Justia West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

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Ward, charged with felony possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, moved to suppress evidence under the Fourth Amendment. He alleged that Raleigh County Sheriff’s Officers arrived at his mother’s residence, questioned him regarding a dispute, and asked him for identification. Ward stated he could retrieve it from “downstairs in [his] mother’s house in the [t]-shirt shop.” Both officers and Ward walked around to the door. Ward opened the door. The officers grabbed the door and followed him in. Ward then walked through another door that led into a separate room used for his t-shirt printing shop. While Ward retrieved his identification, an officer observed a firearm. Ward testified that a person standing at the entryway to the basement door would not have been able to see the firearm because it would have been obscured by two doors and a curtain. The basement was not his residence and there was a lock on the front door. Detective Queen stated that he watched Ward retrieve his identification “[f]or officer safety” although he did not have a specific reason to fear for his safety.The West Virginia Supreme Court affirmed the denial of his motion to suppress. Officers conducted the search and seized the firearm without a warrant; the plain view and officer safety exceptions do not apply. View "State of West Virginia v. Ward" on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court vacated the sentencing order of the circuit court and remanded this case with instructions to dismiss Petitioner's conviction for malicious assault and resentence him on the remaining charges, holding that the indictment was insufficient because it did not include an essential element of the offense of malicious assault.Before trial, Petitioner filed a motion to dismiss the malicious assault count of the indictment because it did not reference the intent to "maim, disfigure, disable or kill." The circuit court denied the motion, finding that a person may commit malicious assault (1) by maliciously shooting, stabbing, cutting, or wounding any person; or (2) by any means causing a person bodily injury with the intent to maim, disfigure, disable, or kill. The Supreme Court vacated the circuit court's sentencing order, holding (1) the intent to main, disfigure, disable, or kill is an essential element of the offenses of malicious assault and unlawful assault pursuant to W. Va. Code 61-29; and (2) therefore, the indictment in this case was insufficient. View "State v. Maichle" on Justia Law

Posted in: Criminal Law
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The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court dismissing Petitioner's claim alleging that Respondents Frontier West Virginia, Inc. and its supervisory employees wrongfully discharged him after he reported conduct that he alleged violated W. Va. Code 61-3-49b, holding that harm to the public is not required to prove that the offense of crime against property has occurred.Petitioner filed this suit against Frontier for retaliatory discharge. The circuit court granted Frontier's motion to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim, ruling that Petitioner "failed to allege a substantial public policy supporting a wrongful discharge exception to a non-public employer termination of an employee." The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that section 61-3-49b does not constitute a substantial public policy to support a Harless claim for wrongful discharge. View "Jarell v. Frontier W. Va., Inc." on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the circuit court granting summary judgment in favor of Respondents, the owners of electrical and communication lines that electrocuted Eugene Boyce (Petitioner), in this negligence action brought by Eugene and his wife Kimberly Boyce, holding that the circuit court did not err.Petitioner was attempting to make a delivery in the course of his employment when he attempted to move overhead communication lines by climbing on top of his truck and wrapping shrink-wrap around the communication lines. The lines were in close proximity to an energized electrical line, which Petitioner contacted and was electrocuted. The circuit court found that Petitioner's actions were negligent and served as the only proximate cause of the incident. The court further found that, even if a issue of fact existed as to Respondents' negligence, Petitioner's actions constituted an intervening and superseding cause of the incident and injuries. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the circuit court did not err in finding that Petitioner's actions were (1) the sole proximate cause of the incident, and (2) constituted an intervening cause. View "Boyce v. Monongahela Power Co." on Justia Law

Posted in: Personal Injury
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The Supreme Court affirmed Petitioner's conviction of sexual assault in the first degree following a jury trial, holding that Petitioner was not entitled to relief on his allegations of error.Specifically, the Supreme Court held that the circuit court (1) did not err by refusing to instruct the jury on the offense of attempted sexual assault in the first degree; (2) did not err when it denied Petitioner’s motion for a mistrial regarding a photographic identification; (3) did not abuse its discretion when it denied an in camera hearing on the suggestibility of the pretrial photographic identification; and (4) did not err when it denied Petitioner's motions for a mistrial due to vouching. View "State v. Thomas" on Justia Law

Posted in: Criminal Law
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The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the order of the circuit court finding that the City of Morgantown had incorrectly calculated compensation for Petitioners, fifty-four current and former firefighters employed by the City, and finding that the compensation required by W. Va. Code 8-15-10a was not a "fringe benefit" or "wage" covered by the Wage Payment and Collection Act (WPCA), holding that the court erred in part.At issue was section 10a, which requires the City to provide extra compensation to firefighters for days designated by the Legislature as legal holidays. The circuit court granted summary judgment in part to the firefighters and in part to the City. In so doing, the court reduced the period of time that currently employed firefighters could recover improperly calculated compensation and imposed the doctrine of laches to deprive former firefighters of any past compensation. The Supreme Court reversed in part, holding (1) the City incorrectly interpreted section 10a; and (2) section 10a created a fringe or wage benefit for firefighters that was protected by the WPCA. View "Nicewarner v. City of Morgantown" on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the West Virginia Workers' Compensation Board of Review affirming an ALJ's denial of Robert Hood's application for workers' compensation benefits, holding that there was no error or abuse of discretion.Hood was making a delivery for his employer when he felt a pain in his right knee. The employer's claim administrator denied Hood's application for workers' compensation benefits after concluding that Hood did not sustain an injury in the course of and scope of his employment. An ALJ affirmed, as did the Board of Review. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that although Hood's injury occurred while he was working, it did not result from his employment. View "Hood v. Lincare Holdings, Inc." on Justia Law

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In these consolidated abuse and neglect appeals the Supreme Court dismissed for lack of jurisdiction Mother's appeal and affirmed the judgment of the circuit court terminating Father's parental rights to baby N.W., holding that there was no reason to disturb the circuit court's judgment.After a hearing, the circuit court terminated the parental rights of Mother and Father to N.W., concluding that there was no reasonable likelihood that the conditions of abuse or neglect could be substantially corrected. N.W. was subsequently adopted, and the court denied Petitioners' motion for post-termination visitation. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal brought by Mother and affirmed the circuit court's order terminating Father's parental rights, holding (1) Mother's appeal presented an issue that was not ripe, divesting this Court of jurisdiction; and (2) the circuit court did not err in terminating Father's parental rights. View "In re N.W." on Justia Law

Posted in: Family Law
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The Supreme Court concluded that under the continuous-trigger theory, when an insurance claim is made by alleging a progressive injury caused by chemical exposure or other analogous toxic, injurious substance, damages that are caused, continuous, or progressively deteriorating throughout successive policy periods are covered by all the occurrence-based policies in effect during those periods.This case involved claims against a standardized commercial general liability (CGL) policy alleging that long-term exposure to chemicals caused a disease to develop over a number of years before being diagnosed. The exposure to the chemicals and the development of the disease, however, happened across numerous CGL policy periods. Insurer denied coverage under its CGL policies and filed a complaint for declaratory relief. The district court granted a judgment in favor of Insured, finding that Insurer owed Insured a duty to defend and indemnify under all of its policies. The Supreme Court answered a certified question that, under the continuous-trigger theory, when a claim is made alleging a progressive injury caused by chemical exposure or other analogous harm, every occurrence-based policy in effect from the initial exposure, through the latency and development period and up to the manifestation of the bodily illness, is triggered and must cover the claim. View "Westfield Insurance Co. v. Sistersville Tank Works, Inc." on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court reversed the order of the circuit court affirming the decision of the West Virginia Public Employees Grievance Board granting the grievance brought by Respondent, a school bus driver, reinstating her to a modified bus run and an extracurricular bus run and awarding her back pay, holding that the circuit court erred in affirming the decision of the grievance board.Respondent, a bus driver hired to transport elementary and high school students on the same bus run at the same time, made a modified regular run and vocational run for thirty years. In 2017, Petitioner, the Board of Education of the County of Wyoming, changed Respondent's employment back to the arrangement originally contracted for. Respondent filed a grievance, which the grievance board granted, finding that Petitioner's action in restoring Respondent's regular bus run to its original parameters was unreasonable, arbitrary, and capricious. The circuit court affirmed. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the grievance board and circuit court were clearly wrong in their determinations and that the circuit court should have found that Respondent did not meet her burden of proof. View "Bd. of Education of County of Wyoming v. Dawson" on Justia Law