BAGLEY, Wis. -- The $5 million lawsuit the village of Bagley residents filed against Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, blaming it for a 2007 flood, is back in Grant County Circuit Court.

The suit was filed in Grant County in May 2008, and assigned to Circuit Judge George Curry, who told the parties that his son, Nathan Curry, is an attorney in the Kopp, McKichan, Geyer, Skemp & Stombaugh firm that represents the residents. In August, the railroad had the case transferred to federal court in Madison as it feared it would be "homered," as Federal Magistrate Stephen Crocker wrote in a report earlier this year.

Attorneys for Bagley residents Kenneth Irish, Denise Marshall, Hollie Moore and Scott Stillwell have fought having the case tried in federal court. District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled in February to keep the case in Madison, but after the residents dropped a request to make the suit a class-action case, Crabb said the matter lacked federal jurisdiction and on May 7 returned it to Grant County.

Unless BNSF appeals Crabb's decision, the case returns to Grant County with allegations that the railroad is liable for millions of dollars of property damage from a July 17-18, 2007, flood because it failed to clear debris from a trestle spanning Glass Hollow Creek.

Last summer, 53 people in 33 households were potential members of the class of plaintiffs to the suit, according to the complaint. Their attorneys claimed another 25 households had been affected by the flood. In October, the assessed valuation of the property involved in the suit totaled $9.64 million.

The suit seeks an unspecified amount for property damage, reduced market value, loss of personal property, cleanup and restoration expense and punitive damages for reckless behavior by railroad employees.

Attorneys for the residents weren't available for immediate comment. A spokesman for the railroad had no comment.