Company files for bankruptcy after West Virginia spill

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The company blamed for a chemical spill that left 300,000 West Virginians without safe drinking water filed for bankruptcy Friday, temporarily shielding it from dozens of lawsuits, many by businesses that were forced to shut down for days.

Freedom Industries Inc. also used its bankruptcy papers as a forum to hypothesize about what caused the spill.

The company filed a Chapter 11 petition with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of West Virginia, eight days after the spill was discovered.

Company president Gary Southern signed the paperwork, which lists both the company's assets and liabilities as being between $1 million and $10 million. It says the company has at least 200 creditors and owes its top 20 creditors $3.66 million.



http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/west-virginia-chemical-spill-bankruptcy-102348.html#ixzz2qsE7co8R