Second class action filed in response to natural gas outage

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A second potential class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of about 1,100 Charleston-area customers who lost natural gas service over the weekend.

The plaintiffs in this case – Thomas Tolliver and Bailes Glass Co. – filed their complaint November 15 in Kanawha Circuit Court against West Virginia-American Water Company and Mountaineer Gas Company. Both plaintiffs are based on Charleston’s West Side, which is where a high-pressure water line suffered a break November 10.

The force of the water from the leak pierced a main gas line, sending thousands of gallons of water through the system. Mountaineer Gas officials say it could take a week or more to clear the water out of the gas lines.

“There is no other explanation or accounting for this disastrous event other than the gross negligence of WVAWC and MGC,” the complaint states.

Unlike the first complaint filed November 14, the latest one demands injunctive relief prohibiting WVAWC and MGC from seeking a rate increase to pay for damages.

“If a rate increase were to be allowed, such action and cost to plaintiffs and others similarly situated would constitute a ‘double whammy’ on plaintiffs and the class in that they would be paying at least twice for the wrongs caused by the defendants,” the complaint states.

Attorney Anthony Majestro explained the rationale behind that request.

“This is clearly the fault of the utilities,” Majestro told The West Virginia Record. “They shouldn’t be able to transfer that liability back to the people who have suffered in the form of higher rates.

“We appreciate the efforts of the gas company to restore service as soon as possible. But what they aren’t doing is providing for the people who are suffering nightly temperatures in the 30s in the middle of winter because of their negligence.”

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Judge rules candidate ineligible in competitive GOP Senate primary

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A judge has ruled a candidate in a competitive GOP Senate race is ineligible because she just recently moved back to West Virginia after many years out of state.

Kanawha Circuit Judge Duke Bloom issued the ruling this afternoon, declaring that political newcomer Andrea Kiessling, a 35-year-old living in Spencer, is ineligible.

The judge based that on a state constitutional requirement that political candidates be residents of the state five years prior to running for office. Until the last couple of years, Kiessling voted, paid her taxes and was licensed to drive in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Bloom ordered the Secretary of State to withdraw Kiessling’s certificate of candidacy and for votes for Kiessling not to be counted. Clerks in the district are supposed to post signage in polling place doors stating that Kiessling isn’t eligible.

The Secretary of State’s Office intends to adhere to the ruling and will call an emergency meeting of the State Elections Commission to comply, said Mike Queen, spokesman for the office.

After Bloom’s ruling was filed, the lawyer for Kiessling asked for a stay and the judge denied it. The next possibility is going to the state Supreme Court.

“The Court finds that Respondent has demonstrated little likelihood of success on appeal,” Bloom wrote. “Further, the Court finds that third parties will be greatly prejudiced by issuance of a stay, as early voting has already begun and Respondent Kiessling would remain on the ballot despite being found to be ineligible.”

Kiessling posted a video to say she doesn’t believe the challenge is over.

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Ousted GOP Chair Cornelius Prevails In Court

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Nearly three years after being removed from his positions, Rob Cornelius, the former chairman and elected member of the Wood County Republican Executive Committee, got his day in court Thursday.

Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Joanna Tabit ruled Thursday in favor of Cornelius after he filed suit over his removal from the Wood County Republican Executive Committee by former West Virginia Republican Executive Committee Chairwoman Melody Potter in 2019.

“The removal process was fundamentally, in my view, unfair,” Tabit said. “It was fundamentally unfair because it subverted the intention of the voters of Wood County. I don’t think it is appropriate for a party chairperson to unilaterally remove an elected official from office when the voters of Wood County have elected that official through the democratic process. That, in my view, is problematic.”

Tabit held a virtual hearing Thursday afternoon in Cornelius’ case against Secretary of State Mac Warner and Potter.

Tabit’s ruling restores Cornelius as a member of the county committee and as chairperson. Tabit also ordered the Secretary of State to accept a list of county executive committee members submitted by Cornelius after Potter made changes to the committee’s membership.

“We need to remove that list that has been submitted to the Secretary of State because I don’t believe that list was proper because there wasn’t proper procedure that was followed,” Tabit said.

“Mr. Cornelius should be reinstated to the executive committee and was duly voted as chair of the executive committee by those members of the Wood County executive committee, the previous members — those members that were elected in 2018 — and I think that is what needs reflected on the website,” Tabit continued.

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Opioid trial finally starts next week, with Gupta’s testimony still being debated

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All eyes are on the city of Huntington and Cabell County after a landmark trial, the first of its kind, started Monday in Charleston in a case the government filed against drug distributors they accuse of helping to fuel the drug epidemic.

The lawsuits, filed in March 2017, allege that AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp. — dubbed the “Big Three” ahead of trial — hold some responsibility for the drug crisis after more than 80 million doses of opioid medication were sent to the area in an eight-year period.

The city and county are seeking damages and reimbursement for costs associated with past and future efforts to eliminate the hazard. They argue that the wholesalers failed to follow a duty under federal law to monitor, detect, investigate, refuse and report suspicious orders of prescription opiates in the county.

The civil trial is the first of its kind in a complex group that includes more than 2,000 plaintiffs with the same argument. Summit and Cuyahoga counties in Ohio settled for $215 million in 2019 on the eve of their trial against the same companies, but the rest of the cases were placed on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Huntington, Cabell County trial against distributors begins

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A landmark federal trial about how a flood of prescription pills affected West Virginia communities will start next week.

“I’ll see everybody Monday,” U.S. District Judge David Faber told lawyers on all sides at the end of a status hearing today.

Faber will be presiding over a bench trial about how much wholesalers McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen should be accountable for the costs of opioid addiction in West Virginia communities.

The wholesalers deny wrongdoing.

The plaintiffs include the Cabell County Commission and City of Huntington, which contend the companies compounded the drug crisis by saturating the region with shipments of prescription painkillers.

The lawsuit, filed in 2017, blames the “Big Three” for fueling the crisis by distributing nearly 100 million opioid pills in Cabell County over a 10-year period.

The case was part of a group of similar cases being considered in federal court in Cleveland but was released back to U.S. District Court in West Virginia’s Southern District in late 2019. The trial’s initial start date was delayed while the coronavirus pandemic was at its worst.

On Wednesday, Judge Faber assured the case will actually go to trial by denying motions for summary judgment.

A hearing this morning dealt with some of the ground rules of the trial.

Faber said it will begin at 9:30 a.m. Monday. The judge set guidelines of three hours of opening statement for each side.

On the days after that, the judge anticipates starting at 9 a.m. and going until noon. The trial would then resume each day at 2 and go to 5 p.m.

Faber has already set a limit of 30 people in the courtroom because of ongoing precautions from the covid-19 pandemic. That will limit attendance to the judge, lawyers, court officials and witnesses. An overflow courtroom is being set up for media and members of the public.

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