July 18, 2026 - A federal judge in Kentucky has ordered a coal company owned by the family of Republican Sen. Jim Justice of West Virginia to pay roughly $18 million in a legal battle spanning more than a decade.

On July 9, Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky ordered Jay Justice, the senator’s son, and Stephen Ball, an associate of Kentucky Fuel, to pay penalties, attorneys fees, fines and interest, unpaid retainer fees, and lost tonnage royalties.

The case is one of several legal battles brewing around the Justice family’s coal empire, which has been beset with lawsuits and financial woes in recent years.

The ruling is tied to a 2012 lawsuit where New London Tobacco Market, an agricultural business, and Fivemile Energy accused Kentucky Fuel, a coal mining business owned by the Justice family, of failing to pay mine royalties and retainer fees.