Third Time's the Charm?

For the third time in nearly two years, West Virginia's Supreme Court has overturned a judgment (valued at $86 million with interest included) against Massey Energy Co.

"The 4-1 ruling was again written by Justice Robin Davis, and again concludes that Harman Mining and its president, Hugh Caperton, should have pursued their claims in Virginia under a clause in the contract at issue," The Associated Press reports.

The underlying lawsuit had been filed in 1998, and yielded a 2002 jury verdict in Boone County. The case then took three trips to the state's highest court. During that time, it spawned headline-grabbing photos of a justice socializing with Massey's CEO in Monaco. It also prompted a June ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court addressing judicial bias.

In a quasi-related case, the state Supreme Court also ruled 4-1 against AP over a Freedom of Information Act request it filed in the wake of the Monaco photos. This decision concludes that "that public officials and public employees can keep their personal e-mails secret," AP reports.