Officials managing the bankruptcy of Freedom Industries have yet to investigate whether Freedom could take legal action against any of the companys former officers over the events that led to the January chemical leak into the Elk River, court records show.

So far, there also has been no investigation of whether Freedom is owed money for fraudulent transfers of funds that if recovered could be used to pay Freedoms creditors and to compensate victims of the leak.

The investigations appear to be on hold while U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Ronald Pearson presses Freedom to focus on cleaning up the site, even though any recovered money also could be funneled to that project to ensure proper remediation of any contamination at Freedoms facility just 1.5 miles up the Elk River from the regions drinking-water intake.

In a legal filing last month, a court-appointed committee of Freedom creditors said a critical component of this case is to investigate whether Freedoms bankruptcy estate has any causes of action that should be pursued for the benefit of creditors.

The committee, in its Sept. 19 filing, said that, two months earlier, it had made an informal request to Freedom for documents that would allow the committee to begin its investigation.

While the parties have had discussions regarding the production of those documents, as of the date hereof, documents have not been produced to the committee, the court filing said. The committee intends to conduct any investigation on behalf of the estate into the January 2014 incident, as well as investigations as to any other possible causes of action that may be available, including the avoidance and recovery of transfers under the Bankruptcy Code.

In bankruptcy cases, potential legal actions that could be undertaken by the bankrupt company are considered potential assets that could produce funds to be distributed to creditors owed money by the bankrupt firm.

Creditor committees in bankruptcy cases negotiate with debtors to develop a plan of maximizing how much creditors receive to pay off the bankrupt firms debts. In Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, like Freedoms, creditor committees often perform investigative functions, such as examining the companys books or looking for potential causes of action that should be pursued.

Freedom Industries, in its proposed liquidation plan filed in mid-August, said such investigations were needed to look at potential causes of action, including against current and former employees and insiders of the company.

As part of a separate legal action in U.S. District Court, lawyers for Kanawha Valley residents and businesses have alleged that two former Freedom officials Gary Southern and Dennis P. Farrell are partly responsible for any damages suffered by leak victims because of their roles in directing operations at Freedoms facility.

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Freedom Industries bankruptcy inquiry 'frozen' during cleanup