East Palestine’s State Line Tavern Files $5 Million Lawsuit Against Norfolk Southern

As the second anniversary of the East Palestine train derailment approaches, one business in town has filed a new lawsuit against Norfolk Southern.

The State Line Tavern is located just a block from where a Norfolk Southern train derailed on Feb. 3, 2023, spilling thousands of gallons of harmful chemicals like vinyl chloride and butyl acrylates into the soil, air and waterways of East Palestine and surrounding communities.

The bar was forced to close, and its grounds became a cleanup zone for the disaster in subsequent months. As of early 2025, the State Line Tavern has still not reopened.

Now, owners Terry and Kelly Berresford are seeking $5 million in compensation. Their lawsuit details the business damages, as well as the owners’ physical and emotional damages, that they say have been caused by the train derailment. Along with losing business at the State Line Tavern, the Berresfords say they haven’t been able to rent an adjacent property because of damage from the derailment.

The Berresfords opened the State Line Tavern in 1990, and it became a popular biker bar in the community, hosting a pool league and weekly wing and taco specials. The owners opened up with Cleveland Magazine in 2023 following the derailment, sharing their experiences in the July cover story “The Nightmare in East Palestine.”

One year after the derailment, Kelly Berresford discussed the continued closure of The State Line Tavern: “Our whole life was taken away from us, really. We’re just the only ones in town that can’t open. Everyone else is functioning and open, and there are no answers for us, none at all. And it’s a terrible feeling.”

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