On September 29, 2026, U.S. District Judge Steven D. Grimberg granted Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification, appointing AkademikerPension and Ironworkers 40, 361 & 417 Union Annuity, Pension and Topping Out Funds as Class Representatives and appointing KTMC and co-counsel as class counsel. This securities fraud class action arises out of Norfolk Southern’s materially false or misleading statements that it was committed to and investing in the safe operations of its railroads leading up to the February 3, 2023 catastrophic derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in East Palestine, Ohio, which caused significant environmental damage.
In certifying the class, Judge Grimberg found that Defendants failed to rebut price impact for misstatements related to Norfolk’s operational safety. At the “front-end,” the Court found that Defendants had failed to show that the stock price increase at the beginning of the class period was not attributable to Norfolk’s misrepresentations that operational efficiencies were achieved safely. At the “back-end,” the Court rejected Defendants’ arguments that the corrective disclosures did not reveal new information under the Supreme Court’s decision in Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System. Specifically, the Court found that news of a third Norfolk derailment in a month and reports that Norfolk was changing its operating practices to improve safety was new information that contradicted Norfolk’s prior assurances that it had maintained the safety of its operations while implementing new efficiency measures. The decision marks the first time a court in the Eleventh Circuit has certified a class over objections about Goldman mismatch.