As noted earlier on AT, former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship filed a $12-billion defamation suit against multiple media companies and individuals.  He based much of his suit on his claim that the federal government, specifically the Obama-era Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), forced his company to use inadequate ventilation of the Upper Big Branch coal mine.  Within hours of implementing the MSHA-mandated ventilation plan, there was a natural gas (as distinct from coal bed methane) explosion that killed twenty-nine miners. While his case moves forward, it is interesting to note that a suit filed by the widow of one of those miners, Carolyn Diana Davis, has been settled by the federal government.  SRN News reported: The widow of a West Virginia coal miner who was among 29 men killed in the 2010 Upper Big Branch mine explosion has settled a lawsuit against the federal government for $550,000. The...(Read Full Post)