Attorneys in one of the largest mass litigation cases ever to come to before a West Virginia circuit court took eight weeks to put on their evidence. Tuesday, jurors took six hours to weigh it all and find a verdict in favor of some 500 plaintiffs in the Mullens sub-watershed.

In their finding, six jurors said the timbering practices of Western Pocahontas Properties and Western Pocahontas Corp. did increase water runoff from their land on July 8, 2001, that such an increase in peak runoff did cause the streams below them to overflow, and — perhaps most importantly — that the company’s use of land was unreasonable.

“Those were five strong ladies and one man,” plaintiffs’ attorney Randolph McGraw said.

Their verdict regarding unreasonableness means plaintiffs in the case can proceed to the next phase, during which they will seek damages from the defendants. That case will be heard by a new jury.

It was unclear Tuesday when that phase of the case would begin, exactly how many flood victims are involved and how long it might take once it begins. But Raleigh County Circuit Judge John Hutchison told plaintiffs they have 30 days to get releases for FEMA information that could have some bearing on the outcome of the trial’s next phase.

After hearing the verdict, defense team attorney Richard Bolen publicly congratulated plaintiffs’ counsel, but the defense attorneys had no comment other than to say they were, of course, disappointed.

Plaintiffs attorneys, on the other hand, saw the verdict not only as a victory for their clients but as hope for bringing positive changes to the state.

“I’m elated,” Stuart Calwell said. “This case was fraught with political overtones from the very beginning. The defendants billed it as an effort to do in timbering and (surface) mining in the state, and nothing could be further from the truth.”

Calwell said he believed jurors in their verdict said they want these industries but that they want these industries to be responsible.

“ ... They want them to go the extra mile and consider the overall impact of their operations on the mountains, to do some testing. Just be reasonable,” Calwell said. “I believe the pressure from this case will motivate timber and coal mines to be healthier. And I think that will improve the quality of life and the value of property in these flood plains.”

Mountaintop removal mining was originally an issue in the case, but most defendants in that industry settled out of it before the case went to trial. Pioneer Fuel was the lone exception, but it settled last week. There were originally 31 landowner defendants. Western Pocahontas Corp. is the general partner of Western Pocahontas Properties Limited Partnership; they deal in timber.

Tuesday’s decision is not the end of this litigation. This trial was only a chunk of a much larger case that involves six watersheds. This portion involved only the Mullens and Oceana sub-watersheds of one of those watersheds, the Upper Guyandotte. (The Oceana plaintiffs reached settlements with defendants prior to closing arguments.)

In September, a new Raleigh County jury will take on the responsibility of deciding the outcome of the cases against landowners in the Coal River watershed, which was affected by the same storm.

Defense attorneys in this case argued that rainfall that day was so catastrophic it would have overwhelmed the land regardless of its use and that land use was reasonable. Plaintiffs attorneys argued that companies didn’t take necessary action to protect their downhill neighbors.

Defense attorneys said they have a few legal issues for the court to address before they will know whether they will appeal.

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