Water polluted by a transformer leak from a mine site moves downstream in Twelvepole Creek on January 16.
WAYNE – Nearly 12 dozen new lawsuits have been filed in recent weeks related to the Wayne water crisis in January and February.
The 142 complaints have been filed since March 30 in Wayne Circuit Court. All of the plaintiffs are Wayne County residents who are customers of the Town of Water water system. The defendants are Appalachian Power Company, Lexington Coal Company, Triple H Real Estate, the Town of Wayne and an unnamed contractor.
The lawsuits blame the defendants for thousands of gallons of transformer oil that leaked starting January 13 from AEP’s East Lynn substation into Twelvepole Creek allegedly because of vandalism at the facility. The plaintiffs say the spill contaminated the Town of Wayne’s drinking‑water source and led to weeks of “Do Not Consume,” “Do Not Drink” and boil‑water orders that deprived roughly 2,400 customers of safe tap water.
These complaints trace ownership of the former Rockspring Development coal mine property, saying Lexington Coal bought the mine land in 2017 and later sold 2.8 acres to AEP for the substation and leased the rest to Triple H in 2024. The complaints say those companies, along with a contractor, failed to secure an unused mine and substation they knew contained hazardous transformer oil and had a foreseeable risk of vandalism and theft.
Paul Biser of Fredeking & Biser in Huntington is representing the plaintiffs in these latest lawsuits, which seek to be enjoined as a class actions.
Biser
Biser previously told The West Virginia Record he had been doing some preliminary work on the issue.
“I’ve been getting 10 to 15 calls a day at least,” Biser told The Record in January. “Right now, we’re gathering information and kind of waiting to see what develops. We’re watching the water testing and all of that.
“Regardless, people haven’t had water for more than two weeks. They’re having to run around to get it, take showers, wash clothes, get water anywhere they can.”
The plaintiffs say vandalism damaged fencing and equipment and caused approximately 4,900 gallons of non‑PCB transformer oil to spill into waterways feeding Twelvepole Creek, prompting the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and health officials to order flushing and extensive testing while residents relied on alternative water sources.
The plaintiffs accuse the Town of Wayne of negligence, gross negligence and prima facie negligence, arguing the town failed to adopt a source‑water protection plan, failed to design and maintain its water system to industry standards and mishandled the response in ways that prolonged service disruptions and left customers unable to safely drink, cook, bathe or wash clothes with tap water.
The plaintiffs allege they and other customers could not safely use tap water for drinking, cooking, bathing, or washing clothes for several weeks, forcing them to obtain alternative water at their own expense and causing property‑use loss, economic loss, and annoyance/inconvenience.
They also accuse AEP, Lexington, Triple H and the contractor of negligence, public nuisance, strict liability under West Virginia law, prima facie negligence based on alleged environmental‑law violations, economic loss for interference with prospective contracts, emotional distress and battery.
The plaintiffs also seek a right to court‑supervised medical monitoring for latent “dread diseases” such as leukemia and lymphoma.
The lawsuits seek compensatory and statutory damages for economic losses, loss of use and diminished property value, emotional and physical injuries and the cost of alternative water, as well as punitive damages based on allegations of willful, wanton and reckless conduct. They also seek pre- and post-judgment interests, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
In addition, they also ask the court to bar both AEP and the Town of Wayne from raising customer rates to recover spill‑related costs, calling such a rate hike a “double whammy” on residents, and demands a jury trial in Wayne Circuit Court.
The plaintiffs in these 142 cases are being represented by Paul Biser of Fredeking & Biser in Huntington. AEP is being represented by Brian R. Swiger, Rebecca D. Pomeroy, Christopher D. Smith and Nicolas S. Johnson of Bailey Glasser.
Two class actions previously were filed over the Wayne water crisis. One was filed in Kanawha County, and a second one was filed in Wayne County.
