Justia West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court denying the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles' (DMV) appeal of a final order of the office of administrative hearings (OAH) after concluding that Respondent could not have his driver's license revoked for his refusal to submit to a designated secondary chemical test, holding that there was no error.The OAH and circuit court determined that because the arresting officer failed to provide defendant with a written copy of the implied consent statement Respondent could not have his driver's license revoked for his refusal to submit to a designated secondary chemical test. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the OAH and the circuit court were correct in their application of the law; and (2) W. Va. 17C-5-7(a) requires that a driver be given both an oral warning and a written statement advising her of the consequences of refusing to submit to the designated secondary chemical test. View "Frazier v. Slye" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court enforcing a settlement agreement between Petitioner and his insurer, Respondent Allstate Company, and denying Petitioner's request to amend his complaint or allow the filing of a new complaint, holding that there was no error.The settlement agreement at issue related to water damages occurring at Petitioner's real property. Petitioner failed to execute and return the agreement, after which Respondent filed a motion to enforce settlement. Petitioner then filed a motion to amend the complaint or, in the alternative, allow the filing of a new complaint. The circuit court granted Respondent's motion to enforce the settlement and denied Petitioner's motion to amend. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the circuit court did not err as to any of its challenged rulings. View "Donahue v. Mammoth Restoration & Cleaning" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's conviction for knowingly providing false or misleading information to a member of the City of Martinsburg Police Department, holding that there was insufficient evidence to support the conviction.Defendant's conviction arose from an incident during which Detective Jonathan Smith, who was not wearing a uniform, went to Defendant's home to investigate information regarding a potential fraudulent credit card charge associated with Defendant's address. Detective Smith, who did not initially identify himself as a law enforcement officer, asked Defendant personal questions, in response to which Defendant gave a false name. Later in the conversation, Detective Smith informed Defendant that he was a police officer, but Defendant did not subsequently notify Detective Smith of her real name. The circuit court convicted Defendant for violating section 509.05 of the City of Martinsburg Municipal Code. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the circuit court erred in finding that Defendant was required to notify an investigating law enforcement officer of her real name after learning that he was in actuality a law enforcement officer. View "City of Martinsburg v. Dunbar" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court that re-sentenced Defendant, for purposes of appeal, to an indeterminate term of not less than ten nor more than twenty years in connection for his conviction of one count of sexual abuse by a parent or person in a position of trust to a child, holding that there was no error.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) the circuit court did not abuse its discretion by denying Defendant's motion to suppress his recorded confession and allowing Defendant's interview at the police department to be played for the jury; (2) the circuit court did not err by failing to give two jury instructions proffered by Defendant; and (3) Defendant's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel was not properly before this Court on direct appeal. View "State v. Campbell" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the order of the circuit court preliminarily enjoining the West Virginia Paycheck Protection Act, passed by the Legislature in 2021, from taking effect, holding that the circuit court abused its discretion when it granted Respondents injunctive relief.Respondents - labor unions, employee associations, and individual members of such groups - sought to enjoin the enforcement of the Act, which prohibits state employers from continuing to deduct union dues and employee association membership fees from public employees' wages. The circuit court concluded that the law violated certain of Respondents' constitutional rights and that its enforcement would irreparably harm them. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the circuit court abused its discretion when it did not deny injunctive relief to Respondents. View "Justice v. W. Va. AFL-CIO" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court granted as moulded a writ of prohibition challenging the rulings of the circuit court denying West Virginia University Hospitals, Inc.'s (WVUH) petition for declaratory judgment and WVUH's motion to dismiss Respondents' amended complaint, holding that the circuit court committed clear legal error.Respondents filed a complaint alleging corporate negligence and other claims against WVUH. WVUH filed a combined answer and petition for declaratory judgment asking the circuit court to declare that the West Virginia Medical Professional Liability Act, W. Va. Code 55-7B-1 to -12 (MPLA) applied to Respondents' corporate negligence allegations. Before the circuit court ruled on the petition for declaratory judgment, Respondents filed an amended complaint adding new corporate negligence claims but did not fulfill the MPLA's pre-suit notice requirements. At issue was the circuit court's denial of both WVUH's petition for declaratory judgment and motion to dismiss. The Supreme Court granted a writ of prohibition, holding (1) the circuit court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the corporate negligence claims added in the amended complaint due to Respondents' failure to comply with the MPLA's pre-suit notice requirements for these claims; and (2) litigation of the corporate negligence claims that were asserted in the original complaint, and for which the pre-suit notice requirements were satisfied, were governed by the MPLA. View "State ex rel. W. Va. University Hospitals, Inc. v. Honorable Scott" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the orders of the circuit court entered under the West Virginia Wage Payment and Collection Act, W. Va. Code 23-5-1 to -18 (the WPCA), holding that the court acted within its discretion, and there was otherwise no error.Employer in this case made withholdings from the wages of its employees that met the definition of an assignment set forth under the West Virginia Wage Payment and Collection Act, W. Va. Code 23-5-1 to -18 (the WPCA). Employer, however, never procured from its employees a writing that complied with the conditions set forth in the WPCA. Employees filed a class-action suit to recoup Employer's withholdings. The circuit court entered an orders (1) finding Employer liable for violating the WPCA, and (2) awarding Employees the wages improperly taken from their paychecks, liquidated damages, attorney's fees, and costs. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the circuit court did not abuse its discretion or err in its orders. View "Fairmont Tool, Inc. v. Davis" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court granted a writ of prohibition prohibiting the circuit court from enforcing an order granting class certification in the underlying civil action filed by Respondents, holding that class certification was improperly granted.The underlying suit arose after an employee of Petitioners - three hospitals, misappropriated the private information of certain patients from Petitioners' medical records during the course of performing her authorized job duties. Respondents - Deborah Welch and Eugene Roman - successfully certified a class of approximately 7,445 individuals. The Supreme Court granted this petition prohibiting the circuit court from enforcing its order granting class certification, holding (1) Welch lacked standing because she suffered no injury-in-fact; and (2) as to Roman and the subclass of 109 individuals he represented, the prerequisites to class certification were not met. View "State ex rel. W. Va. University Hospitals--East, Inc. v. Honorable Hammer" on Justia Law

With one exception, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court denying Petitioner's petition of habeas corpus relief from Petitioner's conviction on four counts of first-degree sexual abuse and related offenses against his daughter, holding that only the circuit court's imposition of a period of supervised release as part of Petitioner's sentence is reversed.Petitioner filed a pro se petition for a writ of habeas corpus and then refused to cooperate with a succession of appointed counsel or to file an amended petition under his demand were met. Without Petitioner's approval, the circuit court ultimately ordered counsel to file an amended petition raising all issues that counsel deemed to be viable. After an omnibus hearing, the circuit court denied relief on all grounds. The Supreme Court reversed in part, holding (1) the circuit court's imposition of a period of supervised release did not pass constitutional muster; and (2) the circuit court properly denied habeas relief on all other issues raised by Petitioner and/or his counsel. View "Frank A. v. Ames" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court held that the West Virginia Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Act (West Virginia Act), W. Va. Code 62-1D-1 through 16, runs afoul of the First Amendment to the federal Constitution and W. Va. Const. art. III, 7 and is unconstitutional as appleid to the extent that it allows a civil action to be maintained against an innocent third party who publishes information of public concern that was obtained by the unlawful interception of wire, oral, or electronic communication in violation of the statute but who did not participate in the unlawful interception of the communication.Petitioners, public school employees, alleged that the mother of A.P., a special education student in their classroom, violated both the West Virginia Act and its federal construct by placing a secret audio recording device in A.P.'s hair, purporting to show Petitioners physically and verbally abusing students. After Petitioners resigned, they brought this complaint alleging that Respondents, various media groups or outlets, violated the West Virginia Act by using and disclosing Petitioners' intercepted communications. The circuit court granted Respondents' motions to dismiss. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the circuit court did not err in dismissing the case. View "Yurish v. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc." on Justia Law