EAST PALESTINE — Oral arguments in the appeal of the $600 million settlement between Norfolk Southern and class-action members impacted by the 2023 train derailment will be heard within the next nine months, court documents show.

Attorneys for the appellants (the five residents appealing) and the appellees (all other class members) recently submitted “counsel unavailability forms” used to “avoid dates in which counsel has conflicts” when scheduling oral arguments with the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.

The form states that “counsel should provide as soon as possible any dates of unavailability during the next nine months, preferably no later than the filing of the appellee’s brief, and supplement those dates thereafter until the case is set for argument.”

Tennessee-based lawyer David Graham, who is representing appealing residents the Rev. Joseph Sheely, Zsuzsa Troyan, Tamara Freeze, Sharon Lynch and Carly Tunno, filed his unavailability form on Feb. 28. Paul D. Clement, who identified himself as the plaintiff-appellee’s attorney, submitted his on March 3.

The question of whether a requirement bond for the Troyan appeal (as the consolidated five appeals are known in court documents) will be required still has not been answered. Judge Bentia Pearson, who gave final approval of the settlement in Youngstown’s District Court, ordered the appellants to post a $850,000 bond. Graham appealed that decision in the Sixth Circuit.

Also appealing is T. Michael Morgan of Morgan & Morgan — one of the firms that helped broker the deal. Morgan, who initially lauded the settlement, has also appealed its final approval, taking issue with how the $180 million in legal fees was divided and distributed.

A briefing schedule for Mogan’s appeal has been reset with “Appellee’s Brief Appendix” filed electronically by May 2, 2025, and “Appellant’s Reply Brief” due no later than 21 days after the last appellee brief is filed.

The direct payment or property injury damages — households can receive upwards of $70,000 — are on hold while the appeal process plays out.

The residents appealing the settlement have alleged, among other things, that the class members were provided false and misleading information, expert testimony was ignored and not enough time was given to class members to decide whether to opt in or out.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals will assign a panel of three judges from a pool of 16 to hear arguments.

In other derailment litigation, there are 15 cases against Norfolk Southern in Yountsown’s federal court brought by those who chose to opt out of the class action and seek damages related to the derailment. Among the filings is a $500 million suit by CeramFab majority owner Edwin Wang. Other plaintiffs include: Kelly Likovich and her husband Terry Berresford, both of New Galilee, Pa., who own the still closed State Line Tavern on East Taggart Street in East Palestine, along with a rental property, and requested $5 million-plus in damages; Howard Perlmuter and the Howard Ernest Perlmuter Family Trust, both of Pepper Pike, who owned a property in Canfield and sought $1 million related to alleged damages to the property and negligence related to the release of chemicals; four entities of Allstate seeking damages in excess of $295,000, along with costs and attorney fees, as reimbursement for what was paid to insureds to replace or repair damaged or destroyed property in East Palestine; Anna Marsick, a resident of Cuyahoga County, who was working as a television reporter for WKBN and covered the incident in East Palestine within hours of it happening and for several months after in close proximity to the derailment site and resulting toxic spill, seeking damages in excess of $1 million, along with punitive damages, attorney fees and costs for personal injuries from exposure to the toxic fumes; and California Casualty Indemnity Exchange, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, seeking reimbursement for money paid out to the owner of a property on West Grant Street in East Palestine for alleged damages caused by the derailment.

Most of the lawsuits were filed previously in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court before being moved to federal court, all at the request of Norfolk Southern. Norfolk Southern also has filed a motion in each case to have that case reassigned to Pearson.