Search of Eagle Railcar facilities unable to be performed by local law firm

Despite having a mutually agreed date in place, a search of Eagle Railcar Services’ facility was unable to be performed by law firm Brent Coon & Associates this past weekend.

The Beaumont law firm said representatives from Eagle tried to further postpone the previously-agreed upon inspection set for Aug. 24 at 11 a.m. When BCA attorneys showed up, they found the gate locked and were unable to perform their court-approved search.

“We got out there at 11 and the gate was locked,” attorney Eric Newell said. “There were three cars inside the facility, but no one came to meet us.”

Newell said BCA attorneys stayed for around 15-20 minutes, took a few pictures and left when it became clear Eagle would not be cooperating.

According to Newell and a press release from BCA, the law office had to file a Motion for Entry Upon Land in order to conduct a basic visual inspection of the facility, the allegedly leaking railcar and the flare which was used to release the contents of the car.

The release said a date for inspection was originally scheduled for Aug. 15. The day before inspection, Eagle Railcar advised that BCA would not be able to see the flare. The parties agreed to postpone the inspection until Aug. 24 so that it would not be an active site.

Newell said the morning before the Aug. 24 date, counsel for Eagle raised concerns that they would not be able to have their expert on site for inspection.

“On Friday, they started hemming and hawing saying, “You’re bringing a chemical engineer.” All of a sudden they needed to bring their expert out.”

Newell said BCA never hid the fact they planned to bring a chemical engineer on-site.

Having shown up anyway for the unsuccessful search, Newell now plans to file another Motion for Entry Upon Land to perform the inspection at a later date. He also plans to ask for sanctions.

Brent Coon & Associates is pursuing a class-action lawsuit against Eagle Railcar Services in relation to a July chemical release and subsequent shelter-in-place notice issued for Orange County.

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