Judge Dismisses Bulk Of Massey Energy Suit Against Newspaper, UMW

[hatrack]

FAIRFAX, Va. — A Virginia judge has dismissed The Charleston Gazette and the United Mine Workers in a defamation lawsuit filed by Massey Energy Co. and its president, Don Blankenship, but has let one claim stand against a political advocacy group.

After a two-hour hearing Monday, Fairfax County Circuit Judge David Stitt also ruled that Massey and Blankenship had failed to allege a valid conspiracy claim by the defendants to defame Massey and Blankenship.

The Richmond-based Massey sued the UMW; its president, Cecil Roberts; the West Virginia Consumers for Justice; and its president, Kenneth Perdue, in June. Also as part of the lawsuit, which sought more than $300 million in damages, Blankenship personally sued the Gazette.

Massey contended the defendants spread false information about coal mines purchased after the bankruptcy of Horizon Natural Resources in 2004. Massey argued that the union falsely stated that Massey shut down the mines and laid off 250 workers. The mines were already shut down when Massey bought them, the company said. Stitt ruled that comments about Massey were not defamatory. “The judge said that we are in a country where the First Amendment encourages commentary on public affairs,” said Charles D. Tobin of the Washington, D.C., office of Holland & Knight, which represents the Gazette.

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http://wvgazette.com/section/News/Other%20News/2006012320