In re Norfolk Southern Corp. Bond/Note Securities Litigation

Labaton Keller Sucharow filed a securities class action lawsuit on behalf of its clients Ohio Carpenters Pension Fund and City of Pontiac Reestablished General Employees’ Retirement System against Norfolk Southern Corporation (Norfolk Southern or the Company) and related parties (collectively, Defendants).

Norfolk Southern is a major rail transportation company primarily focused on the transport of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods across the Southeast, East, and Midwest United States.  In 2019, the Company adopted a “Precision Scheduled Railroading” (PSR) strategy, which was designed to increase revenues and decrease costs by enacting hyper-efficient operational changes like reductions in staff, tighter schedules, and longer trains that can stretch up to miles in length.  On February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern train derailed 38 railcars in East Palestine, Ohio, leaving behind what the Associated Press called “a mangled and charred mass of boxcars and flames.”

On September 21, 2023, the court appointed Ohio Carpenters Pension Fund and City of Pontiac Reestablished General Employees’ Retirement System to serve as lead plaintiffs and Labaton Keller Sucharow to serve as lead counsel.

On December 04, 2023, the Firm filed an Amended Class Action Complaint asserting strict liability and negligence claims for violations of Section 11 and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 relating to offerings of senior notes by Norfolk Southern issued between May 3, 2021, and January 26, 2023.  The Complaint alleges Norfolk Southern failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company’s increased risk-taking at the expense of reasonable and/or required safety precautions due to the Company’s near-term focus on profits.

The case is In Re Norfolk Southern Corp. Bond/Note Securities Litigation, No. 1:23-cv-04068, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.