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?”  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,” 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,” 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,”

“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,” Raleigh concluded.

They have backed us into a corner.  They’re trying to get the coal one way or another.  This company is not a good neighbor

-Mary Jane Adams, after a long day at court.

This past Tuesday a judge heard testimony on Mary Jane and Raleigh Adams’ case concerning Whymore Coal coming on their land without their permission.  Although the case has not concluded and there still has not been a determination whether or not the original contract is void, the judge ruled that the coal company is allowed to continue mining and is required to pay wheelage (amount per ton hauled over their property) and back pay.  There is additionally a property line dispute between the Adams and an adjacent property owner that must still be resolved.  Up until a week ago, there had been no question as to where the boundaries were.

During the hearing, the company claimed that the lease had not been broken, and that they had not been on the Adams’ property. First the company claimed that they were not responsible for hauling the coal past the Adams’ home because it was a public road, and the four payments that the family had received were advanced royalties payments because they wanted “to be good neighbors.”  However, both the Adams and other residents testified that the company had obligations to make payments when they widened the road onto private property.  Several residents stated they were currently receiving payments on an annual basis from the company for wheelage due to a widening of the road.  Since the wheelage payments stopped which broke the contract with the Adams,’ the company claimed that widening the road on the Adams’ property did not count. 

Furthermore, although another set of landowners who supposedly have a valid lease with the company did not have a surveyed map of their property boundaries, the company claimed that when they were operating on the top of the mountain last week, they were actually on a different landowner’s property.
Another claim made by the company in an effort to justify issuing a restraining order for Raleigh on his own property was that he had supposedly threatened the workers and the equipment.  When the president of Whymore was further questioned about this false accusation, he referenced that Raleigh said there would be problems if they came down any further on his land.  Raleigh and his neighbors that were present on the mountain refuted that claim and reminded them of the threat to knock a tree on Raleigh.  Don Williams also told the court about how Curtis Hopkins, the former coal operator, said he would bulldoze his way through the Adams to get the coal. 

Throughout the court proceedings, the company president talked about how the Adams’ family had contacted the state on numerous occasions regarding mining operation and that they were inciting their neighbors to make calls to “tarnish my name in Frankfort.”  The company implied it was harassment, however citizens have a right under the law to express concerns about a mining operation especially when a company is operating in a reckless manner.  During the last month, the company has received 4 non-compliance citations ranging from inappropriate use of explosives, improper disposal of spoil material, and the disruption of the watershed above a sediment pond.

Other residents have expressed concerns about the reckless and illegal mining practices of this coal operation.  During the hearing, Ron Williams spoke about how the coal trucks had destroyed three of his mailboxes.  Others have expressed concerns about the mud and dust on the road.  In addition, there is another court proceeding regarding another tract of property, which the company received by purchasing an interest in an undivided property.  The way the law works now even if every other interest in an undivided tract opposing mining, as is the case in this tract of property in Long Branch, it is only required that one person signs.  The money for all the other interests is supposed to be put into an escrow account, which is not currently being done in the Long Branch case.   

“I am so disgusted about how this coal company is trying to intimidate residents and how they lied during the hearing about Raleigh and the situation.  I thought we lived in a free country where when you owned your land, you owned your land.  This company is totally taking advantage of an elderly couple, and this is not right,” Teri Blanton reflected, a KFTC member who attended the hearing in support of the Adams.

The legal proceedings are moving forward.  In the meantime, residents want to educate people how Whymore is treating people and doing poor mining practices.  The Adams family will continue to pursue options to stop the company from mining on their property without their permission and support their neighbors’ efforts to get better enforcement of the mining laws in their community.

This morning KFTC members Raleigh and Mary Jane Adams traveled to a Leslie County courtroom in hopes that a judge would order Whymore Coal Company to immediately halt an illegal mining operation on the couple's property. The couple had previously filed an injunction and restraining order against the company once the company broke their contract for wheelage and illegally moved equipment onto their property and started mining.

The judge overseeing the Adams case postponed hearing the case and making a ruling until next Tuesday due to a lack of time to properly hear the case. However, the judge did rule that the coal company should not mine or step back onto the Adams's property until their case is heard on Tuesday. This means that Mary Jane and Raleigh's land should be safe for the next couple of days.

Illegal mining is continuing to be perpetrated by the Whymore Coal Company on the property of KFTC members Mary Jane and Raleigh Adams near their home in Leslie County, KY.

In December 2007, Whymore Coal Company of London, KY broke a lease agreement and contract with the Adams family when they stopped paying the couple wheelage, a fee to use the couple’s road for mining activities. Since that time, the company has continued to use the family’s road and is actively mining on the couple’s property.

Previously, the Adams had leased a portion of their property to the coal company to be mined, but this lease became void after the corporation broke the terms of their agreement. In December when the contract was first violated, Raleigh sent the company a letter acknowledging that the contract was now void and demanding that Whymore Coal immediately stop mining on his property and leave. The company had 15 days to respond, but the Adams report that they only received one phone call and that since that time the company has never responded to their complaints.

Over the last two weeks the situation has become more serious. Whymore Coal has moved heavy equipment onto portions of the Adams’s private property and is actively and illegally clearing and mining their land without payment or notification to Mary Jane and Raleigh. The retired couple also report that threats have been made to their safety.

For the Adams family, this is not an issue about money and wheelage fees. Rather, it is about a landowner’s rights and the lack of enforcement of the coal industry in Eastern Kentucky. At her home talking over next steps with her husband and a group of neighbors, Mary Jane Adams said, “We don’t want money. I would live in poverty if it meant this company would see some justice.”

And while the coal company does owe the Adams family for the wheelage fees it has stopped paying, the Adams say no sum of money can replace the occupation and destruction of the couple’s property at the hands of a company that has continually broken promises and violated its contract. “You just can’t trust them,” said Mary Jane.

Besides connecting with KFTC to begin organizing a response to these abuses, the couple has contacted local media outlets in hopes that their story of broken contracts and violations can connect with other landowners who have had similar violations and the news exposure offer some help. However, WYMT, the leading news broadcast channel based out of Hazard, has been unresponsive to the couple’s request that they send a film crew to cover the story. The Adams have had more success with community media and a radio story about their situation from the Community Correspondents Corps at WMMT in Whitesburg is currently in production.

The Adams have also exercised their rights as landowners by requesting a state inspection, but no mining inspector has yet been sent to investigate the situation and file a report. And even if an inspector were to come to Leslie County, the inspector would not be able to take action as under state law a mining inspector can only enforce what is on a mining permit and does not have the right to enforce a signed contract between a landowner and company.

Despite these set backs, Mary Jane and Raleigh are determined to stand their ground. The couple will continue to organize with the support of KFTC.

Mary Jane Adams is a former Vice Chairperson of KFTC and served as the Chairperson of the organization during the Broad Form Deed Campaign in KFTC’s early history.

KFTC members in the region are continuing to support Mary Jane and Raleigh Adams in their fight to keep illegal mining off their land. Things are developing quickly, so be sure to check back on the KFTC blog for updates.

    Raleigh and Mary Jane Adams are long-time KFTC members in Leslie County.  Over the years, they have had their share of disputes with coal companies, loggers, and oil and gas companies.  They were instrumental in the passage of the constitutional amendment outlawing the abuses of the broad form deeds, which allowed coal companies to strip your land without your permission.

    However, their current problem is with a strip mining operation by Whymore Coal Company, which is operating in Long Branch in Leslie County.  The company is attempting to take their land without their permission, has threatened them, and has also negatively impacted their neighbors.

    “We’ve gone back to the 60s.  This is how they used to treat people before the broad-form deed amendment.  We’ve dealt with a lot of coal companies, and this is the worst.  They’re act like they own everything, and they’re going to do whatever they want,” Raleigh Adams, a 77 year-old retired coal miner.

      The couple did originally have a contract with the company, but the company broke it.  As a result, the couple has repeated told them they were not allowed on their property.  Earlier this week, the company has made numerous attempts to come on their land anyway.  They have already disturbed about two acres of the property.  Yesterday, Raleigh had to take things into his own hands and block the company’s bulldozer from continuing to disturb their land.

      “Yesterday morning, my neighbor informed us that the coal company was coming on our land.  They bulldozed one of our “no trespassing” signs.  After I went up there, they worked on the other side of the branch for a while.  While I was waiting it out, I heard over the CB that they wanted to knock a tree over on me.  Later, one of the bulldozer operators came within 5 feet of me on my four-wheeler, saying that he needed to build a road.  I think he was just trying to intimidate me,” Raleigh shared.

      The state police came in and told the coal company that it would be considered murder if they ran over Raleigh.

     Yesterday was the first time they asked about the deeds.  The company served him papers for being on his own land.

      Three weeks ago the company informed the couple that they would move out if they couldn’t come up with a deal to come on their property.

      “We’ve never seen anything like this.  They will say one thing and do another.  They’ve told people that it’s been settled.  They will go ahead and mine, and they will go ahead and log.  But nothing had been settled.  They hadn’t even contacted us,” Mary Jane shared.

      When their nephews were talking with the previous owner of the operation, he told them, “I’m not going to pay him another dime; I will just bulldoze my way through.” During a different interaction with the coal operator, Raleigh wanted him to fix the hill that was sliding down the mountain. He told him, “He’d fill my driveway full of rocks and logs” if he tried to interfere with the mining operation. Another threat came from an individual who is making money off the operation.  He said that any interference that would prohibit them from getting the coal and getting paid. “I’ll beat you so bad that Mary Jane won’t recognize you.”

      Their neighbors have also had problems and unmet promises as well.  The maps used to obtain the mining permit were inaccurate.  Plus, they got access to one tract of property through the undivided property law, which allows one heir to a property to sell off rights to the land even though everyone else is opposed.  Another neighbor had been promised a well to be drilled by allowing the trucks to widen the road.  The road was widened to enable the coal trucks to drive faster past their homes, yet this resident still has no well.  The company bulldozed through trees and covered them up, which is against the law.  They have also negatively impacted the creeks.  The operator also informed workers that if they interacted with the neighbors they would be fired.

      “If anyone wants to see how they did a surface job back in the 60s and early 70s, they should just come here.  The state will come up and give them citations, but it doesn’t do any good; it hasn’t changed how they’re operating,” Mary Jane added.

      “It upsets me that they would come in here and do this.  I’ve been in similar situations before but never anything like this,” said Raleigh.

      “We’re trying to keep them off because we know what they’ll do if they get on there.  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  You can’t put it back, but we shouldn’t have keep fighting like this,” she concluded.

One comment removed because of juvenile language and personal attack.