Governor, Carrier Looking to Settle Coverage Lawsuit

Wednesday, August 18, 2021 | 0

New York-based Starr Indemnity & Liability Co. and West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice are working to settle a lawsuit alleging a company the governor runs with his adult children refused to pay $166,000 in deductibles on workers’ compensation and employer liability policies, according to a report by the Charleston Gazette-Mail.

Gov. Jim Justice

Starr in its May 4 complaint alleged that Justice Family Group failed to pay deductibles on policies covering the period from June 1, 2018, through June 1, 2020. The policies carried per-accident deductibles of $1 million for bodily injury caused by accident and per-employee deductibles of $1 million when a bodily injury is caused by disease.

The Gazette-Mail reports that U.S. District Judge Frankl Volk canceled a hearing scheduled for July 30 after the parties notified the court of a pending settlement.

Earlier in August, Volk told the parties to conclude the settlement process by Sept. 3 or another hearing will be set for Sept. 10.

In an earlier report, the Gazette-Mail said Starr filed its lawsuit within a month of four retired miners alleging in court filings that coal companies owned by the Justice family failed to provide prescription drug coverage. And, that court filing came within a month of the federal court in Delaware finding that Justice and two companies his family controls owed $6.8 million for breaching a contract with a Pennsylvania coal supplier.