The Biden Administration Is Helping Norfolk Southern Block Workers’ Lawsuits
The Department of Justice is backing railroad giant Norfolk Southern’s attempt to limit where workers and consumers can bring cases against corporations, making it easier for the firm to block future lawsuits.
Joe Biden speaks at the Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel in Baltimore, Maryland, the biggest chokepoint in the rail system between New York City and Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images)
A looming Supreme Court decision could end up making it easier for the railroad giant whose train derailed in Ohio this month to block lawsuits, including from victims of the disaster.
In the case against Norfolk Southern, the Biden administration is siding with the railroad in its conflict with a cancer-stricken former railworker. A high court ruling for Norfolk Southern could create a national precedent limiting where workers and consumers can bring cases against corporations.
The lawsuit in question, filed initially in a Pennsylvania county court in 2017, deals with a state law that permits plaintiffs to file suit against any corporation registered to do business there, even if the actions that gave rise to the case occurred elsewhere.
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