The Marshall County Coal Company et al v. Oliver et al

Filing 21

MOTION for Preliminary Injunction, MOTION for Temporary Restraining Order by Robert E. Murray, Murray Energy Corporation, The Harrison County Coal Company, The Marion County Coal Company, The Marshall County Coal Company, The Monongalia County Coal Company, The Ohio County Coal Company. (Attachments: # 1 Memorandum of Law in Support, # 2 Affidavit - Heather Santini, # 3 Affidavit - John Klayko, # 4 Affidavit - Robert E. Murray)(kac) (Motion was filed in Marshall County Circuit Court on 6/28/2017) (Judge Bailey's Chambers Notified)

Case 5:17-cv-00099-JPB Document 21-2 Filed 06/30/17 Page 1 of 4 PageID #: 901

iN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF MARSHALL COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
THE MARSHALL COUNTY COAL COMPANY, et aL
Plaintiff,
Civil Action No.:

V.

Judge:

JOHN OLIVER, et a!.

17-C-124

Cramer

Defendants.
AFFIDAVIT OF HEATHER SANT1N1
1, Heather Santini, being duly sworn, state as follows:
1.

IamovertheageoI2l.

2.

1 am a receptionist at the Murray Energy Corporation (“Murray Energy”) and

have worked for Murray Energy since 2012. As part of my job, I am responsible for receiving
in-bound telephone calls to Murray Energy.
3.

I am authorized to submit this Affidavit on behalf of Murray Energy. The facts

attested to in this Affidavit are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and
belief.

I make this Affidavit based on personal knowledge, information provided to me in

company documents, my review of publicly available information, and communications with
company personnel in the ordinary course of my duties. I offer this Affidavit in support of
Murray Energy’s Motion for a Preliminary Injunction,
4.

Since the June 18, 2017 airing of Defendants’ episode of Last Week Tonight with

John Oliver (the “Broadcast”), Murray Energy has been inundated wfth harassing and malicious
telephone calls. In the matter of a few hours, Murray Energy received over 50 calls. For
e>ampIe, one caller wished death on Bob Murray. Other harassing statementS included:

Case 5:17-cv-00099-JPB Document 21-2 Filed 06/30/17 Page 2 of 4 PageID #: 902

Multiple callers exclaiming “Tell Bob Murray to eat shit!” or “Eat shit, Bob!”;
•

One caller stating that “your owner is a pussy and he’s fat!”;

a

Another caller asked an employee if she liked working for a company that was
destroying the planet;

•

One stated that “Murray Energy is a lying piece of shit”;

•

One person congratulated Mr. Murray on being probably one of the most heartless
people alive to watch so many of his employees die;

•

A group called on speaker phone demanding Plaintiffs’ employee to “justify to
the whole room why you like working at Murray Energy” and then demanded that
she repeat her positive answer “to all the miners, that Bob Murray took all the
black lung insurance from.”;

•

One stated his desire to “tell Bob Murray to eat shit and kiss my ass!”;

•

One condemned an employee, explaining that “you should be ashamed of yourself
for working for a company like Murray Energy”
Multiple callers asked “Is Dr. Evil in?”;

•

One stated “you’re a worthless piece of shit”

•

Others demanded that Plaintiffs “stop with their bulishit lawsuits” or asked “Why
are you suing John Oliver?”
One threatened employees “to watch their back”;

(

•

One stated “hope your CEO goes to Hell”;

•

One expLained “this is a squirrel, F@@@ you Bob, F@cl you Bob!”;

•

Another called a receptionist “a F@ing Bitch,” among other derogatory
terms;

5.

These telephone calls are a representative sample of what Murray Energy has

received since the initial Broadcast, and the attacks have intensified since Plaintiffs commenced
the abovecaptioned lawsuit, including demands to “Drop the lawsuit.”
6.

Additionally, after the Complaint was filed on June 21, 2017, one prospective

employee telephoned Murray Energy about being unable to view current job postings on the

2

Case 5:17-cv-00099-JPB Document 21-2 Filed 06/30/17 Page 3 of 4 PageID #: 903

company’s website, I responded that the company website was temporarily down and explained
the cause. That individual responded that he did not want to work for a company under those
circumstances.
1 was also frightened to hear that Mr. Murray’s son received a death threat on his

7.

mobile telephone following the Broadcast.
1 have also reviewed Murray Energy’s Facebook website. Numerous harassing

8.

messages have been posted on Murray Energy’s Facebook website since the Broadcast. Among
other comments, Facebook users have left messages saying, among other things regarding Mr.
(
Murray:
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9.

“Criminal”
“Clown”
“Should be imprisoned”
“Thief”
“Liar”
“This man should not be operating mines of any kind”
“Scum”
“He’s murdering people”
“Pig”
“Greedy”
“Avaricious”
“Soul less”
“Corporate hack”
“A sleaze”
“Clueless”
“All Murray wants is money”
7
“Rich greedy a**hole
“Despot”
“Puts his Employees in direct danger”
“Uses iLlegal mining practices”
“Is responsible for coal miner’s deaths!”
“Pos,,
“ordered ‘ Retreat Mining ‘ to extract the most profit from the Crandall mine
against OSI-IA Regulations.”
The Faceboak messages also referred to Murray Energy and stated:

3

Case 5:17-cv-00099-JPB Document 21-2 Filed 06/30/17 Page 4 of 4 PageID #: 904

°

o

•
10.

“Companies who don’t give a plug nickel about the employees”
“The Utah mine that that pulled down the mountain on top of the workers killing
them and then 3 more trying to rescue them”
“Is responsible for coal miner’s deaths!”
Comments posted on other social media, such as YouTube and Twitter, reflect a

similar level of vitriol, including wishes of death to Mr. Murray, and other threats and
harassment, such as the following:

(

It bob really does sue John Oliver. they can kiss their servers goodbye as they iIl crash everyday
Reply2t

The Muny Energy Corp websile is crashed now. Well done intemeti wanted to send an Eai Shit Bob
email to them but apparently rin too late.
Replyl9

AFFIANT FURTHER SAYETH NAUGHT.

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HEATHER SANTENE
SWORN TO AND subscribed before me this

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