## Facts

- Grat and Mila West owned and occupied a home along Buffalo Creek on an unpaved dirt-and-gravel public road (state secondary route 8/1) in Wyoming County, West Virginia.
- National Mines Corporation held a coal lease in the area and operated a coal preparation facility; it contracted with other companies to mine and haul coal.
- Coal was hauled in large trucks (about 30–50 tons per load) along route 8/1 past the Wests’ home to the preparation plant several miles away.
- Truck traffic ran six days per week and at times continued through the night; trucks sometimes traveled in closely spaced groups at roughly 30 mph.
- In dry conditions, the truck traffic generated dense coal dust that settled on the Wests’ home and property, allegedly impairing breathing, interfering with use and enjoyment of the property, and damaging garden crops.
- Although mining activity had existed for many years, the volume and size of truck traffic (and resulting dust) had increased substantially in recent years.
- The Wests sued for damages and injunctive relief, alleging the defendants’ operations constituted a nuisance.

## Issues

1. Whether an adjacent landowner may state a private nuisance claim based on allegedly unreasonable heavy-truck use of a public road that materially interferes with the landowner’s use and enjoyment of property.
2. Whether National Mines may be held responsible for a nuisance arising from mining and hauling performed by independent contractors where National Mines was the primary beneficiary of the operations.
3. Whether the pleadings and evidence at the preliminary injunction stage made a prima facie showing sufficient to preclude dismissal and require further proceedings on injunctive relief.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia reversed the trial court’s order denying a preliminary injunction and dismissing the action, and remanded for further proceedings.
- The court held that unreasonable use of a public road may constitute an actionable private nuisance when it substantially and materially interferes with neighboring property use and enjoyment.
- The court held that National Mines could not avoid potential nuisance liability solely by delegating hauling and mining to independent contractors when the contracted work was likely to create a nuisance absent special precautions.
- The court concluded the Wests’ allegations and preliminary hearing evidence were sufficient to state a prima facie nuisance claim, making dismissal improper at that stage.

## Legal Principles

- Use of a public roadway is not categorically privileged; road use must be reasonable in light of its effects on neighboring landowners.
- Persistent dust, noise, or similar impacts from heavy truck traffic on a public road can constitute a private nuisance when the interference with adjacent property is substantial and continuing.
- In nuisance cases, a party that orders and primarily benefits from work may be liable even if independent contractors perform the work, when the nature of the work is likely to create a nuisance unless special precautions are taken.
- At the preliminary injunction stage, dismissal is improper where the complaint and evidence, taken as true for the motion, establish a prima facie entitlement to relief.

## Conclusion

The court reinstated the homeowners’ nuisance action, recognizing that heavy coal-truck traffic on an unpaved public road may be an unreasonable interference with neighboring property and that the primary beneficiary of the hauling operation may face nuisance liability despite using independent contractors.


West v. Nat’l Mines Corp., 168 W. Va. 578, 285 S.E.2d 670 (W. Va. 1981)