Norfolk Southern May Face $1.6M Pension Liability

Norfolk Southern Railway Co. failed to shake off a suit for $1.6 million in pension liability incurred by contractor.

The complaint filed by the pension fund for employees of Automobile Distribution of Buffalo Inc. sufficiently alleges that the railroad shares “withdrawal liability"—an obligation to pay for vested, unfunded benefits when an employer withdraws from a multi-employer pension plan—the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York said May 1.

The court therefore denied the railroad’s motion to dismiss.

Norfolk Southern operated a rail yard in Cheektowaga, N.Y.

Until October 2011, all drivers who worked at the rail yard ...