CHARLESTON – A Kentucky-based coal operator has won what might be the largest insurance verdicts in West Virginia history.
Ramaco Resources Inc. received a $32.7 million jury verdict in a federal lawsuit against insurance companies indirectly owned by Chubb INA Holdings Inc.
“Our mission at Bailey Glasser focuses on the idea of trial lawyers bringing forth their best case on behalf of our clients, even during trying times like COVID,” said Bailey Glasser partner Nick Johnson, who was lead trial counsel for Ramaco. “Here, our team’s deep knowledge of the energy industry and experience in insurance recovery, combined with our incomparable trial experience, produced this result on behalf of our client.
“This verdict also reflects our dedication to holding insurance companies accountable for improperly refusing to pay legitimate claims. We are grateful for the time and attention of the jury and the court in this case.”
A spokesman for Chubb said the company does not comment on legal matters.
The lawsuit stemmed from the insurers’ denial of coverage of damages after the collapse of a coal storage silo at Ramaco’s Elk Creek complex in Logan County on November 5, 2018.
When the insurance company denied coverage, Ramaco filed suit in August 2019 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
On July 15, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Ramaco for $7,653,057 in compensatory damages. The next day, the jury made an additional award of $25 million for inconvenience and aggravation.
The company said it also will seek to recover its attorney fees and court costs. This verdict is not final and may be subject to post-trial motions or appeal.
In addition to Johnson, other Bailey Glasser attorneys who worked on the case for Ramaco were Brian Glasser, Becky Pomeroy, Michael Murphy, Joshua Hammack and Christopher Smith.
Ramaco is an operator and developer of metallurgical coal in southern West Virginia, southwestern Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania. It is based in Lexington, Kentucky, and has an office in Charleston. Right now, the company has five active mines within two complexes.
For the defendant companies, the local attorneys involved were James Jarrod Jordan and Matthew J. Perry of Lamp Bartram Levy Trautwein & Perry in Huntington,
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number 2:19-cv-00703