Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and its parent company American Heritage Railways have agreed to a settlement with La Plata and San Juan county homeowners and business owners for impacts resulting from the 416 Fire.
“All I can say regarding our clients’ settlement is the matter is settled,” said Anthony Savastano of Durango law firm Duthie Savastano and Brungard, who represents many of those who sued the train.
John Harper, chief operating officer of American Heritage Railways, confirmed the parties have reached a tentative agreement.
“There’s only a one or two line items remaining until more information on that can be released,” he said. “I’m expecting within the next seven to 14 days it should be public knowledge.”
Details of the agreement have not yet been released and the settlement has not yet been submitted to the court, according to 6th Judicial District records.
Neither Savastano nor Harper could confirm financial compensation or other details of the agreement.
In the most recent complaint filed in May 2020, about 40 homeowners and business owners accused the railroad of missteps and negligence that led to the 416 Fire and damages to their properties and businesses. The lawsuit cited damages from smoke, mudslides and flooding, but also indirect damages, including lost business.
The lawsuit was set for trial in August 2022 after 6th Judicial District Judge Suzanne Carlson delayed the trial to avoid conflict with ongoing negotiations between the federal government and D&SNG in a separate lawsuit.
In filings, attorneys for the homeowners and business owners argued that a coal-powered locomotive ignited the approximately 54,000-acre fire north of Durango on June 1, 2018.
The lawyers filed their case against the train relying on Colorado’s Railroad Statute, which says railroad companies operating their “line of road” with Colorado are liable for all damages from fires caused by the railroad operations.
“Nationally renowned forest fire investigation experts retained by the Plaintiffs have conducted extensive investigation of the site to determine the area of origin of the 416 Fire and its cause,” according to the plaintiff’s amended complaint. “... It is the unqualified opinion of these fire experts that the cause of the 416 Fire was one or more hot coal particles that came from the exhausts stack of the coal-fired steam Train.”
After a federal investigation, the Forest Service also concluded that a cinder from the smokestack of one of D&SNG’s coal-burning locomotives ignited the blaze.
The civil settlement comes on the heels of an agreement announced Monday between D&SNG, American Heritage Railways and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado in which the railroad will pay $20 million and adopt more stringent wildfire cautions.
Negotiations in the civil lawsuit were delayed because of discussions between the government and the train in the federal lawsuits, Savastano said.
“We were waiting on a somewhat interrelated federal case,” he said. “The consent decree (filed Monday) was a big part of what we were waiting on.”
As a part of the settlement between the federal government and the train, D&SNG must modify its operations to reduce wildfire risk, including complying with an Industrial Fire Restrictions Plan, which will limit the railroad’s operations when fire risk is elevated and will prohibit coal-fired locomotives when fire risk is extreme.
D&SNG has already converted five of its eight steam locomotives from coal to 100% recycled oil and purchased four new diesel trains for its summer operations to further limit the chances of wildfires, according to a company news release Monday.
Those precautions included in the federal government’s agreement with the train were also a priority for the homeowners and business owners represented in the local lawsuit.
“I think that was always a part of what we were hoping would be part of the outcome here,” Savastano said.
After more than three years of litigation, he said he was satisfied with the agreement.
“This has been a difficult, trying case for everybody involved,” he said. “It’s taken a lot of courage and dedication from our clients and legal teams to get to this point. Duthie Savastano and Brungard along with our colleagues Burg Simpson are really happy to have been able to serve and help our clients with these complex issues. We are proud to have been able to lead the litigation and play a part in creating a safer Durango.”
ahannon@durangoherald.com
