LISBON — Both Columbiana County Common Pleas Court judges claimed conflict of interest and recused themselves from hearing a lawsuit involving more than 800 parties claiming wrongful death, nuisance and negligence over the East Palestine train derailment and chemical fire.

The case filed last month had been assigned to Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Washam, but he recused himself, and then Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Bickerton recused herself. As administrative judge, she has requested the Ohio Supreme Court assign a visiting judge to oversee the case.

The lawsuit was originally two lawsuits that were filed in Franklin County, but they were combined and transferred to Columbiana County after a change of venue was granted at the request of a defendant who noted the event happened here.

The list of plaintiffs includes area residents who opted out of the huge class action lawsuit that had been filed and settled in federal court, along with some area residents who opted in, with addresses from East Palestine, Negley, New Waterford, Salineville, Rogers, Salem, Columbiana, Leetonia, Petersburg, Boardman, East Liverpool, the communities of Enon Valley, Rochester, New Galilee, Beaver Falls and Bessemer in Pennsylvania and Chester, W.Va. There’s even an address in Elgin, Texas.

The list of 52 defendants is led by Norfolk Southern and includes chemical firms, environmental cleanup firms, refuse companies, health entities such as Mercy Health and Quest Diagnostics and local governmental entities. The local defendants include the Village of East Palestine, the East Palestine Police and Fire Departments, East Palestine City Schools, Columbiana Exempted Village School District, Columbiana County General Health District and Columbiana County Board of Commissioners.

The lawsuit accuses the defendants of allegedly failing in a duty to protect the public or warn of the known dangers the released chemicals presented. The two school districts allegedly “chose to fail to properly have their schools remediated following the aftermath of the derailment. This subjected their students to further unnecessary chemical exposure.”

The lawsuit accused the Columbiana County Health District of allegedly “misleading the residents to the side effects, symptoms, and other related health issues that were a direct and proximate result of the chemicals spilled.”

“Defendants continued to tell plaintiffs, the community of East Palestine, and the surrounding areas that it was safe, the soil was safe, the air was safe, and the water was safe. Unfortunately, those statements were fake news,” the document said.

Claims outlined in the complaint include negligence, nuisance, strict liability, trespass, punitive damages, loss of consortium, wrongful death, survivorship, civil conspiracy and Medicaid subrogation. The wrongful death claim alleges that Margie Mae Lewis, Margo Zuch, Randy Swogger, John R. Moore, Viola Noel, Edward Zins and Carlyn Tigelman all died from the aftermath of the derailment.