Justia West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court vacated the portion of the adjudicatory and dispositional orders culminating in the termination of Petitioners' parental rights to four of the seven children at issue in this case and affirmed the termination of Petitioners' parental rights as to the remaining children, holding that the circuit court erred in part.In the underlying proceedings the circuit court terminated the parental, custodial, and guardianship rights to seven children, three of whom resided in the home at the time the abuse and neglect petition was filed and the other four of whom were in legal guardianships with various relatives. The Supreme Court vacated the orders in part, holding (1) there was ample support for the termination of Petitioners' parental rights as to the children who resided in the home; and (2) the circuit court failed to make adequate findings to support its exercise of jurisdiction over the children in legal guardianships. View "In re B.V." on Justia Law

West Virginia Code of State Rules 64-10-8, “Blood Analysis; Standards and Methods,” sets forth the standards and methods the West Virginia Bureau of Public Health has established to ensure the accuracy of blood tests administered to determine the amount of ethyl alcohol in a person’s blood. In 2020 the West Virginia Supreme Court unanimously concluded (Corley) that absent evidence that a diagnostic blood test complied with the requirements of Rule 64-10-8, the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) was justified in discounting the accuracy of any blood test results for purposes of an aggravated DUI enhancement.In two cases, the circuit courts affirmed the OAH finding that absent evidence that the blood diagnostic was performed in compliance with the Rule, the OAH was justified in assigning no weight to the results for purposes of an aggravated enhancement. The Commissioner of the Division of Motor Vehicles appealed. The West Virginia Supreme Court affirmed, declining to overrule Corley. The court rejected an argument that the diagnostic test results are entitled to a presumption of accuracy since they were included in the administrative record before the OAH and were not rebutted. View "Frazier v. Powers" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the order of the circuit court awarding Respondent damages following a bench trial denying each Petitioner the ability to present a witness at a bench trial on damages, holding that the lower court's order was deficient and required this case to be reversed and remanded to the circuit court.Following the bench trial, the circuit court granted Respondent damages in the amount of $87,377, which represented the gross amounts from two unpaid invoices plus interest and late fees. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the circuit court's order did not comply with the requirements of Rule 52(a), nor did the circuit court make the required findings of fact or conclusions of law orally as permitted by the rule, thus rendering the order insufficient for this Court to undertake a proper appellate review. View "Warrior Oil & Gas, LLC v. Blue Land Services, LLC" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court converted this interlocutory appeal to a petition for a writ of prohibition in this negligence action and granted extraordinary relief, holding that a discretionary writ of prohibition should issue in this case.Plaintiff brought this case against West Virginia University Hospitals (WVUH) for the alleged negligence of two emergency room physicians, both of whom were employees of the West Virginia University Board of Governors, on a theory of ostensible agency. WVUH filed a motion to dismiss that was converted into a motion for summary judgment, arguing that it could not be held liable on a theory of ostensible agency under W. Va. Code 55-7B-9(g), which insulates non-employer healthcare providers from ostensible agency liability if the agent maintains a requisite amount of insurance coverage for the injury. The circuit court denied the motion, concluding that the two physicians did not meet the coverage requirements of the statute so as to alleviate WVUH of ostensible agency liability. The Supreme Court granted extraordinary relief, holding that the circuit court's reading of section 55-7B-9(g) as applied was clear error because it failed to account for W. Va. Code 55-7H-1 to -6, which cannot be reconciled with the circuit court's reading of section 55-7B-9(g). View "State ex rel. W. Va. University Hospitals, Inc. v. Honorable Gaujot" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the order of the circuit court refusing to adjudicate Father as an abusive and neglectful parent and remanded the case, holding that the circuit court erred in concluding that Father did not abandon Child.Father was identified as the father of Child, who was removed from the home of his mother because of drug use and other conditions, and the pending abuse and neglect petition was amended to add him as an alleged neglectful parent. The circuit court declined to make a finding of abandonment. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the evidence showed that Father demonstrated a settled purpose to forgo his responsibilities and duties to Child and thus abandoned him. View "In re C.M.-1" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the circuit court affirming the rules of the West Virginia Health Care Authority (WVHCA) denying War Memorial Hospital, Inc.'s (Hospital) certificate of need exemption application that would have allowed Hospital to acquire and utilize a fixed magnetic resonance imagining (MRI) scanner at its medical office building, holding that the circuit court erred.The WVHCA denied the Hospital's exemption application on the grounds that the MRI device would not be used in the Hospital's facility but, rather, that the Hospital intended to place the MRI device in a building in another country that was owned by the Hospital's parent corporation. The circuit court affirmed. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that there is no location-specific requirement in W. Va. Code 16-2D-11(c)(27) that the MRI the Hospital sought to acquire be utilized at its "primary hospital location." View "War Memorial Hospital v. W. Va. Health Care Authority" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court dismissing Petitioner's complaint stemming from the suspension of his hospital clinical privileges and medical staff membership under W. Va. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6), holding that the circuit court did not err.Petitioner, a self-employed physician, held clinical privileges and medical staff membership with Herbert J. Thomas Memorial Hospital Association and Thomas Health System, Inc. (collectively, Thomas Hospital) until they were suspended in 2019. Petitioner brought this action raising claims related to the suspension. The suspension, however, occurred before Thomas Hospital's Chapter 11 bankruptcy confirmation order and reorganization plan. The circuit court dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the circuit court properly dismissed the complaint. View "Katrib v. Herbert J. Thomas Memorial Hospital Ass'n" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court's denial of Petitioners' petition for declaratory relief, in which they sought reformation of a 2009 deed due to mutual mistake, and its finding that Respondents were bona fide purchasers of the property at issue who lacked notice that there was a mistake in the deed, holding that the circuit court did not err.Petitioners filed a complaint for declaratory and other relief alleging that, due to a mutual mistake, a 2009 deed transferring Petitioners' entire property to Respondents' predecessor-in-title contained an error and that Respondents were precluded from claiming ownership of the garage on the property because they were not bona fide purchasers. The trial court found that Respondents were bona fide purchasers and that Petitioners were not entitled to declaratory relief. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the circuit court correctly determined that Petitioners failed to present clear and convincing proof that Respondents had knowledge of the mistake made in Petitioners' prior deed. View "Oelschlager v. Francis" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court denied Petitioner's petition for a writ of prohibition, holding that the order was insufficient to permit for appellate review.Respondent brought this action against Petitioner alleging negligent hiring and negligent supervision. Petitioner filed a motion for summary judgment, which the circuit court denied on the grounds that there were genuine issues of material fact to be resolved. Thereafter, Petitioner filed its petition for a writ of prohibition seeking to prohibit enforcement of the court's order denying summary judgment. The Supreme Court denied the writ, holding that, without a detailed order, this court was unable sufficiently to evaluate whether the lower court committed clear legal error for purposes of granting the requested extraordinary relief. View "State ex rel., ERx, LLC v. Honorable Cramer" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the order of the circuit court denying Defendant's motion to dismiss the complaint brought by Plaintiff for injuries he sustained in the course and scope of his employment with Defendant, holding that the circuit court erred in denying the motion to dismiss.Plaintiff severely injured his left leg while he was employment at a pipeline construction project and received workers' compensation benefits for his injury. Plaintiff brought this complaint alleging negligence, vicarious liability, and negligent hiring, retention, and supervision. Defendant filed a motion to dismiss for failing to state a claim on the ground that it was entitled to workers' compensation immunity. The circuit court denied the petition. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the common law tort claims alleged in Plaintiff's complaint fell within the scope of immunity afforded by West Virginia's Workers' Compensation Act, W. Va. Code 23-2-1 et seq. View "Precision Pipeline, LLC v. Weese" on Justia Law