Tag: Judge Ronald Pearson

Freedom Industries' Bankruptcy at Crossroads

  A federal bankruptcy judge is calling for parties to meet to discuss how to conclude the case of Freedom Industries, whose January 2014 chemical spill caused a tap-water ban for 300,000 people for days.

The Charleston Gazette reports Judge Ronald Pearson scheduled a March 3 status conference in the case.

In a Feb. 6 order, Pearson noted more than $300 million in claims had been filed against Freedom. Spill victims filed 3,800 of them.

Pearson said Freedom has $1.5 million left after starting the case with almost $16 million.

Pearson said the court isn’t comfortable deciding a proposed $3.2 million insurance settlement without consulting spill claimants. Ex-Freedom President Gary Southern has objected to the settlement.

Southern, five other ex-Freedom officials and the company itself face charges in the spill.

Judge Worried Freedom Industries May Abandon Spill Site

  A bankruptcy judge is concerned that a chemical company may abandon the site of a massive January spill without cleaning it up.

Judge Ronald Pearson expressed the concern in an order filed Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Charleston.

The order points out that Freedom Industries’ plan to liquidate says the company expects to pay $850,000 or less to remediate its Charleston spill site.

Freedom’s plan says it may alternatively abandon the site, subject to court order.

Pearson wrote that it would be unacceptable for Freedom to risk not completing environmental obligations while spending millions of dollars on dozens of lawyers. Freedom is under state orders to demolish and remediate the site.

Freedom’s spill contaminated tap water for 300,000 people for days.

The Charleston Gazette first reported Pearson’s order.

Judge Denies Some Attorney Reimbursements in Freedom Bankruptcy Case

A judge won’t let the West Virginia company at the center of a January chemical spill reimburse its legal team for sending multiple lawyers to hearings or for travel costs.

Judge Ronald Pearson denied several Freedom Industries requests to pay law firms for work during bankruptcy proceedings. Pearson objected to firms overstaffing meetings and hearings, charging full rates for travel and asking for excessive reimbursement.
 
Pearson approved about $722,000 in payments to Freedom’s various lawyers and consultants Monday. The court denied thousands of dollars in fees and requested more information on hundreds of thousands more.

The January spill contaminated drinking water for 300,000 people for days.
 
Dozens of lawsuits against Freedom are frozen while the company works out bankruptcy issues. Businesses temporarily shuttered without clean water filed many of them.

 

Judge OKs Demolition of West Virginia Spill Site

A bankruptcy judge has initially approved plans for the company at the center of a January chemical spill to demolish its storage tanks.
 
Unless objections are filed by Friday afternoon, Judge Ronald Pearson said in court documents Monday he will give Freedom Industries the go-ahead to tear down its Charleston site.
 
The state Department of Environmental Protection ordered the demolition. Freedom expects the process to end by late June.
 
Freedom wants to use Independence Excavating Inc. to remove tanks, piping, equipment and other components.
 
Freedom would receive $25,000 for assets demolished and removed. The contract wouldn’t include remediating environmental damage to the site.
 
Freedom’s spill contaminated tap water for 300,000 West Virginians for days.
 
Federal officials have already removed evidence on site for investigations.

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