Justia West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Employee was discharged from employment with Employer for picket line violence. Thereafter, Employee filed a claim for unemployment compensation benefits. A Workforce West Virginia administrative law judge (ALJ) denied unemployment benefits, finding that Employee had been discharged for gross misconduct. The Workforce West Virginia’s Board of Review affirmed. The circuit court reversed and ruled that Employee was entitled to unemployment compensation benefits, concluding that the findings of fact of the ALJ, as adopted by the Board, were clearly wrong. The Supreme Court reversed the circuit court’s final order and remanded to the circuit court with directions to reinstate the Workforce West Virginia decision denying unemployment compensation benefits, holding that the circuit court erred in finding that Employee’s acts did not constitute gross misconduct. Remanded. View "Alcan Rolled Prods. Ravenswood v. McCarthy" on Justia Law

Father filed a motion to modify and amend a parenting plan, after which Mother filed her own motion for modification and amendment. The family court entered an order making changes to the parenting plan. The circuit court made additional changes to the parenting plan. Thereafter, on reconsideration, the circuit court overturned the final decision of the family court as it pertained to the time allotted Mother and Father for the parenting of the couple’s child. Mother appealed and Father cross-appealed. The Supreme Court (1) reversed the circuit court’s order disturbing the family court’s allocation of parenting time; and (2) affirmed the circuit court’s order insofar as it left undisturbed the family court’s determination that changed circumstances justified modification of the child’s parenting plan and insofar as it ratified the family court’s decision to permit Mother to continue as the sole decisionmaker pertaining to the child’s extracurricular activities. View "In re Child of Stephen H. & Tamara P." on Justia Law

Petitioner pleaded guilty to nighttime burglary by way of entering without breaking and grand larceny. As part of his sentence, Petitioner was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $50,013 to the victim of his crimes. Petitioner subsequently filed a motion to reconsideration of sentence requesting a reduction in the amount of restitution he was ordered to pay, arguing that the circuit court abused its discretion in determining the amount of restitution without the presentation of evidence of the victim’s loss at the sentencing hearing and without determining Petitioner’s ability to pay restitution. The circuit court denied the motion. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded for a hearing on the issue of restitution, holding that the circuit court did not consider all of the pertinent circumstances in determining the practicality of an award of full restitution. View "State v. Atwell" on Justia Law

After eighty-six-year-old Helen Graham died, Graham’s estate filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a hospital. One of Graham’s adult children, Betty Asbury, died before a settlement agreement was reached with the hospital. The circuit court approved the settlement agreement and awarded equal shares of the settlement proceeds to Graham’s six surviving children. Asbury’s estate subsequently argued that because Asbury was alive at the time of her mother’s death, Asbury’s estate was entitled to share in the proceeds of her mother’s wrongful death settlement. The circuit court ruled in favor of Asbury’s estate. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that under the West Virginia wrongful death act, Asbury’s estate was entitled to a share of the wrongful death settlement proceeds because Asbury’s right of action vested upon Graham’s death, rather than at the time the wrongful death settlement proceeds were distributed. View "Graham v. Asbury" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs, individuals who had next-of-kin decedents buried in an old, rural cemetery, sued Defendants, claiming that Defendants desecrated their decedents’ graves during a gas pipeline relocation project. The jury returned a verdict finding Defendant liable to Plaintiffs for desecration of their decedents’ graves and awarded both compensatory and punitive damages. On appeal, Defendants argued that the trial court erred by instructing the jury that it could find Defendants negligent and award Plaintiffs damages under W. Va. Code 29-1-8a, which protects ancient, unmarked gravesites of historic significance. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the circuit court erred in instructing the jury about section 29-1-8a, and the error was not harmless. View "Gen. Pipeline Constr., Inc. v. Hairston" on Justia Law

Mother and Father, who were not married, had a child. The child was given Father’s surname at birth. After the parents ended their relationship, the circuit court granted Mother’s request to change the child’s surname to a hyphenated name using both parents’ last names. The Supreme Court reversed but did not remand the case to the circuit court for further proceedings. Nevertheless, the circuit court sua sponte noticed the case for a hearing, after which the circuit court purported to grant Mother’s petition and again changed the child’s surname to the hyphenated name. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the circuit court had no authority to hold the evidentiary hearing or to enter the order changing the child’s name for a second time. View "In re Name Change of Jenna A.J." on Justia Law

Petitioner was charged with first degree murder and found mentally incompetent to stand trial. Petitioner subsequently requested a bench trial to give him the opportunity to establish defenses to the charged offense. At the conclusion of a hearing held pursuant to W. Va. Code 27-6A-6, the trial court ruled that the evidence adduced, were it to go to trial, could result in a verdict of second degree murder. The court determined that it retained jurisdiction over Petitioner for forty years based on the maximum sentence specified for a conviction of second degree murder and remanded him to the custody of William R. Sharpe Hospital for the duration of that period of time. The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the circuit court, holding (1) Petitioner was not unconstitutionally denied his right to a jury trial because the right to a jury trial does not attach to a hearing requested pursuant to section 27-6A-6; and (2) the evidence presented at the hearing was sufficient for the trial court to rule that the State had demonstrated Petitioner committed second degree murder for commitment purposes. View "State v. Gum" on Justia Law

The Office of Disciplinary Counsel and the West Virginia Lawyer Disciplinary Board (collectively, the ODC) issued an informal advisory opinion that determined (1) the Attorney General did not have authority to prosecute criminal cases outside of the limited prosecutorial authority granted by W. Va. Code 5-3-2, and (2) the Rules of Professional Conduct would be violated if the Attorney General prosecuted assisted county prosecutors in certain criminal prosecutions. The Attorney General subsequently filed the instant petition for a writ of prohibition to prevent ODC from enforcing the informal advisory opinion, contending that county prosecutors have authority to request the Attorney General to assist with criminal prosecutions and that the office of the Attorney General has independent common law authority to prosecute criminal cases. The Supreme Court denied the writ, holding (1) county prosecutors do not have statutory authority to appoint the Attorney General as a special prosecutor; and (2) under the state Constitution and statutory law, the common law criminal prosecutorial authority of the Attorney General was abolished. View "State ex rel. Morrisey v. W. Va. Office of Disciplinary Counsel" on Justia Law

Petitioner, West Virginia Mutual Insurance Company, Inc. (WVMIC), was a professional medical liability insurer that insured physicians, medical practices and others in West Virginia. The medical malpractice claims underlying the current dispute were asserted by Respondents against their surgeon’s former employer, United Health Professional, Inc. (UHP), a medical corporation insured under a medical malpractice policy issued by WVMIC for the year 2010. Under the terms of a global settlement agreement, WVMIC tendered $3 million to Respondents under an extended reporting endorsement insuring the surgeon. The settlement further provided that Respondents and WVMIC would abide by a judicial determination as to whether additional insurance limits were available for Respondents’ vicarious liability claims against UHP. The circuit court concluded that there was an additional $6 million in policy limits available for Respondents’ claims against UHP. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that UHP has a total of $3 million in separate policy limits under the 2010 policy for Respondents’ claims asserted against it, which amount was in addition to the $3 million that WVMIC previously tendered under the global settlement agreement for the claims asserted against the surgeon. Remanded. View "W. Va. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Adkins" on Justia Law

Dawn Hanna worked for the Board of Education of Webster County as a teacher from 1989 until 2012. After fundraiser proceeds went missing, Hanna was informed that she would be charged with felony embezzlement but that she could avoid prosecution by resigning from her position and paying back the missing funds. Pursuant to this discussion, Hanna resigned from her position. Hanna subsequently applied for unemployment benefits. The Board of Review of WorkForce West Virginia concluded that Hanna was disqualified from receiving unemployment compensation benefits because she voluntarily quit her job. The circuit court reversed, finding that Hanna acted under duress and that her decision to resign was not voluntary. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that WorkForce was not clearly wrong when it found that Hanna resigned voluntarily, and therefore, the circuit court erred in reversing WorkForce’s findings. View "Bd. of Educ. of Webster County v. Hanna" on Justia Law