Steve Korris News
Asbestos lawyer, insurer settle defense dispute
Peirce CLARKSBURG – Pittsburgh asbestos lawyer Robert Peirce and Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Company settled a dispute over payment for his defense against fraud and racketeering claims of CSX Transportation.
Link between asbestos trusts, courts hard to pinpoint
Dixon SANTA MONICA, Calif. – Researchers who set out to explore connections between asbestos trusts and asbestos courts returned with guesswork because of a lack of factual evidence.
Judge says regulators must prove they didn't interfere with mine ventilation plans
WASHINGTON – Mine safety regulators must defend claims that they dangerously interfere with ventilation plans, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled on Aug. 18.
Judge says state Supreme Court ruling harms privacy rights
Alsop CHARLESTON – Circuit Judge Jack Alsop fears the Supreme Court of Appeals diminished privacy rights in electronic devices.
Mazzone makes preemptive move on slurry hearing
Mazzone CHARLESTON – Circuit Judge James Mazzone won't let a hearing on a breach of confidentiality in mass settlement of litigation over water pollution from coal mines turn into a circus.
Secrecy envelopes Bresch case
Bresch WHEELING – West Virginia University's board of governors convinced U.S. District Judge Frederick Stamp to start wrapping secrecy around a degree the school awarded to Heather Bresch, daughter of U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin.
Former WVU leaders argue over statute in case involving Manchin's daughter
WHEELING -- Former leaders of West Virginia University's business school advised U.S. District Judge Frederick Stamp that they received a misconduct report more than two years before they sued the school, but they told Stamp the timing doesn't matter.
Alpha Natural Resources faces heavy penalties in water quality claims
CHARLESTON –- Alpha Natural Resources, owner of the former Massey Energy, will pay $516,478 to settle claims that Massey mines polluted public water.
Lawyers pursue Digitek wrongful death case outside of MDL
Williamson CHARLESTON – Mimi Rivera-Vega of Texas endured 12 years of progressive heart disease that led to a transplant in her final month, yet surviving spouse Scottie Vega blames her death on a pill she swallowed.
CSX, Peirce firm throw suits at each other
Peirce WHEELING – Like boxers throwing punches before the referee reaches the ring, CSX Transportation and asbestos lawyers from Pittsburgh sue each other without permission from their judge.
Alpha opposes paying merger foes' $900K legal fees
RICHMOND, Va. – Alpha Natural Resources pleads that it shouldn't have to pay a $900,000 bill from lawyers who sued to block its acquisition of Massey Energy.
Agreement shows WVU OK'd ending Lang proceedings
WHEELING – West Virginia University Board of Governors agreed to resolve and terminate academic integrity proceedings against former provost Gerald Lang, according to a confidential agreement that stayed secret less than a month.
Mingo slurry cases settled, group trials avoided
WHEELING – As Circuit Judge James Mazzone prepared for the first of many group trials over water pollution from former Massey Energy mines in Mingo County, Circuit Judges Derek Swope and Alan Moats relieved him of the duty.
Mother takes immunization fight to U.S. Supreme Court
WASHINGTON – West Virginia mother Jennifer Workman plans to seek relief at the U.S. Supreme Court from state law requiring immunization of her daughter.
Dissent attacks med mal damage cap
CHARLESTON – West Virginia's limits on non-economic damages for victims of medical malpractice violate the state Constitution, Circuit Judge Ronald Wilson argues against a Supreme Court majority that reached the opposite conclusion.
EPA chief offers to control water permits for surface mines
Jackson WASHINGTON – Environmental secretary Lisa Jackson has volunteered to multiply and control water quality permits for surface coal mines in six Appalachian states.
Lawyers who fought Massey merger want $900,000
RICHMOND, Va. -– Lawyers who tried to stop Massey Energy's merger into Alpha Natural Resources didn't succeed, but they claim victory and seek a $900,000 fee.
Massey directors explain Blankenship's retirement
Blankenship RICHMOND, Va. -- Massey Energy shareholder Benjamin Mostaed didn't block its merger into Alpha Natural Resources, but he obtained an explanation for chairman Don Blankenship's retirement.
Borrower settles key debt collector suit
MARTINSBURG – Borrower Linda Barr, who established that debt collectors in West Virginia must obey the same laws as lenders, settled the suit that proved her point.
Nature groups settle water quality case with Massey subsidiaries
Chambers HUNTINGTON – Nature groups and subsidiaries of the former Massey Energy settled a water quality dispute and called off trial before U.S. District Judge Robert Chambers.