Shippers seek to combine suits against railroads

Shippers seek to combine suits against railroads A request to consolidate complaints filed by several plaintiffs alleging large freight railroads fixed fuel surcharges is to be heard in U.S. District Court in Washington today.
   Judge Paul Friedman will hear the request to combine 13 complaints filed last year into a class-action lawsuit against five Class I railroads — Burlington Northern Santa Fe, CSX, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific — as well as the Association of American Railroads.
   The litigation alleges the railroads violated the Sherman Act by fixing rail freight fuel surcharges.
   In a comment to the Dow Jones newswire, the association said the claims in the lawsuits were “completely without merit.”