A group of shareholders of the Massey Energy Company claim that the company failed to tell the truth about safety records in order to push up stock prices.  After the company had published and shared information about a high level of safety through the company’s projects, an Upper Big Branch mine disaster raised concerns about the accuracy of the claims. 

The order for mediation was signed recently in an attempt to take the lawsuit out of court and reach a resolution more quickly in mediation.  The case has been stretching on for years, and U.S. District Judge Irene Berger’s order puts the case officially on hold for six months while the parties work with mediators to hopefully bring a close to the dispute. 

Both parties involved claim that they have already tried face to face meetings in an attempt to come to an agreement, and those meetings took place as far back as December 2011.  Written communications, like demands and counter-demands, have helped to narrow down the claims and all the parties involved believe that the case is at the point where mediation might be able to achieve their goals. 

The investors, who are led by the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment, claim that the company didn’t come clean about their many safety violations and challenges, which culminated in a Southern West Virginia mine explosion in April of 2010.  That mine explosion killed 29 miners.  Part of the delay in the case has been that the judge is currently shielding evidence that the plaintiffs would like to use from a criminal investigation.  Previous research and investigations have revealed that the explosion was the result of broken equipment mixed with accumulations of methane gas and coal dust.  The judge involved and the parties to the claim are hopeful that mediation will help create a final conclusion for the long-running case.