Countless lawsuits against Freedom Industries, due to the massive chemical spill into the Elk River, have been moved to federal court in light of Freedom Industries' decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The chemical spill took place in January, when a tank containing 4-methylcyclohexane methanol leaked 10,000 gallons into the Elk River near Charleston, tainting the drinking water of 300,000 residents. Those residents were warned to avoid using the water for any purpose for at least a week. Even so, more than 100 residents were forced to go to the hospital, and many complained that even after the water had been cleaned up and deemed usable, they were still having bad reactions.

Residents filed lawsuits, including several class-action suits, which prompted Freedom Industries to file for bankruptcy. Filing for bankruptcy not only brings lawsuits to a halt, due to an injunction known as the automatic stay, but also means that the bankruptcy proceedings take place in federal court. Federal district court judge John T. Copenhaver Jr. then decided that all 62 civil suits should be transferred to federal court immediately.

His reasoning was that each of the injured individuals was entitled to a jury trial, and bankruptcy court does not typically have jury trials. Although lawsuits are sometimes allowed to remain in bankruptcy court for pretrial proceedings, before being transferred to federal district court, Judge Copenhaver believed that it would lead to more efficient case administration to have the case taken out of bankruptcy court. That way, duplication of proceedings could be avoided.