## Facts

- Mountaineer Gas Company operated an underground natural-gas transmission line in and near the City of Keyser, West Virginia.
- Natural gas is explosive and, if it escapes from a transmission line, may migrate along the path of least resistance and reach the surface through nearby utility corridors.
- On September 27, 1993, natural gas escaped from Mountaineer’s transmission line, traveled along a sewer line, entered nearby residences, and ignited, causing an explosion that damaged multiple homes.
- The City of Keyser had hired Parks Excavating to perform sewer-related excavation work in the area of the gas line and sewer facilities.
- A Public Service Commission investigation attributed the leak to a separation associated with a coupling failure and concluded that movement and strain related to the excavation contributed to the line’s failure.
- Multiple property owners and other affected parties filed actions against Mountaineer, the City, and Parks; the cases were consolidated in the Circuit Court of Mineral County.
- The circuit court granted summary judgment imposing strict liability on Mountaineer for damages from the explosion.
- In a separate summary-judgment order, the circuit court dismissed claims against the City, concluding they were barred as “subrogation claims” under W. Va. Code § 29-12A-13(c) because some plaintiffs had received insurance payments.
- Mountaineer appealed both rulings to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.

## Issues

1. Whether West Virginia law permits strict liability against a natural-gas transmission-line operator for explosion damages, or instead requires a negligence analysis (including possible use of res ipsa loquitur).
2. Whether W. Va. Code § 29-12A-13(c), which limits subrogation actions against political subdivisions, bars insured plaintiffs’ direct tort claims against a municipality when insurance has paid part of the loss, or instead allows the claims subject to an offset.

## Decision

- The court reversed the summary judgment imposing strict liability on Mountaineer.
- The court held that West Virginia precedent did not establish strict liability for gas-line explosions; the proper framework is negligence, with a very high duty of care and potential application of res ipsa loquitur where its elements are met.
- The court reversed the summary judgment dismissing claims against the City of Keyser.
- The court held that § 29-12A-13(c) bars subrogation suits by insurers against political subdivisions, but does not extinguish an insured party’s own cause of action against a political subdivision merely because insurance paid part of the loss.
- The court remanded for further proceedings, including determination of fault and causation under negligence principles and application of appropriate offsets to prevent double recovery for amounts already paid by insurance.

## Legal Principles

- Operation of a natural-gas transmission line is subject to a very high standard of care due to the dangerous character of natural gas, but liability is generally determined under negligence principles rather than strict liability.
- A prior gas-explosion decision cited by the circuit court did not create strict liability; it supported proving negligence through circumstantial evidence and, when warranted, use of res ipsa loquitur.
- Res ipsa loquitur may permit an inference of negligence when the type of accident ordinarily does not occur absent negligence and the instrumentality is sufficiently within the defendant’s control; it is an evidentiary tool, not a strict-liability rule.
- W. Va. Code § 29-12A-13(c) limits insurer subrogation actions against political subdivisions, but does not bar an insured plaintiff’s direct tort claim brought in the plaintiff’s own name.
- When an insured plaintiff recovers from a political subdivision after receiving insurance proceeds for the same loss, the recovery is reduced by the insurance payments to avoid a double recovery.

## Conclusion

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia reversed summary judgment that imposed strict liability on the gas utility and reversed dismissal of claims against the City, holding that gas-explosion claims proceed under negligence (with a high duty of care and possible res ipsa loquitur) and that the statutory bar on insurer subrogation does not prevent insured plaintiffs from suing a municipality, though any recovery must be offset by insurance payments already received.


Foster v. City of Keyser, 202 W.Va. 1, 501 S.E.2d 165 (1997)