State ex rel. Dale v. Circuit Court

The Acting Commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles (the Commissioner) affirmed the revocation of Michael Doonan's driver's license for second offense DUI. Doonan sought review of the revocation order in the Wood County Circuit Court. After notifying the court that Doonan had moved out of state, Doonan's counsel requested that the matter be transferred to the Kanawha County Circuit Court given the statutory requirement that a petition for review must be filed either in the Kanawha County Circuit Court or the circuit court of the county in which the petitioner resides. The Commissioner objected, arguing that the Wood County Circuit Court did not have jurisdiction over the administrative appeal and thus lacked the authority to transfer the matter. The Wood County Circuit Court granted Doonan's request and ordered that the case be transferred. Thereafter, the Commissioner filed a petition for a writ of prohibition seeking to prohibit the Kanawha County Circuit Court from accepting jurisdiction of Doonan's administrative appeal. The Supreme Court granted the writ, holding that because the Wood County Circuit Court never acquired subject matter jurisdiction over Doonan's appeal of the Commissioner's revocation order, it lacked the authority to transfer the matter to the Kanawha County Circuit Court. View "State ex rel. Dale v. Circuit Court" on Justia Law