WHEELING, W.Va., July 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corporation (NASDAQ:WPSC) confirmed today that a Brooke County, West Virginia jury unanimously awarded the Company $219.85 million in its lawsuit against Massey Energy Company and its subsidiary Central West Virginia Energy Company (CWVEC).
The award came late yesterday and consists of $119.85 million in compensatory damages as well as $100 million in punitive damages, the latter split evenly between Massey Energy Company and CWVEC. The lawsuit was filed by Wheeling-Pittsburgh in April 2005, and arises out of CWVEC's failure to deliver significant quantities of metallurgical coal during the period December 2003 through early 2006 as required by the long term coal supply agreement between CWVEC and Wheeling-Pittsburgh. This non-compliance forced Wheeling-Pittsburgh to fulfill its metallurgical coal and coke requirements in the spot market where supply was tight and prices had dramatically escalated and also led to production disruptions which resulted in equipment damages to the Company's coke batteries.
James P. Bouchard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer stated "On behalf of the Company, its directors and shareholders, I would like to thank everyone involved over the last several years in achieving this victory for the Company, including our internal and external legal teams, management and employees. Moreover, we are grateful to the jury for stepping forward to correct the harm to Wheeling-Pittsburgh caused by Massey Energy Company's and CWVEC's failure to fulfill their commitments. The jury's unanimous verdict is extremely fair and reasonable, protective of the Company, its employees and the United Steelworkers. We believe the verdict should withstand any appellate challenge." Certain statements contained in this news release are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future events or results. Readers are referred to the "Business -- Risk Factors" section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, and other reports and filings with the SEC, which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements.
About Wheeling-Pittsburgh: Wheeling-Pittsburgh is a steel company engaged in the making, processing and fabrication of steel and steel products using both integrated and electric arc furnace technology. The Company's products include hot rolled and cold rolled sheet and coated products such as galvanized, pre-painted and tin mill sheet. The Company also produces a variety of steel products including roll formed corrugated roofing, roof deck, floor deck, bridgeform and other products used primarily by the construction, highway and agricultural markets. DATASOURCE: Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corporation CONTACT: Dennis Halpin of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corporation, +1-304-234-2421 Web site: http://www.wpsc.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/967451.html
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