WATCH ABOVE: Families of the 47 people killed during the 2013 Lac-Megantic train derailment are one step closer to receiving settlement cheques after a U.S. judge approved plans for creditors to begin voting on the terms of the settlement.
MONTREAL – A U.S. bankruptcy judge has approved plans for creditors in the Lac-Megantic train disaster to begin voting on terms of a $439-million settlement fund.
The fund was approved by a Canadian judge last Monday but also needs approval by a U.S. court for settlement cheques to be distributed to the families of the 47 people killed in July 2013.
READ MORE: Judge authorizes $430 million for victims of Lac-Megantic train disaster
Once the creditor voting in the United States has taken place, a judge is expected to consider on Sept. 24 whether to approve the plan.
Montreal Maine and Atlantic Railway Ltd. (MMA) owned the train that derailed but it didn’t have enough insurance to pay damages to victims and creditors, so it filed for bankruptcy in the United States and Canada.
READ MORE: Two years later: rebuilding after the Lac-Mégantic train derailment
About 25 companies accused in the derailment agreed to pay into a fund to compensate victims, which is tied to the bankruptcy proceedings in both countries.
Robert Keach, the court-appointed monitor for MMA’s bankruptcy proceedings in the United States, says he expects the settlement fund to be accepted south of the border.
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