COURT REINSTATES $100,000 FINE AGAINST MASSEY

(05/30/2008)
A judge has reinstated a $100,000 fine levied against a subsidiary of Massey Coal because they failed to report a serious accident.

Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Duke Bloom ruled yesterday that the state Coal Mine Safety Board of Appeals decision to slash the fine to $10,000 was arbitrary and capricious.

Massey has a long history of not paying fines or paying greatly reduced fines.

The company says they will review their options.

The case was the first legal test of a key mine safety provision adopted after the deaths of 14 West Virginia miners in two 2006 accidents.