Justia West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court vacated the order of the circuit court terminating the parental rights of Mother and Father after issuing a ruling adjudicating them as abusive and neglectful, holding that the circuit court lacked jurisdiction.The conduct leading to the subject abuse and neglect petition occurred while a Pennsylvania family was at a relative's home in West Virginia. The circuit court exercised temporary emergency jurisdiction under the Uniform Child Custody and Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act and temporarily removed the children from the care of their parents. The circuit court adjudicated Parents as abusive and neglectful before contacting Parents' home state of Pennsylvania about jurisdiction. The circuit court entered the adjudicatory order after Pennsylvania declined jurisdiction. The court then entered its order terminating Parents' parental rights. The Supreme Court vacated the order, holding that the limitations of the circuit court's temporary emergency jurisdiction did not permit it to entertain an adjudication of the abuse and neglect petition unless and until Pennsylvania declined jurisdiction. View "In re A.T.-1" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court denied a writ of prohibition sought by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR) that would effectively dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit filed against it by Mary Jane McComas, administratrix of the estate of Deanna McDonald, holding that DCR failed to establish that it was entitled to the writ.McComas, as administratrix of McDonald's estate, sued DCR alleging state law and common law claims and causes of action, including intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress and wrongful death. DCR filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that the amended complaint asserted claims sounding in medical professional liability under the Medical Professional Liability Act (MPLA) that could not be brought against DCR. The circuit court denied the motion to dismiss, after which DCR filed its writ of prohibition. The Supreme Court denied the requested writ, holding that the MPLA does not apply to DCR, and therefore, the circuit court did not commit clear error as a matter of law in declining to dismiss the amended complaint. View "State ex rel. W. Va. Division of Corrections & Rehabilitation v. Honorable Ferguson" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the circuit court denying Petitioners' motion to intervene in this abuse and neglect case involving their niece, G.G., holding that the circuit court did not err in denying the motion.The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources instituted an abuse and neglect proceeding against G.G.'s mother and father. Ultimately, G.G.'s biological father voluntarily relinquished his parental rights, and G.G.'s mother's parental rights were involuntarily terminated after a hearing. Thereafter, Respondents, G.G.'s foster parents, filed a motion to intervene in the abuse and neglect proceedings seeking to adopt G.G. Petitioners then filed their motion to intervene, seeking permanent placement of G.G. The circuit court granted Respondents' motion and denied Petitioners' motion. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that there was no basis to set aside the circuit court's determination. View "In re G.G." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the order of the circuit court granting Respondents' motion for a preliminary injunction in the circuit court seeking to enjoin Petitioners from creating "any West Virginia Professional Charter School Board-authorized charter schools absent a voter of country residents," holding that Respondents lacked standing to seek the preliminary injunction.House Bill 2012, passed in 2021, created the West Virginia Professional Charter School Board (PCSB) tasked with authorizing and approving public charter schools. Respondents brought this action seeking to prevent the creation of public charter schools without a majority vote of the citizens of the county in which the charter schools would be located. Respondents were granted a preliminary injunction enjoining Governor James Justice and related persons from enforcing HB 2012 in the creation of PCSB-authorized charter schools. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that Respondents lacked standing to seeking the injunction because Governor Justice lacked the ability to authorize public charter schools and because granting injunctive relief does not prevent the PCSB from authorizing public charter schools. View "Blair v. Brunett" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the order of the circuit court concluding that the Raleigh County Housing Authority (RCHA) was entitled to qualified immunity in the underlying wrongful death and negligence action, holding that RCHA was a "political subdivision" as defined in the Governmental Tort Claims and Insurance Reform Act, W. Va. Code 29-12A-1 to 18.Edward S. And Rachel K. lived in a rental house with their three children with assistance from the RCHA. Two of the children died and Edward and a third child were seriously injured when the house caught fire. Edward sued RCHA alleging two counts of wrongful death and one count of negligence. The circuit court granted summary judgment for RCHA, concluding that RCHA was not a political subdivision as defined by the Tort Claims Act and that RCHA was qualifiedly immune. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that RCHA was a political subdivision under the Tort Claims Act. View "Edward S. v. Raleigh County Housing Authority" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the order of the circuit court concluding that Speedyway LLC was partially at fault for the death of Kevin Jarrett, holding that the circuit court erred in concluding that Speedway had a legal duty in this case.While driving her vehicle after leaving work at Speedway and running a personal errand, Brandy Liggett collided with Jarrett's motorcycle, killing him. Respondent, as the executrix of Jarrett's estate, brought this action alleging that Speedyway was negligent in Jarrett's death because at the time of the accident and during her shift at Speedway, Liggett was under the influence of illegally obtained prescription drugs. The circuit court found Speedyway to be thirty percent at fault in Jarrett's death. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the evidence at trial failed to demonstrate that Speedway engaged in affirmative conduct that created an unreasonable risk of harm to Jarrett and the rest of the motoring public. View "Speedway LLC v. Jarrett" on Justia Law

In a putative class action involving a water main break the Supreme Court denied a requested writ of prohibition sought by West Virginia-American Water Company (WVAWC) to preclude enforcement of the circuit court's order certifying an "issues" class pursuant to W. Va. R. Civ. P. 23(c)(4), holding that WVAWC failed to demonstrate that the circuit court's class certification was clearly erroneous.The water break in this case and its ensuing repair resulted in water service interruptions that caused outages, inadequate water pressure, and boil water advisories affecting 25,000 WVAWC customers. Respondents filed this putative class complaint on behalf of the putative class asserting breach of contract and other claims. The circuit court certified the "issues" class to determine "the overarching common issues" as to WVAWC's liability, resulting in WVAWC bringing this action. The Supreme Court denied the requested writ of prohibition, holding that WVAWC failed to demonstrate that the circuit court's class certification was clearly erroneous. View "State ex rel. West Virginia-American Water Co. v. Honorable Webster" on Justia Law

In these consolidated appeals from the circuit court relating to the administration of the estate of Shirley Martin and of the trusts established by Carl Martin, Sr. and Shirley Martin the Court of Appeals reversed the order of the circuit court granting partial summary judgment in favor of Sherree Martin approving the payment of certain federal estate taxes from the Carl Martin Trust, the Supreme Court reversed and remanded the order in Case No. 21-0757 and affirmed the order in Case No. 22-0417, holding (1) the circuit court erred in concluding in Case No. 21-0757 that a preliminary injunction was warranted and that Sherree Martin should have been removed from her former fiduciary roles; and (2) the circuit court erred in concluding in Case No. 22-0417 regarding the payment of federal estate taxes. View "Martin v. Martin" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court terminating Mother's parental and custodial rights due to her substance abuse problem, holding that the circuit court did not err in terminating Mother's rights and in declining to extend her improvement period or grant an additional, post-dispositional improvement period.After a dispositional hearing, the circuit court denied Mother's motion for a post-dispositional improvement period and terminated her parental and custodial rights. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the circuit court did not err by (1) refusing to extend Mother's post-adjudicatory improvement period; (2) denying Mother's motion for a post-dispositional improvement period; and (3) terminating Mother's parental and custodial rights. View "In re H.D." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the circuit court finding that Ford Motor Credit Company, LLC failed to meet its evidentiary burden to show the existence of an arbitration agreement in this case surrounding a dispute over the unpaid balance on an automobile loan, holding that the circuit court erred.Ford Credit sued Ronald Miller for the alleged balance due on a loan. Miller asserted a class action counterclaim for unlawful debt collection practices, in response to which Ford Credit filed a motion to compel arbitration. The circuit court denied the motion, concluding that Ford Credit failed to provide evidence that an arbitration agreement existed. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded the case, holding that the existence of an arbitration agreement between the parties had been established. View "Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Miller" on Justia Law