PORTLAND, Maine — The settlement fund for victims of the oil train accident in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, that killed 48 people grew by nearly half Monday with the addition of $110 million committed by World Fuel Services Corp.
It brings the fund to $345 million ($431 million Canadian), according to Robert Keach, trustee for the bankrupt Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railroad. The settlement fund was at $235 million ($295 million Canadian) before World Fuel’s settlement Monday,Keach said.
Keach in January sued World Fuel for improperly identifying the crude oil that contributed to the massive explosion as low danger.
The settlement fund now includes 24 of 25 defendants in the wrongful death cases. Canadian Pacific Railway is the only defendant in the wrongful death cases not to have joined the settlement agreement.
“We applaud [World Fuel Services] for its good corporate citizenship in reaching this settlement to the benefit of all of the victims of the Lac-Megantic derailment,” Keach said. “We only wish [Canadian Pacific] were showing similar citizenship.”
The magazine Canadian Lawyer reported Monday morning that Canadian Pacific plans to contest a Canadian court’s jurisdiction over the wrongful death settlements and that a spokesman said the company maintains it does not have any liability in the case.
Keach said after a court hearing Thursday that families of 20 victims have signed on to the settlement agreement so far.
Another 28 became able to file claims against any of the defendants Monday, a move the court allowed so those victims would be able to preserve their right to pursue those claims in court beyond a two-year statute of limitations.
A judge approved a stay on lawsuits last year to allow the parties to negotiate the settlement plan that would distribute funds to the families of victims according to a point system.
The settlement arrangements are moving ahead in tandem in Canada and the United States, with a confirmation hearing set for Aug. 20 to consider approving the U.S. settlement agreement. The plan will go before a Canadian judge in a June 17 hearing.