Justia West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court denying Petitioner's motion to transfer custody of A.A. to her upon finding that the transfer would not be in A.A.'s best interest, holding that there was no error.A.A. was temporarily removed from a hotel room after her father was arrested for unlawful possession of firearms. Petitioner, A.A.'s paternal grandmother, declined to take custody of the A.A. and so the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources placed A.A. with Respondents, foster parents. After the proceedings began, Petitioner intervened and filed a motion to transfer custody of the child to her. The circuit court denied the petition. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the circuit court appropriately exercised jurisdiction in this matter; and (2) Petitioner's remaining assignments of error were without merit. View "In re A.A." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the final order of the circuit court affirming the decision of the Coal Mine Safety Board of Appeals reinstating Respondent's mining certifications following a random substance abuse drug and alcohol test in which Respondent tested positive for marijuana metabolites (THC), holding that the circuit court erred.Respondent appealed his suspension, arguing before the Board that his positive drug tested resulted from his use of cannabidiol (CBD) oil on the day prior to the test and that the test did not differentiate between CBD and THC. The Board granted the appeal and reinstated Respondent's mining certifications. The circuit court affirmed. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that because Respondent did not successfully challenge the testing process or result and had no valid prescription that would fulfill the valid and allowable defense, the statutory requirement that he be suspended was mandatory. View "West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety & Training v. Beavers" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court vacated the circuit court's dispositional order terminating Mother's parental rights to her three minor children, holding that the court erred in terminating Mother's parental rights in the absence of any evidence being presented by the Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) at the dispositional hearing.Upon evidence that Mother was abusing methamphetamines Mother's three children were removed from her care and placed with their respective biological fathers. After stipulating to abuse and/or neglect and embarking upon post-adjudicatory and dispositional improvement periods Mother twice relapsed. Despite the prosecutor's failure to present any evidence on DHHR's behalf at the dispositional hearing, the circuit court terminated Mother's parental rights. The Supreme Court held that the circuit court’s dispositional order must be vacated due to DHHR’s failure to introduce evidence in support of termination. View "In re K.S." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the circuit court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Respondent and dismissing Petitioner's civil action alleging that Respondent violated the terms of the West Virginia Wage Payment and Collection Act, the terms of her employee agreement, and the employee handbook by failing, upon her resignation, to provide her severance pay and compensation for accrued paid time off, holding that the circuit court erred.Following her resignation, Petitioner initiated a lawsuit alleging that Respondent failed timely to pay her wages on several occasions, thereby breaching the employee agreement that triggered Respondent's duty to pay her a severance package. Petitioner additionally asserted that the failure to pay her the severance package constituted violations of the employee handbook and the Act. The circuit court granted judgment in favor of Respondent. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the circuit court erred in dismissing Petitioner's claims. View "Miller v. St. Joseph Recovery Center, LLC" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the circuit court dismissing this complaint alleging violations of the West Virginia Human Rights Act (WVHRA), W. Va. Code 5-11-1 to -20, holding that Respondent was not entitled to qualified immunity under the WVHRA, and Petitioner's complaint sufficiently stated her claims.Petitioner, a former commercial driver's license instructor for Respondent, Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College, filed a complaint alleging that Respondent's decision to terminate her employment was predicated upon illegal age and sex discrimination. The circuit court granted Respondent's motion to dismiss, concluding that Respondent was entitled to qualified immunity and that Petitioner had failed to satisfy the heightened pleading standard. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that Petitioner's complaint pleaded sufficient facts to survive a W. Va. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss. View "Judy v. Eastern West Virginia Community & Technical College" on Justia Law

In this insurance dispute, the Supreme Court affirmed the orders of the circuit court granting partial summary judgment to Insured, denying summary judgment to Insurer, and awarding Insured her attorney's fees, holding that there was no error.At issue in this case was the "medical payments coverage" provision in Insured's automobile insurance contract that required that Insurer reimburse Insured for any medical expenses she "incurred" in an accident. The circuit court concluded that the contract obligated Insurer to reimburse Insured the full amount of Insured's medical bill she received after an automobile accident and further concluded that Insurer was required to reimburse Insured for her attorney's fees. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) there was no error in the circuit court's interpretation of the medical payments provision in the insurance contract; and (2) there was no error in the circuit court's rulings on costs and attorney's fees. View "Auto Club Property Casualty Insurance Co. v. Moser" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court granted a writ of prohibition sought by Petitioner to prohibit certification of a class of individuals who received documents from Petitioner containing language that purportedly violated the West Virginia Consumer Credit Protection Act (WVCCPA), W. Va. Code 46A-2-127(g), holding that the circuit court's order did not sufficiency analyze the predominance and superiority factors of W. Va. R. Civ. P. 23(b)(3).Respondents, like the class they proposed to represent, purchased a dissatisfactory HVAC unit from Petitioner. Respondents filed a putative class action alleging that the documents used by Petitioner violated the WVCCPA. The circuit court eventually certified a class action. Petitioner then sought a writ of prohibition challenging the class certification on two grounds. The Supreme Court denied the writ of prohibition as to the first ground but granted it as to the second, holding that the circuit court's order was conclusory as to its analysis of the predominance and superiority factors. View "State ex rel., Dodrill Heating & Cooling, LLC v. Honorable Maryclaire Akers" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court answered a question certified by the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia seeking to clarify the application of the West Virginia Human Rights Act (WVHRA) when the plaintiff's employing entity does not meet the WVHRA definition of "employer," as set out in W. Va. Code 5-11-3(d).Plaintiff filed a lawsuit against her former employer alleging violations of the WVHRA and other claims. Defendant removed the case to federal district court and moved for dismissal of the WVHRA claim on the ground that Plaintiff had failed to allege that Defendant satisfied the numerosity portion of the WVHRA definition of "employer." The district court denied the motion. Thereafter, the court ordered that a question of law be certified. The Supreme Court answered that an entity that does not meet the WVHRA's definition of employer may not be potentially liable to its own employee as a "person," as defined in W. Va. Code 5-11-3(a), for an alleged violation of W. Va. Code 5-11-9(7). View "Pajak v. Under Armour, Inc." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the business court's orders in this rent dispute, holding that the business court erred in granting summary judgment to either party.American Bituminous Power Partners, LP (AMBIT) and Horizon Ventures of West Virginia, Inc. created a contractual relationship with a lease agreement. The current rent dispute involved the relationship between the lease, a 1996 settlement agreement, and a 2017 order of the business court. Without resolving the relationship between those documents the business court granted summary judgment to AMBIT on Horizon's claims and summary judgment to Horizon on AMBIT's claims. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that summary judgment was improper because the various agreements were ambiguous and the parties' intent was not clear. View "Horizon Ventures of W. Va., Inc. v. American Bituminous Power Partners, L.P." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the order of the circuit court to the extent it granted summary judgment to James and Iris Shaffer in this real property dispute, holding that summary judgment was not proper in this case.Robert and Robin Goodwin and the Shaffers owned neighboring properties that were separated by an alley. The Goodwins were the legal owners of the alley. When the Goodwins erected a fence and building that obstructed the Shaffers' use of the alley the Shaffers the Shaffers filed the underlying lawsuit asserting causes of action for prescriptive easement, civil conspiracy, injunctive relief, private nuisance, and trespass. The circuit court granted summary judgment to the Shaffers as to their prescriptive easement claim from 1973 to 1999. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the circuit court erred in resolving genuine issues of material fact instead of simply determining whether there was a genuine issue of material fact. View "Goodwin v. Shaffer" on Justia Law