EAST PALESTINE — Co-class counsel representing residents affected by the 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment continue to accuse former settlement administrator Kroll Settlement Administration LLC of mishandling the distribution of settlement funds, resulting in widespread errors and inequities in personal injury payments.

In a reply memorandum filed in U.S. District Court in Youngstown last week in response to an order to show cause, class counsel argued that Kroll failed to follow court-ordered requirements for a points-based allocation system designed to ensure a fair distribution of compensation. Counsel previously alleged that Kroll had overpaid on numerous claims.

The settlement set aside roughly $120 million for Voluntary Exposure Payments — personal injury compensation for individuals who lived or worked within 10 miles of the derailment site. Under the court-approved Plan of Distribution, each claim was to be evaluated using a points system that assigned a base value of 100 points — equivalent to a $25,000 payout — with adjustments based on factors such as proximity to the derailment, direction from the derailment site, timing of exposure, age, symptoms, severity, medical treatment, diagnosis and other criteria. Payments from Norfolk Southern for medical tests, such as chest X-rays or blood work, were to be deducted from that final award.

However, according to class counsel, Kroll bypassed these requirements and instead assigned a flat $25,000 payment to each personal injury claimant without first calculating the total value of all claims or determining the monetary worth of a single point, as mandated by the court’s orders.

Originally, the personal injury component allowed for up to $10,000 per individual, but that amount was later increased to a maximum of $25,000 for those living within two miles of the derailment.

Kroll has acknowledged certain errors, including miscalculating distances from the derailment site and applying incorrect multipliers not included in the approved plan. The company has also stated that the $120 million allocated for personal injury payments may be insufficient to cover all claims — a concern it says it raised with class counsel in 2025. Class counsel disputes this timeline, arguing that Kroll has provided no evidence of those discussions and took no meaningful action to address the issue during administration.

Class counsel is asking the court to hold Kroll in contempt, citing clear violations of the court’s orders and harm to the settlement fund. They are seeking remedies including disgorgement of fees paid to Kroll and disclosure of any instances in which the company has been removed as a settlement administrator in other cases.

Invoices filed alongside the memorandum show that Kroll billed in two major categories. The first — Administrative Services — accounted for the largest share, totaling $3,596,334.92. These charges were labeled as high-level “fees for administrative services” and did not include itemized hourly work. The second category — Professional Services — included hourly labor, call-center support, claims processing, intake assistance and related tasks, totaling $3,054,495.35. Combined, Kroll billed $6,650,830.27 before it was replaced by Epiq in June. Kroll previously estimated that its total costs to complete administration would exceed $16 million.