Changing Attitudes of WV Juries may affect Coal and Timber CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The jury verdict in the first trial to determine liability for severe 2001 floods in southern West Virginia might be the opening scene of a nightmare for the state's logging and mining industries. Neither is used to being found liable for damages linked to cutting timber or unearthing coal, but that's precisely what happened in the first of a series of lawsuits stemming from floods that hit southern West Virginia on July 8, 2001. Now the likes of coal giants Peabody Energy Corp. and Massey Energy Co., as well as timber owners and logging companies, face a potential shift in West Virginia's attitude toward once all-powerful industries. Some see the decision reached earlier this month by a Raleigh County jury as an omen. The jury decided that improper logging practices allowed by two timberland owners contributed to severe flooding. Another jury will determine actual damages later. More here.