CHARLESTON – Three citizens groups in Tucker County have filed a motion asking Chief Judge Dan Greear to recuse himself from the ongoing appeal involving the air-quality permit for the proposed Ridgeline Power Plant.

The motion was filed by the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, Tucker United, and the Sierra Club in the Intermediate Court of Appeals of West Virginia. The appeals case challenges the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s approval of the permit for Fundamental Data, a Virginia-based company proposing to build a 500-acre natural gas power plant and data center between the towns of Davis and Thomas.

“This case is of enormous importance to the people of Tucker County and to the public at large,” the petitioners wrote in the motion. “West Virginians deserve confidence that this appeal will be decided fairly and without any appearance of bias.”

The petitioners, in the filing, argue that Judge Greear’s impartiality may be questioned because of his relationship with Fundamental Data attorney Roger Hanshaw – who is currently the state Speaker of the House – as well as other ties to Hanshaw’s law firm, Bowles Rice LLP. The motion points out Judge Greear’s earlier disclosure of his son’s internship at Bowles Rice and his employment in the firm’s Morgantown office.

“The people of West Virginia have serious concerns about being cut out of the legislative and regulatory processes surrounding large-scale data center developments,” said Amy Margolies, executive director of Tucker United. “Appointing a judge who has close personal or professional ties to the Speaker of the House to a data center case, when the speaker just helped pass legislation that favors data centers raises legitimate questions about biases and conflicts of interest. The additional connections between the Chief Judge, the Speaker, and the law firm representing Fundamental Data give rise to reasonable concerns that impartiality might be compromised.”

The filing states that recent media reports indicated that Henshaw co-hosted multiple campaign fundraising events for Judge Greear and lent his name as a sponsor to additional events in 2025.

“This case carries major consequences for the people of Tucker County and for public trust in West Virginia’s courts,” said Olivia Miller, interim executive director of the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy. “When there are legitimate questions about impartiality, recusal is the right step to protect confidence in a fair and unbiased process.”

The groups, who are asking the court to ensure that appeal is heard by a judge whose impartiality cannot be called into question, argue that under Rule 2.11 of the West Virginia Code of Judicial Conduct, a judge must disqualify himself or herself in any proceedings in which the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned.