CHARLESTON — A federal judge ordered several cases against CONSOL Energy to be consolidated.
"Consolidation is appropriate when doing so will foster clarity, efficiency, and the avoidance of confusion and prejudice," the order by Judge John Copenhaver stated.
The four cases are based upon the same termination of retiree benefits and assert four identical claims for relief.
"The factual allegations and legal claims in [all four] cases are virtually identical, as are CONSOL’s defenses," the order states. "Accordingly, allowing these cases to proceed separately would be inefficient, duplicative, and burdensome to the Parties, witnesses, and the Court. By contrast, consolidation would eliminate risks associated with separate adjudications while reducing the time and expense of litigating [all four] matters and promoting judicial economy."
The court agrees with the parties' joint statement for consolidation and ordered the cases be consolidated into a singular filing.
The plaintiffs in the case now are Edmond Stephenson; Billy Johnson, Ira Martin, Alberto Pellillo, David Jesso and Doug Jennings; Donald Hylton and Greever Asbury; Kirby Hall and Donald Ward.
The plaintiffs were employed by CONSOL and worked for at least 10 years and reached the age of 55, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
The plaintiffs claim the defendant failed to timely produce a summary plan description to the plaintiffs when they adopted a superseding retiree welfare benefits plan in 2011.
"Defendant knew that Plaintiffs had relied on the promise of lifetime benefits, but concealed the risk of loss of those benefits until after Plaintiffs retired," the complaint states.
The plaintiffs claim when CONSOL terminated the retiree welfare plan, it provided lump sum transition benefits to a subset of other retiree plan participants, reflecting a portion of the reasonable present value of the Plaintiffs’ reliance.
However, the plaintiffs claim, the defendant did not provide any such benefits to the plaintiffs and in 2015, the defendant terminated health coverage for all retirees under that plan.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages. They are represented by Samuel B. Petsonk of Petsonk PLLC and Bren J. Pomponio and Laura Davidson of Mountain State Justice.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number: 2:21-cv-00269
