In last month’s issue, we wrote about the lawsuit filed by Avondale Mills arising out of the toxic chemical spill in 2005. The parties have now settled the case after about four weeks of trial. Avondale Mills, Norfolk Southern and the mill’s insurance company reached the settlement last month. The amount of the settlement is confidential. Avondale Mills sued Norfolk Southern, asking for $420 million in damages. Avondale claimed equipment at the firm’s Graniteville facilities was covered with corrosive chemicals and it would have cost more than the business was worth to clean the buildings and replace the machinery. Early on January 6, 2005, a Norfolk Southern train veered off the main track onto a spur, rear-ending a parked train whose crew had failed to switch the tracks back to the main rail. The wreck ruptured a car carrying chlorine and released a poisonous cloud over the mill town of Graniteville. Nine people died and 250 were injured. Some 5,400 people were evacuated.

Source: Associated Press

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