Litigation

Caperton Lawsuit: ?Abuse of Justice??

By Peter Hardin

Hugh Caperton’s newly filed lawsuit against Massey Energy (see Gavel Grab) is drawing further news media coverage, from business journals to home-state press. The coverage has drawn attention once again to questions raised by Caperton about whether the West Virginia Supreme Court delivered impartial justice.

A Wall Street Journal article was headlined, “Massey Plaintiff Refiles.” In the West Virginia Record, a headline declared, “Caperton refiles Massey suit in Virginia.” You can also check out articles in the Charleston Gazette, from the Associated Press and WTRF-TV.

Allegations by Caperton (photo at left) about improper associations between state Supreme Court justices and Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship (photo at right) have drawn extensive mention in Gavel Grab. Caperton won a landmark U.S. Supreme Court victory about judicial recusal in an earlier round of litigation.

A West Virginia jury’s award of $50 million in favor of Caperton’s mining company, however, was overturned three times by the state Supreme Court on a venue issue. Now Caperton is trying to pursue his dispute in a Virginia court instead.

Full post as published by The Gavel on November 11, 2010 (boomark / email).