A Quebec judge has rejected Canadian Pacific Railway’s challenge of a court settlement aimed at compensating residents of Lac-Megantic who suffered losses in the 2013 train derailment disaster that killed 47 people and devastated the town’s downtown area.
That means a $430-million settlement fund proposal by about 25 companies accused of responsibility for the disaster can proceed.
The money is earmarked for more than 4,000 victims and creditors.
Canadian Pacific wanted Superior Court Justice Gaetan Dumas to declare the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings for the railway responsible for the disaster — Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway Ltd. — illegitimate because they should be moved to Federal Court.
It was an unattended Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway 73-car freight train carrying crude oil that ran away and derailed near Lac-Megantic’s downtown area, causing causing multiple tank cars to catch fire and explode.in the early morning hours of July 6, 2013.
Canadian Pacific also wanted the judge to rule that the settlement fund for victims was unfair because it would have limited the railway company’s ability to countersue the other firms involved in the tragedy.
Following Judge Dumas’s ruling, Canadian Pacific said it would review the decision and would have no other immediate comment.
CP can appeal the ruling but would require the permission of an appeals court justice to do so.
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