Arthur M. Recht

This case consolidated appeals concerning whether corporate officers can be criminally prosecuted under West Virginia Code 23-1-16(a) for a corporation's failure to pay workers' compensation premiums and file required reports. The court held that corporate officers may be held criminally responsible alongside the corporation for such violations. The reasoning relied on established common law principles that officers, agents, and directors are liable when they cause the corporation to commit crimes in conducting business, and that the statute's language does not displace this rule, as excluding officers would absurdly limit liability only to sole proprietors.

criminal lawlabor & employmentbusiness & regulatory

This case involved a dispute over the custody of two children between their mother, Tammy Lynn Collins, and their maternal grandparents, the Overfields. After the mother suffered a temporary disability and signed an affidavit that she believed transferred only temporary custody, the grandparents obtained a permanent custody order without serving her with notice of the proceedings. The lower court later denied the mother's petition to regain custody, finding that she had knowingly and voluntarily transferred permanent custody. The appellate court reversed that decision, holding that the finding of permanent intent was clearly erroneous and that the original order was void due to lack of jurisdiction from improper service. The matter was remanded for further proceedings applying the correct standards for temporary versus permanent transfers of custody.

family lawprocedure

The case arose after an independent contractor hauling timber for Lens Creek Limited Partnership negligently operated an empty logging truck and collided with Joy King's car, causing significant injuries; the contractor lacked adequate liability insurance. The circuit court certified two questions: whether an uninsured or underfunded independent contractor is incompetent per se, automatically imposing vicarious liability on the principal regardless of the contractor's skills, and whether operating an empty commercial log truck constitutes an inherently dangerous activity that imputes the driver's negligence to the principal. The Supreme Court of Appeals answered both questions in the negative, reasoning that financial responsibility is not an element of an independent contractor's competency and that the mere operation of an empty logging truck does not qualify as inherently dangerous under West Virginia law because foreseeable risks can be minimized through ordinary precautions. The decision reversed the circuit court's rulings on the certified issues and remanded for further proceedings on the remaining negligent-hiring claim.

torts & liabilitybusiness & regulatory

In State v. Hosea, a 15-year-old defendant entered a conditional guilty plea to second-degree murder after shooting and killing another teenager, reserving the right to appeal the circuit court's denial of his motion to suppress a confession and its decision to transfer him from juvenile to adult jurisdiction. The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals considered whether the confession violated prompt-presentment requirements under W. Va. Code 49-5-8(d) and whether it improperly supported the transfer finding under W. Va. Code 49-5-10. The court held that the confession was properly admitted at the transfer hearing because a parent was present during the Miranda waiver and interrogation, satisfying statutory safeguards, and that even without the confession, other witness testimony established probable cause that the defendant committed first-degree murder, justifying the transfer to adult court.

criminal lawfamily lawprocedure

The case involved Larry Warner, a board member of the Jefferson County Solid Waste Authority appointed by the county commission, who was acquitted of criminal charges related to landfill operations and sought reimbursement of his $95,345.56 in legal fees from the Jefferson County Commission via a writ of mandamus. The circuit court denied the writ, finding no legal duty to pay, but the appellate court reversed, holding that the county commission has a statutory obligation under West Virginia law to cover necessary expenses of the solid waste authority, including legal defense costs for officials acting in their official capacity. The court reasoned that the close relationship between the county commission and the authority, combined with statutes requiring the commission to pay administrative and operational expenses, creates a duty to reimburse such fees when they arise from the authority's operations.

criminal lawenvironmentbusiness & regulatory

This case arose from a construction worker's fall and resulting injuries while employed by a roofing subcontractor on a project managed by general contractor Patwil Homes. The worker and his wife sued Patwil under a deliberate-intention theory drawn from West Virginia's workers' compensation statute, even though Patwil was not the worker's employer. The trial court instructed the jury on that employer-specific standard, leading to a verdict against Patwil that triggered an indemnity claim against the subcontractor and a workers'-compensation offset dispute. The appellate court reversed the judgments and remanded for a new trial, holding that the deliberate-intention standard cannot be applied to a non-employer general contractor and that the jury instructions therefore rested on an incorrect legal theory.

labor & employmenttorts & liabilityprocedure