Four days after a fiery train derailment in East Palestine, a local couple and a business owner have filed a class action suit seeking damages from Norfolk and Southern Railroad.

The civil liability suit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court alleges negligence, nuisance and trespass by the railroad for the fifty car derailment which released noxious chemicals and caused a evacuation of homes and businesses in the area.

Harold Feezle says in the complaint that the derailment forced him to close his business at 50263 State Route 14.  The lawsuit doesn’t name the business, but according to the secretary of state’s office, Feezle owns Rollerena Auto Sales at that address.

Two other complainants, David and Susan Scheufele say they were evacuated from their East Clark Street home, while David Scheufele suffered injuries from toxic chemicals and fumes from the crash site.

The suit, filed by Cleveland personal injury law firm Shapero, Roloff, alleges that the derailment and chemical spill was caused by Norfolk Southern’s negligence in the operation of the train and defects in the track system and in one or more of the rail cars.

The complaint asks a federal judge to allow others to become plaintiffs if they lived or worked within two miles of the derailment and were forced to evacuate or exposed to toxic carcinogens as a result.

The complaint alleges trespass on the part of the railroad claiming it caused or permitted noxious fumes, chemicals, carcinogens, odors, and hazardous substances to “invade the property” of  those impacted by the rail crash.

In addition to asking the court to declare the lawsuit a class action, the attorneys seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, as well as legal fees.

The suit also requests a court order preventing Norfolk and Southern from removing any property from the crash site that experts would need to determine the cause of the derailment and spill, as well as preserving computer or other records pertaining to the derailment.

In addition, the complaint seeks an order that would prevent the railroad from inducing plaintiffs to sign any document that would release Norfolk Southern from any claims.

As of Tuesday night, Norfolk Southern had not filed a response to the complaint.