Second class action filed in response to natural gas outage

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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