MONTREAL - A Canadian judge has signed off on the $338 million settlement fund for families of the 47 victims of the 2013 Lac Megantic oil train disaster.
The decision means victims' families should start getting money by the end of the year, says Bob Keach, the trustee for the bankrupt Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway, which operated the train.
However one of the companies named in the lawsuit - Canadian Pacific Railway, or C.P. - declined to participate in the settlement because it denies any responsibility. As a result, Keach says C.P. still faces a number of lawsuits related to the tragedy.
"I have estimated they'll be sued in six different jurisdictions in two countries and I expect that will go forward quite vigorously," Keach says.
Keach says C.P. could find itself on the hook for tens of millions - if not hundreds of millions - of dollars.
A spokesman for Canadian Pacific declined to comment on any potential future litigation.