Pittsburgh, PA - November 18, 2008 — The U.S. Supreme Court last week agreed to hear a highly publicized West Virginia case in which a state Supreme Court justice refused to recuse himself from a case involving Massey Energy, despite the fact that the company's CEO had made a $3 million contribution to Justice Brent Benjamin's campaign. Then, Justice Benjamin joined a 3-2 decision that reversed a more than $70 million damage award against Massey Energy.

The Supreme Court's decision to hear the case was widely reported in media including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and ABC News.

The attorney for Harman Coal Company, which was owned by Hugh Caperton, is Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney shareholder David Fawcett. After the decision by the Supreme Court was released, Fawcett and his legal team issued the following statement.

"Our clients have fought a 10-year battle against a corporation that threatened them not to pursue their legal rights. Hugh Caperton and his companies have been extremely courageous throughout this ordeal. At one point, their legal rights were confirmed and vindicated by a jury and trial judge, only to suffer reversal on appeal where it appears that monetary contributions affected the ability of the state appeals court to be fair."

"We are eager to argue our positions before the Supreme Court. We are confident the high court will not allow this case to stand, because people involved in lawsuits would have a license to contribute vast sums of money to elect judges with the expectation that those judges can then decide their case. As stated by retired United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a crusader against the improper influence of money on our courts, 'An independent judiciary is an essential bedrock principle, and we're losing it. ... We put cash in the courtrooms, and it's just wrong.'"

About David Fawcett

David Fawcett's litigation experience involves pursuing business torts and handling business disputes of many kinds, including disputes arising out of supply agreements, mergers and acquisitions, software and licensing agreements, confidentiality agreements, employee benefit plans, patents, copyrights and covenants not to compete.