December 04, 2010

Securities lawyer discusses recent Massey CEO retirement announcement

Massey Energy's board of directors announced yesterday that Don Blankenship, the company's CEO, will be retiring at the end of the year.  Blankenship was managing the company during the explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia which killed 29 miners in April earlier this year.

Motley Rice securities lawyers represent Massey's shareholders who allege that Blankenship, along with other members of the board, are financially responsible to shareholders for loss of share value because of backlash following the explosion. They claim the board failed to operate its mines safely and violated the terms of a settlement from an earlier lawsuit. 

Securities lawyer Badge Humphries is quoted in an NPR story on the announcement, saying, "this is a huge victory for what we've been trying to accomplish." Humphries has also spoken to the Wall Street Journal and the Rolling Stone about the Massey announcement.

Blankenship is scheduled to testify in two weeks in the joint state and federal investigation of the Upper Big Branch mine disaster. His company is also under scrutiny in a federal criminal investigation.  According to the NPR report, the Massey board in considering selling the company. Blankenship will be replaced by Massey President Baxter F. Phillips Jr.