counsel, had Norfolk Southern included in her communications with counsel.
 
It accuses its vice president, Stephanie Wolf, for defaming scientists who "were not part of the Norfolk Southern cabal."
 
The motion is asking that class counsel release Petty's reports and findings for the public to see. It's also asking a judge to ensure that party counsel address concerns and objections over details of the settlement.
 
It's also asking for a discovery or evidentiary hearing be had about the relationship between class counsel, Norfolk Southern, Rebuttal PR and other related parties over what the motion calls "questionable dealings."
 
 
 
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