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

The case involved a plaintiff who alleged personal injuries from excessive insecticide exposure during a 1987 home treatment by the defendant exterminating company, claiming she first learned the cause was organophosphate poisoning in 1991. The trial court granted summary judgment to the defendant by applying Virginia's two-year statute of limitations under West Virginia's borrowing statute, determining that the limitations period began when symptoms manifested in summer 1988 and expired in summer 1990. The plaintiff contended that the doctrine of equitable estoppel barred the defendant from asserting the statute of limitations defense because company representatives had assured her the chemicals were safe. The appellate court reversed and remanded, ruling that the trial court should have considered the equitable estoppel argument on the facts presented.

proceduretorts & liability

The case involved Scott Blankenship's appeal of his conviction in Mercer County Circuit Court for driving while under the influence of alcohol as a third offense under W. Va. Code 17C-5-2(j), resulting in a sentence of one to three years in prison. Blankenship challenged the legal sufficiency of the jury instruction on DUI, the trial court's refusal to admit testimony from an unavailable witness, and the amendment of the indictment to change the year of a predicate offense. The court reversed the conviction and remanded the case, holding that the jury instruction was misleading because it described two separate statutory crimes—driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.10 percent or more—while the defendant had been charged only with the former. The other grounds for appeal were found to lack merit.

criminal law

In this divorce case, Brigitte Petruska appealed the circuit court's denial of permanent alimony and additional child support for her daughter's swimming expenses, while Scott Petruska cross-appealed seeking credits for overpayments and adjustments related to the marital home. The court decided to affirm most of the lower court's rulings on rehabilitative alimony and child support calculations but reversed the duration of the alimony award, extending it until the parties' child is no longer dependent. The core reasoning was that the wife was employable after a period of rehabilitation, the husband's income had declined, the swimming expenses were not essential given changed finances, and statutory factors for alimony and support supported the adjusted award without needing permanent alimony or extra support at this time.

family law

The case concerned the termination of Christina B.'s parental rights to her children, Katie S. and David S., following a 1994 petition by the Department of Health and Human Services alleging neglect and abuse, including inadequate supervision, failure to provide medical care, and poor living conditions. After granting the mother a twelve-month improvement period during which the children were temporarily returned home but then removed again due to ongoing issues, the circuit court terminated her rights and favored adoption. On appeal, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed the termination, holding that the evidence was sufficient to support it, that any errors regarding the length of the improvement period or consideration of the mother's disability did not warrant reversal, and that adoption was appropriate over long-term foster care. The court reversed only the denial of post-termination visitation and remanded for a hearing to assess whether such visitation served the children's best interests.

family law

In State v. Head, the defendant appealed the circuit court's denial of his motion under Rule 35(b) of the West Virginia Rules of Criminal Procedure to reduce his 60-year sentence for aggravated robbery, which had been filed timely in 1991 but remained unruled upon for over four years. The circuit court held that the lengthy delay caused it to lose jurisdiction over the motion. The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia reversed, holding that a timely filed Rule 35(b) motion confers jurisdiction that cannot be lost merely by the passage of time, and remanded the case for the circuit court to consider the motion on its merits.

criminal lawprocedure

The case concerned a dispute between the Board of Education of Mineral County and former employee Bernard Hanson over enforcement of a 1994 settlement agreement that resolved Hanson's 1992 termination for alleged immoral conduct. After the parties settled the matter while an appeal was pending before the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, Hanson filed a motion in the original circuit court case seeking credit for accrued sick and vacation days under the agreement's "full seniority" provision, along with attorney fees. The circuit court granted the motion, but the Supreme Court reversed, holding that the circuit court lacked jurisdiction because the prior appeal and dismissal as settled removed the case from the lower court's authority absent a new action or specific order from the appellate court. The Court reasoned that jurisdiction must be properly invoked under constitutional, statutory, or procedural rules and cannot arise from judicial economy or the parties' prior compromise alone.

labor & employmentprocedure

The case involved numerous lawsuits by employees of independent contractors alleging physical harm from asbestos exposure at West Virginia facilities owned by the Premises Liability Defendants, including Appalachian Power Co. These cases, assigned to Judge MacQueen, were consolidated under a trial plan for a single jury to decide two common questions: whether each defendant failed to maintain a reasonably safe workplace and, if so, during what time periods. The defendants sought a writ of prohibition, arguing the plan violated Rule 42(a) and prior precedent in State ex rel. Appalachian Power Co. v. Ranson by lacking common issues and risking prejudice. The court denied the writ, holding that the trial judge's detailed findings satisfied the four-factor Ranson test for consolidation and that the plan was a proper exercise of discretion to promote judicial economy.

proceduretorts & liability

This case involved the enforceability of a non-competition covenant in the 1989 sale of an optometric practice (Vienna Eye Clinic) from Dr. Ritchie to Drs. Weaver, where the $412,000 transaction included $175,000 specifically allocated to the covenant; the covenant barred Ritchie from practicing optometry or providing eye care within a 50-mile radius of Vienna, West Virginia, for 15 years. After a five-year employment period under the agreement ended without renewed terms, Ritchie announced plans to open a competing practice nearby, prompting the Weavers to obtain a permanent injunction. Following a bench trial, the trial court upheld the covenant as valid and issued the injunction. On appeal, the court affirmed, applying a deferential standard of review to the factual findings and distinguishing sale-of-business covenants (which protect transferred goodwill and are more readily enforceable when supported by consideration) from stricter scrutiny applied to post-employment restraints; it found the geographic and temporal limits reasonable given patient demographics and lack of undue hardship to the seller.

business & regulatory

This case concerns an Indiana resident injured while temporarily employed at a construction site in West Virginia who had already received workers' compensation benefits under Indiana law and then filed a direct tort action in West Virginia alleging his employer's deliberate intention to injure under W. Va. Code 23-4-2(c)(2)(ii). The circuit court certified the question whether the non-resident could pursue that claim in West Virginia or whether Indiana law must exclusively govern. The West Virginia Supreme Court held that W. Va. Code 23-2-1c(c) bars the non-resident from West Virginia benefits and makes the compensation scheme of the other state the exclusive remedy against the employer for injuries occurring during temporary employment in West Virginia. The court therefore concluded that the plaintiff could not maintain the deliberate-intention action under West Virginia law. The decision rests on principles of comity and the plain language of the statute limiting extraterritorial application of the West Virginia Workers' Compensation Act.

labor & employmenttorts & liabilityprocedure

B.F. Specialty Company sued competitor Charles M. Sledd Company for selling cigarettes below cost in violation of the West Virginia Unfair Trade Practices Act, seeking an injunction and treble damages. A jury in the Circuit Court of Harrison County returned a verdict for the defendant after a trial focused on the defendant's cost calculations and a statutory good-faith defense for meeting a competitor's legal prices. On appeal, the West Virginia Supreme Court affirmed, ruling that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in managing seven years of contentious discovery or in denying a continuance, and that the jury instructions accurately reflected the Act's good-faith exception.

business & regulatoryprocedure

This case was a wrongful death action brought by the administratrix of a teenager killed in a high-speed crash while riding in a car he helped steal. The vehicle had been left unlocked with the keys inside by defendant Robert Hubbard outside his store. A jury awarded damages and apportioned 10% fault to Hubbard, but the trial court granted his motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. The Supreme Court of Appeals affirmed, concluding that Hubbard owed no duty to a person participating in the theft of the vehicle, which precluded liability regardless of the trial court's proximate-cause rationale.

torts & liabilityprocedure

This case involves a West Virginia employee injured on a job site in Maryland who sought to bring a deliberate intention claim against his West Virginia employer under West Virginia law after receiving workers' compensation benefits. The trial court granted summary judgment to the employer, ruling that the claim was a common law tort subject to Maryland law under lex loci delicti, which barred the action. The West Virginia Supreme Court reversed, holding that the deliberate intention cause of action under W. Va. Code 23-4-2(c) is integrated into the state's workers' compensation scheme rather than being an independent common law tort. Therefore, the employee could maintain the action in West Virginia courts pursuant to the state's workers' compensation laws without regard to Maryland's exclusivity provisions. The court reasoned that the statute supersedes common law claims and provides a statutory framework that applies to covered employees regardless of the injury location.

labor & employmenttorts & liability

The case involved Larry Alkire suing First National Bank of Parsons after the bank lost a night-deposit bag he made for his employer, triggering a criminal investigation that ended with a no-true-bill from the grand jury; the bank later recovered the deposit but did not inform Alkire, who learned of it months later through an anonymous call. Alkire alleged negligence, gross negligence, and fraud, and a jury awarded him $210,000 in compensatory damages and $1,050,000 in punitive damages, finding the bank solely at fault. The trial court vacated the punitive award under Rule 50(b), concluding the evidence did not support submitting punitives to the jury. The West Virginia Supreme Court reversed that ruling, holding that the bank's conduct supplied sufficient evidence to warrant a punitive-damages instruction and remanding for further proceedings, including the Garnes post-trial analysis if needed.

torts & liabilityprocedure

This case is a divorce appeal in which Lisa Rogers challenged several aspects of the circuit court's final order dividing the marital estate, classifying temporary payments made by her ex-husband, calculating child support, awarding alimony, and denying attorneys' fees, after nearly twenty years of marriage that ended partly due to the husband's admitted adultery. The court affirmed the equitable distribution of marital assets and liabilities as well as the classification of certain housing-related payments as half alimony and half child support, finding no abuse of discretion or clear error in those rulings. It reversed and remanded on the remaining issues, holding that the court should have considered additional monetary and non-monetary contributions to the husband's income when setting child support, should have factored in fault when determining alimony, and should have addressed the wife's request for attorneys' fees under the applicable statute.

family law