The first lawsuits have been filed in the aftermath of the Nov. 30 freight train derailment in Paulsboro that sent container cars cascading off a bridge over the Mantua Creek and released 23,000 gallons of a toxic gas.

The first, Breeman v. Consolidated Rail Corp., 12-cv-7468, was filed Dec. 6 in federal court by borough resident Alice Breeman, on behalf of herself and her three children.