SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (D)
OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):
September 10, 1997 (September 8, 1997)
NORFOLK SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
1-743; 1-3744;
Virginia 1-4793; 1-546-2 53-6002016
(State of Incorporation) (Commission File No.) (IRS Employer
Identification No.)
Three Commercial Place
Norfolk, Virginia 23510-2191
(Address of principal executive offices)
(757) 629-2682
(Registrant's telephone number)
No Change
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
<PAGE>
ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS.
On Monday, September 8, 1997, a state court jury in New Orleans,
Louisiana, returned a verdict awarding $175 Million in punitive
damages against The Alabama Great Southern Railroad Company, a
subsidiary of Norfolk Southern Railway Company (Company). The
verdict was returned in a class action suit involving several
thousand individuals who claimed to have been damaged as the
result of an explosion and fire that occurred in New Orleans on
September 9, 1987, when a chemical called butadiene leaked from a
tank car.
The jury verdict awarded a total of nearly $3.2 Billion in
punitive damages against four other defendants in the same case:
two rail carriers, the owner of the car and the shipper. The
jury previously had awarded nearly $2.0 million in compensatory
damages to twenty individuals who are members of the class;
however, there has been no determination of the amount of
compensatory damage, if any, sustained by the other members of
the class.
Management continues to be of the opinion that ultimate liability
will not have a material adverse effect on the Company's
consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash
flows. Moreover, the amount Alabama Great Southern is required
to pay in this case could be reduced substantially by anticipated
recoveries from its liability insurance carriers.
Management will continue to assess the merits of the Company's
legal defenses in this matter and to monitor the progress of the
litigation. It will pursue appeals and other appropriate
remedies if the trial court enters judgment on the jury verdicts,
which are believed to be hugely excessive and without factual or
legal justification.
This matter previously has been reported by Registrant in Part
II, Item 1, of its Form 10-Q Reports for the quarters ending
September 30, 1987, March 31, 1990 and September 30, 1994; and in
Part I, Item 3, of its Form 10-K Annual Reports for 1987, 1988,
1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
Dated: September 10, 1997
NORFOLK SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY
(Registrant)
By: /s/ Dezora M. Martin
Dezora M. Martin
Assistant Corporate Secretary
