TINY TOWN ONE-UP IN COAL DUST DISPUTE - Sylvester Gets Damages

(02/08/2003)

A Massey Energy subsidiary has been ordered to pay residents of Sylvester $475,000 for causing coal dust to fall on their property. A Boone County jury did not award punitive damages. The verdict came in a lawsuit filed by 150 residents of the tiny town. They claimed Elk Run's operation, located no more than 750 feet from some of their homes, has destroyed property values. Jurors said Elk Run had created a nuisance and had negligently harmed the plaintiffs. The jury also determined that Elk Run had failed to comply with federal and state surface mining laws by failing to control air pollution or failing to protect off-site areas from damage from its operations. Sylvester residents, many elderly people, refused to leave their homes, after a longtime dispute.

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