Va. court refuses to review Massey defamation case

Va. court refuses to review Massey defamation case


RICHMOND, Va. —
The Virginia Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal in a defamation case brought by Massey Energy President Don Blankenship against the United Mine Workers and The Charleston Gazette. A Fairfax County circuit judge had dismissed the suit in June 2006, ruling that Massey and Blankenship failed to allege a valid claim. Massey Energy sued the UMW in the same lawsuit. Massey and Blankenship asked the Virginia Supreme Court to review the circuit judge’s dismissal, but the high court declined, saying it found no “reversible error” in the judge’s ruling. In his 2005 lawsuit, Blankenship alleged the union and West Virginia’s largest newspaper had conspired to defame him in 2004 with articles regarding the layoff of 250 miners from operations bought by Massey after the bankruptcy of Horizon Natural Resources Co. “This lawsuit should never have been brought in the first place. We are glad that the courts agreed with the newspaper and that the litigation is now over,” said Elizabeth E. Chilton, publisher of the Gazette. UMW President Cecil Roberts said, “Don Blankenship wielded untold thousands of dollars to pursue this frivolous lawsuit in his attempt to intimidate our union and to silence dissent. As we anticipated and the justice system confirmed, these tactics have no place in American society.” Massey Energy has a policy of not responding to questions from Charleston Gazette reporters. Blankenship said he didn’t have an immediate comment on the high court’s action. “I haven’t seen the decision yet, so I don’t know exactly what the status is. I’ll have to talk to the lawyers.”