Notice of Class Action Lawsuit

     This website has been established pursuant to an order of Judge Steven L. David of the Boone Circuit Court in the case of Firestone et al. v. American Premier Underwriters, Inc. (f/k/a/ The Penn Central Corporation) and the U.S. Railroad Vest Corp., Cause No. 06C01-CP-379, as an additional way of providing basic materials and information to Class Members.

     On October 19, 1992, Fern Firestone, on her own behalf and on behalf of other owners of property underlying or adjacent to abandoned former Penn Central railroad corridors filed this class action lawsuit.  The plaintiffs asserted  various claims against the defendants concerning the defendants' assertion of ownership rights in the abandoned corridors.  The defendants deny those claims.  On February 16, 2001, the Court preliminarily approved a Settlement of claims relating to approximately 733 miles of abandoned Penn Central railroad corridor in the State of Indiana.  The Court also scheduled a Fairness Hearing on the proposed Settlement for August 15, 2001 at 1:00 p.m.

·         Qualifying Class Members will receive a Judgment of Quiet Title to certain abandoned railroad right-of-way property, as against any claims by APU and USRV. The estimated value of this benefit is, on average, $2,500 per parcel, resulting from the avoidance of estimated costs to Quiet Title.

·         APU will reimburse in cash the amounts paid to APU or USRV by Qualifying Class Members (the "Purchase Price") after October 19, 1986, for right-of-way property in which APU or USRV owned only an easement that was extinguished upon abandonment.

·         In addition, APU will pay Qualifying Class Members up to a total of $1,200 cash for (a) interest at the rate of 8% per annum on the Purchase Price for right-of-way property that was purchased after October 19, 1986, and (b) to reimburse certain documented expenses incurred after October 19, 1986, in protecting title to certain abandoned railroad right-of-way property, and APU will pay all expenses of administering this Settlement and Class Counsels’ attorneys’ fees.

·         APU will pay cash of $300 or $1.00 per linear foot of right-of-way frontage, whichever is greater, to Qualifying Class Members who do not seek reimbursement of money paid to APU or USRV, but who verify they lost commercial or farm use of the abandoned railroad right-of-way property for which APU or USRV only held an easement interest.

·         Landowners who do not qualify for benefits because APU and/or USRV owned the property in fee simple will be entitled to purchase the abandoned railroad right-of-way property adjoining their land for $3,000 per acre, or pro rata portion thereof, if the property is still owned by APU or USRV. The price of $3,000 per acre is believed to represent a significant discount below the value of the land to adjoining landowners in many cases, depending on size, location and other factors.

·         APU will pay all Indiana property taxes that are due and owed on the Abandoned Corridor Property.

·         Qualifying Class Members will have 45 days from the date of the mailing of their Claim Forms to submit their claim for benefits. A Qualifying Class Member who does not receive a Claim Form may submit a claim no later than 60 days from the first publication of the Notice of Final Approval of the Settlement, which notice will be published on or about the date of the mailing of Claim Forms to Qualifying Class Members. Landowners who do not submit their Claim Form and who own property adjacent to former railroad right- of-way in which APU or USRV only held an easement interest will still receive a Judgment of Quiet Title to adjacent railroad right-of-way property, as against any claims by APU and USRV.

This website will be updated to advise you of the date these Judgments are filed with the Courts. It was stated in a previous notice that the Judgments would be filed by July 11, 2002; however, the parties were unable to file the Judgments by that date.

·         A Fairness Hearing was held by the Court in Lebanon, IN at 1:00 p.m. on August 15, 2001. The proposed settlement was determined to be fair, adequate, and reasonable. The deadline for filing objections or for stating your intention to appear at the Fairness Hearing was August 1, 2001. All objections must have been filed with the Settlement Administration Center at the address below.

FOR DETAILED INFORMATION CONTACT

Firestone ROW Settlement Administration Center
P.O. Box 131851
Dallas, Texas 75313-1851
(TOLL-FREE): 1-866-860-1389
E-MAIL: FirestoneROW@lecg.com