UBB Widow Files Lawsuit
- {Charleston, West Virginia}...According to a financial disclosure Alpha Natural Resources filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday, a lawsuit filed last month by Edith May Willingham alleges that Massey officials, including then-CEO Don Blankenship, "fraudulently induced" her to settle claims regarding the death of her husband, Benny, who was one of 29 miners killed in the April 2010 explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine. The lawsuit states that Massey and Alpha Natural Resources, along with Blankenship, Alpha CEO Kevin Crutchfield and nine other Massey officers and board members possess information regarding the tragic event that they intentionally withheld from her, while those individuals who were representatives of the company were much better schooled and educated and in a better position to entice her into an early settlement. Alpha says it had reached settlements with all 29 families of miners who died, but two families recently withdrew their prior agreements to settle and negotiations are ongoing in those cases. The filing says the Boone County Circuit Court has ordered that remaining personal injury and emotional distress claims be mediated through July 6th. Alpha entered a non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice December 6, 2011, costing Alpha more than $200 million in outstanding fines, restitution, and improved miner safety equipment.
