A federal judge overseeing more than 30 lawsuits against Norfolk Southern insisted at a hearing on Friday that attorneys vying for leadership avoid soaring attorney fees and legal costs that would reduce potential compensation to the community.

“I want to make sure the residents are treated fairly,” U.S. District Judge Benita Pearson of the Northern District of Ohio said at the Zoom hearing. “That there is a proportional distribution that isn’t overly consumed by the fees and costs of the attorneys.”