CLASS ACTION: Allegations of Price-Fixing Against Major Rail Carriers: CSX Transportation, Inc.; Norfolk Southern Railway Company; BNSF Railway Company; Union Pacific Railroad Company; and Kansas City Southern Railway Company

If you are a rail freight shipper, you are urged to contact the law offices of Audet & Partners at 800.965.1461 to speak to an attorney. The call is free and there is no obligation. You may also email us using the form on the right. Act now, as delays can harm your case.

 

"U.S. rail shippers have been angry over fuel surcharges levied by railroads to move their goods. In January, the Surface Transportation Board, a U.S. government regulator, said railroads must change the way they levy fuel surcharges." [more. . .] (from Reuters)

A lawsuit seeking class action status has been filed alleging a price-fixing conspiracy by the five major U.S.-based railroad freight haulers: CSX Transportation, Inc.; Norfolk Southern Railway Company; BNSF Railway Company; Union Pacific Railroad Company; and Kansas City Southern Railway Company.

The lawsuit notes that the surcharges were tied to base shipping rates instead of fuel costs. The federal Surface Transportation Board ("STB") found in January 2007 that these same fuel surcharge practices, as applied to freight shipped at federally regulated rates, were "unreasonable" and amounted to "double dipping." However, that STB decision addressed only rate-regulated freight traffic, which makes up only a minority of all rail freight shipments in the U.S. The complaint filed in this matter addresses the unregulated private rail freight transport contracts, and other unregulated rail transport, that constitute the majority of U.S. rail freight shipments. (From wire reports).

If you are a rail freight shipper, you are urged to contact the law offices of Audet & Partners at 800.965.1461 to speak to an attorney. The call is free and there is no obligation. Act now, as delays can harm your case.

Persons seeking to preserve any potential legal claims should contact an attorney promptly, since all states have mandatory time periods in which lawsuits must be filed with the courts; otherwise, they may be forever barred.

Audet & Partners represents individuals, governmental entities, small businesses and institutional shareholders in product liability, tort, negligence, consumer, construction defect, investment fraud, securities, insider trading, antitrust, environmental, whistle blower, aviation and employment cases. In recognition of their outstanding abilities and commitment to the legal profession over the years, the firm and its members have served as Court-appointed Plaintiffs’ Counsel in dozens of federal and state cases throughout the United States.