Severstal says case against Massey is validated

Associated Press

WHEELING December 04, 2008 11:44 am

— Severstal North America says it’s happy to have closure on a long-running dispute between its Wheeling plant and a Massey Energy subsidiary.
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the case, which involved a $100 million punitive damages award against Massey.
Severstal vice president Marty Szymanski said late Wednesday the Supreme Court’s decision ends the appeals process, allows the original $260 million jury award to stand and validates the steelmaker’s case.
The dispute was between Massey’s Central West Virginia Energy Company and the former Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel and its coke plant, Mountain State Carbon. The steelmaker accused the coal companies of reneging on coal supply contracts.
Severstal completed its acquisition of Wheeling-Pitt from Esmark Inc. in August.