FAYETTEVILLE -- Massey Energy Friday settled a class action age discrimination suit for $8.75 million, a figure some are calling the largest of its kind in West Virginia history.

Fayette County Circuit Court Judge Paul Blake said the settlement is a, "fair, adequate and reasonable resolution of plaintiff's individual and class claims against defendants."

The case was filed in 2006 against Massey subsidiary Spartan Mining Co. and Massey CEO Don Blankenship. Five coal miners filed the case on behalf of a class of more than 200 job applicants.

The suit, which arose out of Massey's purchase of the former Cannelton mining operation near Montgomery in 2004, alleged that Massey failed to hire older workers in violation of the West Virginia Human Rights Act when it began mining operations in December 2004.

As part of the settlement, 82 miners who previously worked at the Cannelton operation will each receive $38,000 in back pay and general compensatory damages. Another 141 job applicants each will receive $19,000.

The class was represented by Charleston attorneys David Grubb and Kristina Whiteaker of The Grubb Law Group. Grubb, a former state senator from Kanawha County, called the outcome "excellent" and "a significant victory for West Virginia workers."

"This is the largest age discrimination settlement in West Virginia's history," he said.

One of the theories advanced in the discrimination lawsuit was that Massey's anti-union policies had a disparate impact on older miners. In settling the lawsuit, however, Massey did not admit any wrongdoing.

Massey's purchase of the Cannelton property also was the subject of a recent ruling by the National Labor Relations Board that Massey committed a series of unfair labor practices when it failed to bargain with the United Mine Workers of America, and refused to hire union members who previously worked at the Cannelton property.