Almost 100 seek restitution from former coal executive
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – Ninety-four people are seeking restitution from former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship as he prepares for sentencing Wednesday.
Blankenship’s defense team filed a motion late Friday asking the federal court judge to deny the claims. The motion states the claims seek money that the restitution statute does not authorize, including compensation for harm suffered where there was no bodily injury and harm for which the claimant has already been compensated.
Defense lawyers also argue that assessing each claim individually could take months.
Blankenship faces up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for engaging in a conspiracy to violate federal mine safety and health standards at the Upper Big Branch Mine for a more-than-two-year period prior to the April 2010 explosion that killed 29 miners.
Prosecutors argued that any miners who worked at Upper Big Branch during that period are victims of Blankenship’s conspiracy, but they have not yet said publicly how many might be eligible for restitution. Being eligible for restitution requires a showing of some actual loss, such as medical expenses, lost wages or lost or damaged property.
Prosecutors have said the families of miners who died in the Upper Big Branch explosion should inherit victim status from the miners. But the families previously settled wrongful death suits against the company, so any restitution for those deaths would go to the company or its insurance carrier to recoup what was already paid to the families.
In addition to the individual restitution claims, Alpha Natural Resources, which bought Massey after the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster, is seeking $28 million in restitution from Blankenship.
U.S. District Judge Irene C. Berger is scheduled to sentence Blankenship on Wednesday. She has not yet ruled on a request from the government for a separate hearing to address restitution issues.