CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The United Mine Workers of America is suing Arch Coal Inc. and Peabody Energy Corp. in southern West Virginia over pension and health-care benefits for bankrupt Patriot Coal Corp.'s active and retired miners.
Peabody spun off Patriot in November 2007, and Patriot later acquired mines that Arch spun off into Magnum Coal.
The lawsuit filed this week in U.S. District Court in Charleston says Arch and Peabody set up spinoff companies to rid themselves of their benefits obligations. But it argues they are still responsible for those benefits under the federal Employee Retirement and Income Securities Act.
"The companies bragged about getting those liabilities off their balance sheets," said union President Cecil Roberts. "And as people with long experience in the coal industry, they knew that the cyclical nature of the industry would inevitably lead to Patriot's inability to pay for those liabilities.
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