EAST PALESTINE — Attorneys representing a group of East Palestine residents who want out of the multimillion-dollar Norfolk Southern train derailment settlement that they opted-in, doubled down on claims class counsel misled the court and the community about contamination levels and long-term health risks, calling it “significant new evidence.”

In a motion filed Oct. 24 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, attorney Jedidiah Bressman accused class counsel of concealing their own expert’s findings, relying on inaccurate Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data and using a professionally produced public relations video to reassure residents that East Palestine was safe. The motion seeks relief from the court’s earlier approval of the $600 million class settlement, which resolved property damage and personal injury claims from the Feb. 3, 2023, derailment and chemical burn that forced thousands of residents to evacuate.

According to the filing, class counsel told the court during a 2024 fairness hearing that they did not rely on EPA data when assessing environmental risk. But Bressman said the settlement’s supporting documents, including an expert declaration from Dr. Richard Schuhmann, were based entirely on EPA sampling and background levels.

The motion also argues that Dr. Arch “Chip” Carson, a toxicologist whose video statement was shown at an August 2024 Zoom meeting, was portrayed as an independent expert when, in fact, his presentation was produced by a public relations firm hired by class counsel. In the video, Carson told residents there would be “no long-term health impacts” from chemical exposure linked to the derailment.

Bressman said that assurance influenced residents to accept personal injury payments and sign releases waiving future claims.

The motion cites several peer-reviewed studies published since the settlement was approved:

— A Kent State University-led study, published in February 2025, found nearly half of soil samples collected near the derailment site exceeded EPA cancer risk thresholds for dioxins.

— A University of California San Diego study, released in December 2024, reported that 77% of East Palestine participants met the diagnostic criteria for Gulf War Illness, a chronic condition linked to toxic exposure.

— A University of Kentucky study, published in early 2024, found biomarkers associated with vinyl chloride exposure in 74% of residents tested.

The filing also states that several residents who signed personal injury releases are now suffering from cancer and other chronic illnesses. Bressman argued that those releases were “fraudulently induced” and should be voided.

“The most devastating proof that Dr. Carson’s assurances were false is that people are now sick,” the motion states. “Some have cancer and some have died.”

The motion asks the U.S. District Judge Benita Y. Pearson to reopen the case under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b), which allows relief from judgment in cases involving fraud or newly discovered evidence. It also seeks to block enforcement of the personal injury releases, compel disclosure of communications between attorneys and experts, and schedule an evidentiary hearing on the allegations.

“The combination of fiduciary fraud and catastrophic resulting harm represents precisely the type of extraordinary circumstances warranting relief,” the motion concludes. “If class counsel can fraudulently induce releases from sick and dying class members with impunity, the class action mechanism is fundamentally broken.”

Norfolk Southern and class counsel have not yet filed responses to the motion.