In the midst of the criminal trial of Don Blankenship, Alpha Natural Resources is using its bankruptcy proceedings to again try to avoid paying legal fees for the former Massey Energy CEO.

According to a motion filed in the Eastern District of Virginia’s bankruptcy court on Nov. 3, Alpha — which bought Massey in 2011 — is seeking to shed its obligation by calling Blankenship’s legal service contract, which he entered in June 2010, an executory contract.

The most interesting part, I thought, was this statement from Alpha:

It is a pre-petition obligation that we cannot and do not intend to pay. We are rejecting any agreements related to the indemnification of attorney fees incurred by Mr. Blankenship.

When the criminal trial resumes on Thursday at 9 a.m., FBI Special Agent Jim Lafferty will be back on the stand.