The company is facing up to a $US200,000 fine and as many as five years of probation for a misdemeanour count at its White Buck Coal operation for failing to perform a pre-shift inspection. Massey is asking that it be given a “modest fine” of $250 to $1000 and no probation, according to local news outlet the Charleston Gazette.

Lawyers for the mine complex said that a pre-sentence report suggested a fine ranging from $5000 to $10,000, but because the missing examination was an “isolated incident”, that it is entitled to “only a monetary fine at the bottom of the applicable range”.

The legal team also cited White Buck’s otherwise commendable record, the paper said, and added that its “unblemished safety record is a direct result of the emphasis the company places on employee training through its compliance and ethics program”

In related news, two miners for Massey’s Gassy Creek No. 1 operation, part of the White Buck complex, will be sentenced this week after pleading guilty to two 2002 violations, the Gazette reported.

Shift foreman William Edwin Wine and worker Delmas Bennett both admitted guilt to one count of a missing pre-shift examination and, in the case of Bennett, aiding and abetting his colleague by co-signing the report for an inspection that Wine did not perform.

Through the plea agreement, the paper said, both avoid a second felony count for falsifying paperwork with regards to the incident. In the company’s plea agreement statement, it said: “While there is evidence that similar violations occurred in the two months preceding June 27, the misconduct was an isolated, not systemic problem.

“There is no evidence ... Massey knew or had reason to know of, approved or acquiesced in Mr Wine’s failure to conduct a pre-shift examination prior to the entry of miners into the mine.”

The legal group for the company also told the judge, according to the news report, that the Mine Safety and Health Administration went with Wine on a properly conducted pre-shift examination, and “the mine was found to be completely safe, as it has been throughout its history.”

Last week, a Massey Energy shareholder filed suit against 14 current and former executives for the producer, including company chief Don Blankenship. The 1000-share owner, Manville Personal Injury Trust, is alleging mismanagement by the company that it feels has left it exposed to financial consequences.

According to an Associated Press report, Massey is looking at a “substantial threat of monetary liability for violations” because, MPIT said, the producer’s officials didn’t comply with environmental and safety regulations.

Also last week, a judge decided in favour of Wheeling-Pittsburgh in a dispute over a long-term agreement it had with the Virginia producer that was breached. Though Massey cited a force majeure in the situation, W-P was awarded $219.8 million for the dispute.