A push is on to settle lawsuits over a train derailment that released a dangerous chemical in a New Jersey town nearly three years ago.
U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler has delayed the first trials in the Paulsboro derailment cases, which had been scheduled to start on Sept. 8. On Thursday, he scheduled settlement conferences beginning that day instead.
Plaintiffs have dropped complaints in some cases and others have told the judge that they're so close to reaching settlements that they will not need the conferences.
The case goes back to November 2012, when train cars carrying vinyl chloride gas derailed on a bridge in Paulsboro. Some residents have reported being sick as a result.
There are still thousands of plaintiffs who have sued related claims in state court.
