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Juicy Enough For Grisham, But Does It Have Any Bite? Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co. and the Impact for Texas Courts
09/01/2009
Katharine D. David

“A guy owned a coal company. He got tired of being sued. He elected his guy to the Supreme Court. It switched ... back his way. Now he doesn't worry about getting sued.”

That is how John Grisham described the facts underlying one of the Supreme Court’s most anticipated decisions in the recent term – Caperton v. Massey, on appeal from the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. The case garnered national attention even before it was announced on the Supreme Court’s docket, because Mr. Grisham’s own recent best-seller tells an almost identical story. In The Appeal, the CEO of a company appealing of a multi-million dollar judgment bankrolls an unsuspecting candidate for the Mississippi Supreme Court. His plan? Get the new judge elected so that the judge will, in time, overturn the verdict against the CEO’s company.

We won’t spoil the ending of the book. We don’t need to, because the facts in Caperton are equally intriguing. Hugh Caperton sued A.T. Massey Coal Company alleging fraudulent misrepresentation, concealment and tortious interference with existing contractual relations. In 2002, a jury found in favor of Caperton and awarded $50 million in damages. Due to post-trial motions, the case remained in the trial court until 2005.

Meanwhile, the 2004 West Virginia judicial elections took place. Don Blankenship, Massey’s chairman, CEO and president, spent $3 million, more than all other contributors combined, to support Brent Benjamin in his successful bid to unseat incumbent Justice McGraw on West Virginia’s highest court.

When the Caperton case finally reached the West Virginia Supreme Court – which is composed of only five justices at any given time – Justice Benjamin was among its members. In November 2007, with a vote of 3-2 and with Justice Benjamin in the majority, that court overturned Mr. Caperton’s $50 million judgment. Caperton moved for rehearing and sought recusal of three of the five judges on the Court on various grounds. Two of the motions were granted, but the one directed at Justice Benjamin was not. On rehearing, the court voted to reverse Mr. Caperton’s trial verdict with Justice Benjamin casting the deciding vote.

Reprinted by permission from The Houston Lawyer, September/October 2009

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