W.Va. Supreme Court KO's $76m Massey verdict

In a 3-2 decision, the state Supreme Court has overturned the $76.3 million judgment that Massey Energy Co. faced from a 2002 Boone County verdict arising from a coal contract dispute.

The majority found that Massey's "egregious" conduct justified the judgment and plunged both Harman Mining Co. and its president, Hugh Caperton (a cousin of former Gov. Gaston Caperton), into bankruptcy.

But it concluded "the law simply did not permit this case to be filed in West Virginia." To explain that finding, the opinion runs 63 pages and features 37 footnotes.

The result drew sharp dissents from Justices Larry Starcher and Joseph Albright.

The Associated Press reports on the ruling. The Charleston Gazette, WSAZ-TV and WWOWK-TV also have coverage.

Massey's lawyers had sought Starcher's removal from the case, citing his repeated public comments critical of the company and its chief, Don Blankenship.

Some of those remarks targeted Blankenship's George Soros-like spending on political activities,. In particular was his (estimated) $3.5 million campaign that helped oust Democrat Warren McGraw and elect Republican Brent Benjamin in the 2004 Supreme Court race. Much of the money went to a "527" group, "And For The Sake Of The Kids."

Lawyers for Harman and Caperton cited that 2004 spending to press for Benjamin's recusal. To support that argument, they noted that AFTSOTK was organized seven weeks after Massey lost a post-trial bid to gut the verdict.

Blankenship had also sent Massey workers a memo at that time, declaring that the verdict "will play a role in furthering impoverishing the children of our state," these lawyers argued.

Wednesday's ruling sets a number of new legal precedents. Most address the clause in contracts that governs the forums for resolving such disputes.

Lawyers for both Massey and the plaintiffs argued the case earlier in the term.