St Louis is where Patriot Coal is headquartered.
United Mine Workers of America president Cecil Roberts said the court made the right call moving the hearing.
“Nobody has ever mined one ounce of coal in Manhattan,” he said.
“Patriot Coal executives set up two dummy corporations in New York because they wanted their case heard in a forum far from the coal fields.
“St Louis is where Patriot Coal is headquartered. More important, it’s the headquarters for Peabody Energy and Arch Coal.
“These two companies spun off their operations to Patriot in an attempt to run away from pension and health care obligations to thousands of miners and their survivors.”
The union had wanted the hearing to be moved to Charleston, West Virginia, but was happy with the St Louis selection.
Patriot Coal is yet to comment on the decision.
