CHARLESTON -- State Supreme Court Justice Larry Starcher plans to hold an unprecedented open hearing on a request that he remove himself from another Massey Energy Co. case.

Richmond, Va.-based Massey unsuccessfully sought to disqualify Starcher before appealing a $240 million judgment awarded to Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel and Mountain State Carbon.

Massey is trying again and Starcher said Thursday he'll hear arguments on the request April 10.

Trial court judges conduct hearings about disqualification requests with some regularity, but not Supreme Court justices, spokeswoman Jennifer Bundy said. "It's never been done before at this Supreme Court."

Court rules require judicial officers to recuse themselves from proceedings to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. But they also give the targeted judicial official the final say.

Wheeling-Pitt lawyer David Fawcett called Starcher's decision appropriate.

Starcher earlier disqualified himself from Massey's appeal of a $76 million judgment awarded to Harman Mining.

"The more open and transparent the decision making on this critical disqualification request, the better," Fawcett said. "I think it's healthy for the system, and I think it's another step in the right direction in regaining public confidence in the legal system."

A lawyer for Massey Energy did not immediately return a call Thursday.

West Virginia's Supreme Court has been buffeted by disqualification requests involving Massey Energy cases since photos surfaced of Chief Justice Elliott "Spike" Maynard with Massey Chief Executive Don Blankenship vacationing in Monaco while the company had appeals pending. Maynard has since stepped aside from at least three Massey cases, including the Harman appeal.

The photos sparked a furor over conflict-of-interest issues at the court and renewed criticism of the Blankenship-bankrolled 2004 campaign that promoted Supreme Court Justice Brent Benjamin, a Republican, while attacking the incumbent Democrat he defeated.

Benjamin has rejected requests to step aside from the Wheeling-Pitt and Harman cases and has been acting chief justice in cases involving Massey in place of Maynard. Benjamin also has ignored Starcher's plea that he step aside from the Harman case.

Benjamin, Maynard and Justice Robin Davis voted in November to overturn the verdict against Massey. After the Monaco photos grabbed national headlines and Maynard disqualified himself last month, the court decided to erase its ruling and rehear the case.

Benjamin voted in favor of reconsidering and records show he has ruled against Massey in at least three cases since joining the court. Massey had sought millions worth of severance tax refunds in two of those cases.

Massey is the nation's fourth-largest coal producer by revenue, and operates 19 mining complexes in West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia.