The West Virginia Supreme Court has ordered that an investigation be conducted into charges that Mingo Circuit Court Judge Michael Thornsbury acted improperly in a case involving Massey Energy.

Earlier this month, concerns were raised about the appointments of the administrator and trustee of the medical monitoring program Massey has been ordered to maintain. The purpose of the multi-million program is to keep parties apprised of the alleged health effects caused by coal slurry the company pumped into the ground in the Rawl area for several years, beginning in the 1970s.

There two main points at issue attorney Kevin Thompson addressed when he filed a motion asking that Judge Thornsbury recuse himself from the case.

One is the appointment of a trustee and an administrator to oversee a medical monitoring program put in place to keep all parties apprised of the health condition of the plaintiffs.

The other point made in the motion asking Thornsbury to remove himself from the case is whether there is a relationship between the judge and Massey CEO Don Blankenship.

Acting Chief Justice Robin Davis ruled that allegations involving Blankenship do not warrant further scrutiny, but that the appointment of Community Trust Bank as trustee over the medical monitoring program may be questionable and should be investigated.

Judge Thornsbury, along with Dr. D.C. Beckett, are co-debtors on a deed of trust as part of Williamson Renaissance, a real estate development company. Community Trust is the holds a $1.6 million deed of trust to Williamson Renaissance. Whether there was a conflict of interest in that appointment is an issue addressed in the request for his recusal.

The question of how the amount paid to the program trustee is determined is another point raised in the motion. According to the record, the fee was to be fixed at 1.25 percent of the amount paid to the administrator of the program.

However, that fee was later changed to a “schedule of fees”, which was not specified.

The motion asking for Thornsbury’s removal stated that using such a schedule would “allow the trustee and the administrator separate and open ended fees”.

The motion also stated that Dr. Beckett had been appointed to oversee the medical monitoring program, a charge the judge has denied.

Justice Davis ordered Thornsbury to convene a hearing, create an official court record on how a medical monitoring trust fund will be administered, and detail what fees both the administrator and the trustee can charge.

The judge must then report to her in writing for a decision.

The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, August 4, while the Rawl case is set to begin October 20.