Southern Coal did not comply with a September court order to repay a Charleston insurance company more than $500,000 in workers’ compensation claims.
A federal judge has held a coal company owned by the Justice family in civil contempt.
Southern Coal did not comply with a September court order to repay a Charleston insurance company more than $500,000 in workers’ compensation claims.
So Judge Elizabeth Dillon of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, earlier this week gave Southern Coal seven days to repay BrickStreet Mutual Insurance.
After that, Southern Coal will have to pay a penalty of $2,500 for every day it does not comply.
“It is well-settled that the imposition of a daily fine to coerce a party into complying with a court’s order is within a district court’s civil contempt power,” Dillon’s ruling said. “As requested by BrickStreet, and there being no opposition by Southern Coal, the court will also order Southern Coal to pay BrickStreet’s reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in pursuing this remedy.”
Southern Coal is one of the numerous companies the Justice Family owns. Southern Coal argued that it was unable to comply with the court’s September order because the company is insolvent.
Dillon noted in her ruling that Southern Coal had provided no evidence that it had no ability to repay BrickStreet other than simply saying it couldn’t.
“Here, Southern Coal has not affirmatively produced evidence that it is presently unable to comply with the Final Order other than the conclusory assertion that it has ‘no present ability to pay and comply with the Court’s judgment order,’” Dillon’s ruling said.
Justice’s companies are involved in multiple active cases in the Western District of Virginia both as plaintiffs and defendants. The companies owe creditors tens of millions of dollars. The lenders have sought to seize property, including resorts and a helicopter.
Southern Coal and many other Justice family companies are headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia. Gov. Jim Justice is a Republican U.S. Senate candidate this year.
Uninsured West Virginians can sign up for health insurance for free with trained counselors on January 9.
On Jan. 9, organizations from around West Virginia will work together to create the first Cover WV Day to offer the uninsured a free and guided path to health insurance coverage.
More than 20 organizations are joining in this effort to offer free assistance to those who need coverage. The WV Primary Care Association, the WV Navigator Program, the WV Office of the Insurance Commissioner, and many other non-profit organizations and community health centers have joined to offer more than 30 locations across the state for this one-day event.
Each location will offer walk-in hours where anyone can get questions answered or receive free help enrolling in health insurance.
All locations will be staffed by certified assisters such as Health Insurance Navigators or Certified Application Counselors who provide free help with Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and Health Insurance Marketplace enrollments.
The Open Enrollment period for the Marketplace ends on Jan. 16.
According to Jeremy Smith, the program director for WV Navigator, about 6 percent of West Virginians lack health insurance.
“We’re actually a little bit better than the national average as far as our uninsured rate is concerned, but we still have a ways to go,” Smith said. “I mean, we definitely know that there are over 100,000 people in West Virginia that don’t have health coverage and we think that the majority of them would probably qualify for either the West Virginia Medicaid program, the CHIP program for kids, or the plans on what’s called the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Organizers aim to educate West Virginians about the different options available to those needing health coverage.
“I do see that mindset from people that especially if they’ve lost Medicaid or if they’ve lost the job that provided insurance, they think they just have to go without until they find a new job that offers it, but with the marketplace, that’s not the case,” Smith said. “The Health Insurance Marketplace is designed for people that can’t get Medicaid, they can’t get Medicare, or they can’t get insurance through a job.”
West Virginia Medicaid and the Health Insurance Marketplace provide options for most people without coverage. According to Smith, four in five people who get a plan on the Marketplace can qualify for plans starting at under $10 per month this year.
“Even if they’ve checked in past years, and maybe they thought it was unaffordable, they should come back and definitely check again this year, because with all the updates the plans are affordable, all doctors are in-network, medicines are covered,” Smith said. “It’s just a really good option for people.”
LM Insurance, a subsidiary of Liberty Mutual, says Bluestone Resources and affiliated Justice companies owe $1.75 million in payments.
A company owned by the family of Gov. Jim Justice has been sued over workers compensation.
LM Insurance, a subsidiary of Liberty Mutual, says Bluestone Resources and affiliated Justice companies owe $1.75 million in premium payments.
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, says Bluestone filed an application in 2020 for a workers compensation insurance policy for its operations in Virginia and West Virginia.
In 2021, LM Insurance canceled the policy for non-payment of premiums.
In 2022, Bluestone made a payment toward the premiums of $50,000, the court filing says.
LM Insurance asked Bluestone to pay the remaining balance of $1.75 million, but Bluestone has not done so, the filing says.
LM sued Bluestone for breach of contract and unjust enrichment. It seeks compensatory damages, interest, court costs and further relief if the court sees fit.
Neither Justice nor any of his family members are named in the suit. Bluestone is based in Roanoke, Virginia.
Another company has sued Bluestone in the same Virginia court. Caroleng Investments, an offshore company based in the British Virgin Islands, says Bluestone owes it $13 million.
Last month, Caroleng’s attorneys sought a court order for the U.S. Marshals to seize a helicopter belonging to Bluestone that was housed at the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport.
Bluestone and another of its creditors, an Indiana bank, asked the court to stay the order. Meanwhile, the helicopter was moved from Roanoke to Burlington, North Carolina.
A judge issued the stay. A hearing will be held Friday to work toward settling the dispute.
Sigman said the quick response from residents, first responders, and state and local officials resulted in better outcomes for the safety of residents. The National Weather Service said it received its first call about flooding at 6:45 a.m. By 7a.m. a warning had been issued and sirens were activated.
The recovery and assessment process began Tuesday in eastern Kanawha County where floods damaged homes, vehicles, bridges, and roadways.
On Wednesday the Kanawha County Commission reported that at least 78 homes were affected, three were destroyed, and seven remain inaccessible according to a survey the commission issued. The commission expects this number to rise as more residents complete the survey, many of whom live in the areas most severely affected.
There were no fatalities from the flood. Emergency Management Director CW Sigman said that’s mostly due to residents making good choices by not attempting to cross streams.
“I know, it was a very scary time for the folks to be in houses with water rushing in back,” said Sigman. “I talked to one lady who had grandchildren on the opposite end of the road she’s on and she was just in tears because she was worried about her grandchildren. But they didn’t get out into the high water and that saves lives.”
Sigman said the quick response from residents, first responders, and state and local officials resulted in better outcomes for the safety of residents. The National Weather Service said it received its first call about flooding at 6:45 a.m. By 7a.m. a warning had been issued and sirens were activated.
The flood flashed quickly, many residents said that it rose faster than any other flood they had seen — rising feet in a matter of hours.
Fast Moving Water Is Powerful
Sigman says that many of the streams that saw the worst flooding like the Slaughter Creek watershed had steep gradient streams. The water moved quickly down into valleys where residential communities live. Sigman says that the water, sediment, and debris it brought with it caused lasting damage to the creek bed and banks.
Sigman visited one of the affected homes where he was told the homeowners had just made their first mortgage payment. The creek behind the home had eroded so severely that it had moved 10 feet closer to their home — possibly putting it at a higher flood risk for future storms.
“That kind of damage is disturbing with how much sediment came with it and how much the creek banks and the hillsides have caved in,” Sigman said.
Water Quality Affected
As water moved through the hills, it collected debris, sediments, bacteria, and chemicals. The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department has detected E. Coli in a residential water well that was tainted during Monday’s floods.
The Health Department is encouraging residents to have wells tested for free to avoid ingesting the deadly strain of bacteria.
“I hope this information gets out to residents who clearly have so much going on in their lives right now. We really don’t want an emergency room visit for a E. coli infection to be one more ordeal they have to contend with right now,” said KCHD Health Officer Dr. Steven Eshenaur.
Many of the areas where the rain fell have been heavily mined, which could also affect the quality of the water. A study published in the Journal of Hydrology said that water discharged from active or inactive coal mine sites has higher acidity and can contain heavy metals.
Insurance Payouts And FEMA Disaster Declaration For Small Communities
State and local officials are working to assess damage to homes and infrastructure. Once the process is complete, the localities will send numbers to the governor who can then request a FEMA disaster declaration.
Sigman says there are multiple qualifiers that FEMA is looking for to declare a disaster declaration. For example, the state must meet a threshold of $3 million in damage to infrastructure.
“They look at vulnerability factors. You know you live in an area that has a lot of retired citizens, people with disabilities or other vulnerability factors, FEMA will factor that in,” Sigman said.
Sigman said that FEMA is in place to help a community though the crisis but usually does not work to replace homes or rebuild infrastructure.
Local Response And Plan
The Kanawha County Commission has worked with other agencies and community members to assist flood victims. They are still accepting donations, and say they specifically need contractor grade trash bags, bleach, push brooms, and shovels. They do not accept clothing or cash donations. Supply Distribution points are at Belle Town Hall and Chesapeake Town Hall.
On Tuesday, Curbside Debris Collection will begin in Slaughters Creek, Winifrede-Fields Creek, Witcher Creek, Kelly’s Creek, and Horsemill Hollow. The Kanawha County Planning and Development Office is asking that debris be placed off Private Property, onto the road. The office also asks that residents report damage so that official recovery processes can begin.
Recently, the West Virginia Board of Risk and Management Insurance (BRIM) settled lawsuits totalling more than $100 million in a case of abused and victimized children at the now shut down Miracle Meadows religious boarding school in Harrison County. It follows $52 million in previously settled claims.
Recently, the West Virginia Board of Risk and Management Insurance (BRIM) settled lawsuits totaling more than $100 million in a case of abused and victimized children at the now shut down Miracle Meadows religious boarding school in Harrison County. It follows $52 million in previously settled claims.
In 2020, the West Virginia Legislature passed House Bill 4559 that increased the civil statutes of limitations for child abuse from 22 to 36. This allowed victims to come back years afterward and sue.
Senate Finance Committee Chair Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, was unsure of a legislative funding fix.
“Are we gonna have to bail them out? I don’t know,” Tarr said. “One of the things that we may have to look at is, they insure a lot of nonprofits.”
Tarr said outside of BRIM insuring public entities, they insure more than 100 high-risk nonprofits. He said the state may need to rethink the risks those clients present.
“It’s terrible what happened to those children,” Tarr said. “There’s no money that can make that up for what happened to them. But we also have to take a look at the security of the state and the coffers of the state to be able to pay to operate.”
Tarr said BRIM has been providing lawmakers information about the nonprofits they insure, but he said it’s not an easy decision on who to cover with a state insurance agency.
“It’s not a simple fix to go through and look and see what each one of them does,” Tarr said. “Even when you look at some of these names, you don’t know who they are or what they do without going through one by one and deciding is this something that the state wants to do? Do we want to be in the business of ensuring very high risk organizations?”
Tarr said making decisions on BRIM is a legislative priority.
BRIM representatives declined to talk to West Virginia Public Broadcasting on their financial situation due to ongoing litigation.
There comes a time when everyone has to decide to give up driving. It’s not an easy decision for most people, and it is even harder when a child has to convince their parent it is time to hang up the keys.
There comes a time when everyone has to decide to give up driving. It’s not an easy decision for most people, and it is even harder when a child has to convince their parent it is time to hang up the keys.
For his series “Getting Into Their Reality: Caring For Aging Parents,” News Director Eric Douglas spoke with insurance expert Paul Moss, founder of HeyDriver! to gain some insight. Moss has collected and analyzed driving data for 20 years.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Douglas: Before we get really started, tell me how you became an expert on this topic.
Moss: My name is Paul Moss, and I got my start in insurance in the early 2000s. And I always looked at insurance not only as a product, but I also look at it as one of the few products that can protect a livelihood and that people work so hard for. Everyone tries to make insurance about price, but the reality is, if you don’t have the right policy, when your worst day happens, your life can be flipped upside down.
Douglas: My goal for today is aging drivers. What do you need to do to offset or to prevent a potential tragedy?
Moss: I want people to understand what insurance companies do with older drivers so that your audience can insulate themselves against what happens to ensure that they’re not only keeping themselves safe, but they’re also keeping everyone else on the road safe.
Douglas: Drivers over 75 have the second highest rate, after teenagers, of fatal car crashes per miles driven. What are some of the issues that come up with older drivers and getting in an accident?
Moss: Father Time can be unforgiving, right? So things like our ability to react, motor skills, and how fast motor skills will kick in happens at a much slower pace. Believe it or not, texting, the influence of texting and driving isn’t just for teenagers. It actually goes all the way through the ages and generations of the population. And so not only is distracted driving far more prevailing than it’s been, it doesn’t matter which population you’re talking about. But let’s say you have an inexperienced teenage driver, who’s texting while they’re driving. Let’s say they go through their red light and you swerve to avoid them and you hit somebody. That’s actually the fault of the other driver, not the texter. So even if you’re not texting and driving, and just trying to avoid a texter, hyper-vigilance needs to really be in place.
This is a true story. There was a lady who drove one mile per week. And that was it. That’s the only reason she used her car and she would drive to the grocery store. She didn’t have to go on a freeway. She was driving one day and a kid ran out into the road chasing a ball. She did what every single person on this planet would do. She swerved to avoid the child, which is the absolute right thing to do. In doing so, she hit the back wheel of a bicycle and the rider of the bicycle flew off the handlebar and shattered his wrist of his left hand. He was a 40-year-old surgeon. And he sued for 30 years of loss of ability to do his job and won.
Douglas: Car insurance rates increase for older drivers. How does that work?
Moss: You go through your prime years of driving in the insurance company’s eyes when you’re going from 35 to 55 or 60. And you have very few accidents in this window so they’re collecting their paycheck with very little pay out. Once you hit a certain age, they really want to get you off the books, because they look at you now as a liability. Effectively, what they’re trying to do is every six months, every year, they’ll drive up your price.
And their goal is actually that you will shop your policy, and that you will leave, because they don’t care about their paycheck anymore. They look at it as there’s a time bomb that’s going to go off. Eventually, they will just flat cancel people and force them to shop. But that’s how it works.
Douglas: Interesting. Is there a top end where they say we’re just not going to do it anymore?
Moss: It really depends on the company. Allstate has their algorithm, State Farm has their algorithm, etc. And so each company is different. But what I can tell you is, in the billions of dollars of insurance that I’ve sold, it doesn’t matter how good of a driving record you’ve had historically, there are milestones in their algorithms that they just want to push you off.
Douglas: What should I, as a child, look for in my parents to say, “Hey, Mom, it’s time to stop now?” In my case, we went through this two years ago, and fortunately, it was relatively simple. She didn’t fight it. But that’s where you’re losing your freedom, you’re losing your ability to do things for yourself. So what are some of the benchmarks that we need to look for as children to talk to our parents?
Moss: There’s certainly signs. Vision is decreasing, moving slower. But there’s also ego involved. Nobody wants to face the fact that they’re physically going through these changes. My suggestion on this is self-actualization really matters. Being honest, can you really see, can you really respond like you need to in a vehicle? If you can, make it about other people. Accidents are usually two car incidents. If you get in an accident, you also have the potential to hurt somebody else and kill somebody else. It’s not just about you. And so if the conversation can move a bit away from, you know, talking about, like the degradation of motor skills, and can move to, here’s the consequences, like emotionally, you could turn this family upside down, and you could turn another family upside down, if you’re not self-actualizing. That’s really where, you know, you hope that people will come to terms with reality.
The key is genuinely, be honest with yourself about your abilities. Because you really can turn your family’s life upside down and other families’ lives upside down.
