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A panel of judges handling the claims against Massey Energy will start Aug. 1, 2011, by trying one case each from seven personal injury and property damage categories the court has created.<ref>Ken Ward Jr., [http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2011/03/17/slurry-cases-set-for-trial-aug-1/ "Slurry cases set for trial Aug. 1"] Coal Tattoo, March 17, 2011.</ref> On March 25, 2011, jurors in Raleigh County Circuit Court sided with Massey and rejected claims that the silo exposed hundreds of children to possible health problems, as well as the plaintiffs' requests for a medical monitoring program.<ref>[http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9M6BNV01.htm "Massey wins lawsuit over coal dust at W.Va. school"] BusinessWeek, March 25, 2011.</ref>
SW: →Coal ash lawsuit for Marsh Fork Elementary School near Sundial: - add section
====Coal ash lawsuit for Marsh Fork Elementary School near Sundial====
On Feb. 17, 2011, Judge Harry L. Kirkpatrick III ruled that a medical monitoring lawsuit claiming hundreds of children were exposed to [[coal dust]] from a Massey Energy Co. coal silo may go to trial on March 14, 2011. The class-action lawsuit, which began in 2006, claims that Massey and a subsidiary, Goals Coal Co., had created a public nuisance by building the silo 235 feet from a school. Williamson attorney Kevin Thompson is suing Massey and its Goals Coal Co. subsidiary over long-term exposure from a the silo that , which sits about 235 feet from Marsh Fork Elementary School near Sundial, seeking monitoring of diseases that have yet to develop. Trains pull up to the silo to fill their cars, and the plaintiffs argue that creates dust that puts children at risk for asthma and other lung ailments. During a two-hour hearing before the judge, Massey attorneys Jon Anderson and Dan Stickler argued Thompson has failed to present any evidence to justify the demand for a medical monitoring program. To win monitoring, the plaintiffs must prove key legal elements — that they have suffered significant exposure to a proven hazard, and that the exposure increases their risk of developing serious latent diseases.<ref name=vs>Vicki Smith, [http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-18/w-va-judge-lets-massey-coal-silo-trial-proceed.html "W.Va. judge lets Massey coal silo trial proceed"] Bloomberg, Feb. 18, 2011.</ref>
Kirkpatrick has granted class-action status to the case, although it's unclear how many plaintiffs could benefit. Thompson has previously said as many as 300 children could have been exposed, but he noted in court that the Raleigh County Board of Education is resisting efforts to produce student records. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Woodrow and Elva Dillon and their two children. It accuses Massey of negligence and creating a public nuisance, and it demands unspecified punitive damages. The 70-year-old elementary school served as a media center during the [[Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster]] that killed 29 men in April 2010, and it has been the subject of a fierce public battle for years. Residents and anti-Massey activists have long complained about the dangers to children, not only from the silo but also from a massive dam that sits above the school and holds billions of gallons of [[coal slurry]]. Plans for a new school in Rock Creek are now in the works.<ref name=vs/>
===April 5, 2010: 29 killed in blast at Upper Big Branch coal mine===
