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Item 8.01. Other Events.
On July 20, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (the “Court”) rendered a decision in the case styled Ramaco Resources, LLC v. Federal Insurance Company, Ace American Insurance Company, and Chubb INA Holdings, Inc. The Court reinstated the jury verdict awarded to Ramaco Resources, LLC (the “Company”) for contractual damages and prejudgment interest of $7.6 million. The Court further determined the Company is entitled to attorneys’ fees and a new trial on damages for inconvenience and aggravation pursuant to West Virginia’s Hayseeds doctrine.
The case is not final and may be subject to further appeals or rehearing requests.
As background, on November 5, 2018, one of the three raw coal storage silos that fed the Elk Creek plant of the Company experienced a partial structural failure. The Company’s insurance carrier, Federal Insurance Company, disputed the Company’s claim for coverage based on certain exclusions to the applicable policy and, therefore, on August 21, 2019, the Company filed suit against Federal Insurance Company and Chubb INA Holdings, Inc. in Logan County Circuit Court in West Virginia seeking a declaratory judgment that the partial silo collapse was an insurable event and to require coverage under the Company’s policy. Defendants removed the case to the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, and upon removal, the Company substituted ACE American Insurance Company as a defendant in place of Chubb INA Holdings, Inc. The trial in the matter commenced on June 29, 2021, in Charleston, West Virginia. On July 15, 2021, the jury returned a verdict in the Company’s favor for $7.6 million in compensatory damages and on July 16, 2021, made an additional award of $25.0 million for inconvenience and aggravation.
On August 12, 2021, the defendants filed a post-trial motion for judgment as a matter of law or in the alternative to alter or amend the judgment or for a new trial. On March 4, 2022, the district court entered its memorandum opinion and order on the motion reducing the jury award to a total of $1.8 million, including pre-judgment interest, based largely on the district court’s decision to vacate and set aside, in its entirety, the jury award of damages for inconvenience and aggravation. The same day, the district court entered the judgment in accordance with the memorandum opinion and order. On April 1, 2022, the Company filed a notice of appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
SignatureS
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| Ramaco Resources, Inc. | ||
| By: | /s/ Randall W. Atkins | |
| Name: Randall W. Atkins | ||
| Title: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | ||
Date: July 20, 2023