According to the West Virginia Record, John Palmer, Scott Lepka, Clif Tennant, DeWayne Jarvis and Robert Hillberry filed documentation late last month in Monongalia Circuit Court and named John Renner, Randel Coffindaffer, Blair McGill and Patriot Coal as defendants.

The five argue that Renner measured dangerous methane levels in the mine on at least 19 occasions but did not evaluate crews and subsequently falsified the readings in Federal No. 2’s books.

The plaintiffs claimed they were exposed to a high level of risk and said the mine was idled for a long period of time as a result of the conduct of the defendants which caused economic loss to its employees, according to the legal news wire.

All of the men are seeking compensatory and punitive damages, though no further financial details were provided by the journal.

They alleged the intentional exposure caused severe emotional distress, annoyance and inconvenience and economic losses.

The plaintiffs are represented by Alex Shook, Jacques Williams and Timothy Manchin.

No hearing date for the case, identified as Monongalia Circuit Court Case 12-C-42, was provided.

An ILN request for comment and details on the litigation from a Patriot Coal spokesperson was not returned on Wednesday.