By DANYEL VanREENEN
The Journal
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — After two days in court, Chief U.S. District Judge Gina Groh ruled in favor of Rockwool, the under-construction stone-wool manufacturing plant in Ranson, on Wednesday. The ruling granted the company a preliminary injunction to prohibit the Jefferson County Board of Education from taking “any further action in furtherance of its threat to condemn Rockwool’s property.”
Rockwool’s motion for a preliminary injunction stemmed from a civil lawsuit filed by Rockwool against the Jefferson County Board of Education. On April 9, the board allegedly told Rockwool that it had outstanding plans to construct a Regional Student Support Center, and the board offered to buy 194.7 acres of Rockwool’s property for $1,362,900, which the board deems fair market value based on the analysis of similar properties recently sold in the county. According to court documents, the board threatened to condemn the property if the offer was rejected.
However, Rockwool claims the board’s offer only covers a fraction of its investment in the site. In its motion, Rockwool argued that it will suffer irreparable harm without an injunction. According to testimony from Peter Regenberg, Rockwool’s vice president of operations, U.S., Rockwool initially bought the property at Jefferson Orchards for $2.3 million; in total, however, he said the company has spent approximately $47 million to date on permitting, constructing and extending facilities to the site.
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