CHARLESTON – Attorneys representing the circuit judge who pointed a gun at an attorney during an oil and gas royalties hearing have sent a letter to the attorney demanding she stop “publishing false statements” about him.
The letter, dated July 21, was sent to Lauren Varnado, a Houston-based attorney who represents EQT and similar companies in royalty dispute cases. It was signed by Robert P. Fitzsimmons and Mark A. Colantonio of The Fitzsimmons Firm in Wheeling.
“Please be advised that this firm represents The Honorable David W. Hummel Jr. with respect to your recent published statements about him,” the letter begins. “We are currently investigating your statements and their effect upon Judge Hummel’s reputation.”
Varnado
In addition to several stories in The West Virginia Record, Varnado’s story has been told by numerous media outlets across the country and around the world, including People magazine and The Daily Beast.
The letter does not mention any possible of pending litigation against Varnado by Hummel, and it is not labeled personal or confidential.
The letter also requests Varnado, her law firm of Michelman & Robinson, her co-counsel, her former law firm and EQT preserve all evidence related to subject matters of her public statements about Hummel, the underlying litigation and the hearing when he brandished the gun.
The letter says failure to adhere to these requests may be considered an intentional act of evidence spoliation.
The Record reached out to the Fitzsimmons Firm for further comment. Fitzsimmons and Colantonio both donated to Hummel's re-election campaigns in the past, including the maximum $2,800 in his 2020 state Supreme Court bid. The firm also is representing plaintiffs in cases against EQT in Hummel's court.
In addition to the gun incident in the case, Hummel has oil and gas interests that seem to be a violation of state code. And, he recently was found to have violated court rules in his handling of a child abuse and neglect case by repeatedly accusing children ages 6 and 7 and their mother of lying. His actions in that case forced the state Supreme Court to vacate his ruling and remand it back to circuit court before another judge.
