Article content

The $430-million settlement fund in the Lac-Mégantic train disaster is illegal because the Quebec judge who approved it did not have the authority to do so, Canadian Pacific Railway said in its official leave for appeal Monday.

Documents obtained by The Canadian Press state the railway will argue that Superior Court Justice Gaetan Dumas erred in law by overstepping his jurisdiction in granting compensation to families of the 47 people killed on July 6, 2013.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or CP Rail asks to appeal $430-million Lac-Mégantic settlement fund for victims Back to video

The appeal application asks the court to cancel the fund and to rule that Dumas had no authorization to use Superior Court bankruptcy proceedings to offer companies releases from legal liability.

CP must still receive permission from a court to proceed with the appeal. If permission is granted, distribution of the millions of dollars offered to victims and creditors could be delayed by at least several months.

Earlier this month, Dumas approved the $430-million settlement package offered by companies accused of responsibility in the derailment.