Update on the Adams' property dispute case

Last Wednesday, May 7th, Long Branch residents Mary Jane and Raleigh Adams had a hearing regarding Whymore Coal Company’s broken lease agreement and trespassing on their property.  The Circuit Judge in Leslie County, Judge House, concluded that the lease is still valid and that the couple is restraining from getting on their own land.  The judge is also requiring the Adams family to remove debris from the ditchline where the road was widened on their property.

"We believe we were just run over by the Circuit Judge House in Leslie County and by the coal company lawyers who lied and said that we had said that the lease was valid.  We never said that.  Why would we have spent all of this money to challenge the judge’s conclusion about the lease if we said it was valid?â€  Mary Jane asked.

The company stopped paying wheelage owed to the Adams' when the county road had been widened on their property early last year.  The couple contacted the company and then wrote a certified letter voiding the lease.

"We did exactly what was needed to void our lease.  It was very clear what was required in the terms of the agreement, and there was no valid reason why the judge concluded what he did.  He essentially restored the lease.  He’s not for the people; he’s for the coal company.

The judge also concluded that Raleigh had gone against the restraining order which preventing them from interrupting the mining operation on their land.  Since the couple had been restrained, Raleigh had gone on the property when the company wasn’t working to take photos and mark boundary lines for their surveyor.   

"They weren’t even working.  That’s worse than anything.  We can’t get on our own land,â€ Mary Jane. 

The company also tried to argue that the Adams’ contact with the Department for Natural Resources to request inspection of mining violations was against the restraining order.  At this point the judge determined that the couple is still allowed to do that.

"The company was trying to make it seem like we were contacting the state just to harass them.  We only contacted the state when we had valid complaints, which was twice in the last month.  The state did come out several days in a row; once they got there they must have found more problems.  There were violations, and it’s our right to have areas checked out,â€ Mary Jane said.

"What can you do to a judge who appears to be above the law?  He sits there and does nothing that is right.  Then the company is saying lies about us, and we couldn’t say anything to object,â€

"We now can’t get on our own land, and the mining is going forward without our permission.  They have restrained us from stepping on our property even when no one is around and they aren’t working,â€ Raleigh concluded.