West v. National Mines Corp.

Grat and Mila West (plaintiffs) lived on an unpaved public road. The Wests also lived in between a coal mining operation and a coal processing facility. National Mines Corporation and other coal companies (collectively, coal companies) (defendants) transferred coal from the mine to the facility via large trucks. National Mines had contracts with the other companies to operate on its premises. The transferring of the coal could sometimes occur six days per week, all night long. This practice had been ongoing for decades, but the number of trucks began to increase. Because the road was unpaved, when it was not raining, the trucks disrupted significant amounts of thick dust onto the Wests’ property. The Wests later testified that the dust caused poor health effects, ruined their garden crops, and made it difficult to breathe. The Wests sued the coal companies, claiming that the trucking operation constituted a nuisance. The coal companies sought to dismiss the complaint. The Wests sought a preliminary injunction ordering the coal companies to stop using the road (which was the only road between the mine and the facility) or, in the alternative, requiring the companies to water the road to limit the dust. The trial court held a hearing on the preliminary injunction before dismissing the action. The court reasoned that (1) the coal companies were simply using a public road, and so there could be no nuisance, and (2) National Mines could not be responsible for the actions of its independent contractors. The Wests appealed, claiming that the trial court erred by dismissing their complaint.