The families of two miners killed in the April 2010 explosion at
the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia and another man who
survived the blast have sued owner Massey Energy Co. (MEE), the
Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette reported Tuesday.
The three lawsuits were filed Monday in a county court by the
families of Joe Marcum and Adam Morgan and by Stanley Stewart, who
escaped from the explosion that killed 29 miners. The lawsuits name
Massey and subsidiaries Massey Coal Services and Performance Coal
Co.
At least two other miners' families have sued. Massey said last
week it had reached settlements with seven families. Settlement
details haven't been made public, but Massey has said it offered
families $3 million to settle any claims against the company, the
Gazette reported.
The Charleston lawyer who filed the three suits, Tim Bailey,
alleged that Massey operated Upper Big Branch in a "willful, wonton
and recklessly unsafe manner," citing a "staggering number of
safety violations" cited by government inspectors.
Massey has said it believes data on crushed limestone -- capable
of controlling buildup of explosive coal dust -- compiled by the
U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration at Upper Big Branch is
inaccurate. The company also has argued that water spray problems
identified by the agency had little if anything to do with the
deadly explosion.
The U.S. Justice Department has been conducting a criminal
investigation while federal and state safety officials investigate
the cause of the accident.
Massey agreed in January to sell itself to Alpha Natural
Resources Inc. (ANR) in a deal valued at $7.1 billion.
Full story at
http://www.wvgazette.com/News/montcoal/201103070521
-Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2900