| Vinson v. Butcher |
| Docket: 19-0132 Opinion Date: November 18, 2020 Judge: Jenkins Areas of Law: Civil Rights |
| The Supreme Court reversed the orders of the circuit court in favor of Rosa Lee Butcher in the suit Butcher filed against Defendants, a police officer and the Clarksburg City Police Department, holding that in a claim filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983 a plaintiff cannot obtain a finding of liability or receive a judgment for damages against a John Doe defendant. The circuit court upheld the jury's finding of liability against the John Doe defendants, as well as the judgment rendered against the John Doe defendants in favor of Butcher. The court then awarded costs and attorney's fees to Butcher. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) a government official can be held liable only for his or her own misconduct, and Butcher failed to establish that any of the John Doe defendants were personally and directly responsible for the conduct giving rise to her section 1983 claim; and (2) because Butcher did not prevail in her section 1983 action she was not entitled to receive an award of her costs or attorney's fees. |
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| Fields v. Mellinger |
| Docket: 20-0183 Opinion Date: November 18, 2020 Judge: Jenkins Areas of Law: Constitutional Law |
| The Supreme Court answered a question certified to it by the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia by concluding that West Virginia does not recognize a private right of action for monetary damages for violations of W. Va. Const. art. III, 6. Plaintiff brought this complaint alleging several state law claims, including violations of Article III, Section 6, and several federal law claims. Defendants filed a partial motion to dismiss, seeking dismissal of Plaintiff's claim for relief under the West Virginia Constitution on the grounds that state constitutional claims are not supported by the law. The district court then submitted its certified question to the Court. The Supreme Court answered that West Virginia does not recognize a private right of action for monetary damages for a violation of Article III, Section 6 of the West Virginia Constitution. |
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| Ascent Resources - Marcellus, LLC v. Huffman |
| Docket: 19-0347 Opinion Date: November 18, 2020 Judge: Hutchison Areas of Law: Contracts, Energy, Oil & Gas Law |
| The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court denying the motion filed by Plaintiff, an oil and gas drilling company, for summary judgment and denying Plaintiff a favorable declaratory judgment, holding that the circuit court did not err in refusing to imply into an existing oil and gas lease a covenant to pool and unitize the lease with nearby mineral estates. Plaintiff brought this action seeking a declaration that the oil and gas lease at issue contained an implied covenant to pool or unitize the lease with other mineral interests. The circuit court rejected Plaintiff's request for a declaratory judgment, holding that the circuit court correctly concluded that there can be no implied covenant to pool or unitize in the absence of language in the lease showing the parties contemplated that a lessor has a right to pool and unitize the lease with other estates. |
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| Gulfport Energy Corp. v. Harbert Private Equity Partners, LP |
| Docket: 19-0510 Opinion Date: November 18, 2020 Judge: Armstead Areas of Law: Contracts |
| The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the circuit court awarding Central Environmental Services, LLC (CES) damages, holding that a court may not award damages based on both unjust enrichment and breach of contract where such theories of recovery arise from the same set of facts. Gulfport Energy corporation entered into a contract with CES whereby CES agreed to provide services at Gulfport's wells. Some of CES's invoices remained unpaid when the business relationship ended. CES sued Gulfport alleging that Gulfport breached the contract and was unjustly enriched by CES's performance. The circuit court awarded CES $144,038. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that where the circuit court awarded judgment based, at least in part, on unjust enrichment where the litigants were parties to an express contract, the circuit court's order must be reversed. |
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| In re I.S.A. |
| Docket: 19-0939 Opinion Date: November 18, 2020 Judge: Jenkins Areas of Law: Criminal Law |
| The Supreme Court vacated the order of the circuit court denying a petition to expunge a criminal record based upon its finding that Petitioner was barred from seeking expungement pursuant to W. Va. Code 61-11-25(a), holding that the circuit court erred in ruling, without holding a hearing, that Petitioner was barred from seeking expungement. Without holding a hearing, the circuit court found that Petitioner was statutorily barred from seeking expungement due to a purported plea of guilty entered by Petitioner in exchange for the dismissal of another charge. The Supreme Court vacated the order, holding that the circuit court abused its discretion in (1) finding that Petitioner entered a plea of guilty and was therefore barred from seeking expungement; (2) finding, without evidentiary support, that granting Petitioner's request for expungement was contrary to the public interest and public safety; and (3) failing to hold a hearing under the particular circumstances presented by this case. |
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| McKenzie v. Sevier |
| Docket: 19-0010 Opinion Date: November 18, 2020 Judge: Walker Areas of Law: Personal Injury |
| In this personal injury action, the Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the order of the circuit court denying Plaintiff a new trial on damages and imposing sanctions, holding that the verdict awarding no damages was inadequate. Plaintiff sued Defendant for the intentional tort of battery. The jury found Defendant liable for battery but awarded Plaintiff no damages. The Supreme Court reversed in part, holding (1) because the uncontroverted evidence was not only that the battery caused Plaintiff's brain injury but also that Plaintiff suffered a traumatic brain injury for which he was not compensated, the verdict was inadequate; (2) the circuit court was within its discretion to require the parties to bear their own costs and to order Defendants to pay the costs of the jury trial; and (3) the circuit court did not abuse its discretion by imposing sanctions in the form of attorney fees where Defendants displayed a pattern of discovery misconduct. |
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| Wal-Mart Stores East, L.P. v. Ankrom |
| Docket: 19-0666 Opinion Date: November 18, 2020 Judge: Walker Areas of Law: Personal Injury |
| The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court denying Wal-Mart's posttrial motions and the court's judgment against each defendant in this personal injury case according to its apportioned fault, holding that the circuit court did not err. Plaintiff sued Wal-Mart after she sustained serious injuries in a collision with a fleeing shoplifter in a Parkersburg Wal-Mart. Following a jury trial, the jury awarded $16.9 million in damages, apportioning thirty percent of the fault to Wal-Mart and the remainder to the shoplifter. The circuit court denied Wal-Mart's posttrial motions. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Wal-Mart owed a duty to Plaintiff to protect her from the shoplifter's criminal conduct, and a reasonable juror could have concluded that the shoplifter's flight was the proximate cause of Plaintiff's injuries; (2) the circuit court did not commit reversible error when it refused to instruct the jury on intervening cause; (3) any error in the circuit court's exclusion of certain allegations in Plaintiff's complaint was harmless; (4) the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in awarding Plaintiff prejudgment interest on her past medication expenses; and (5) the circuit court did not err in refusing to enter Plaintiff's proposed judgment order. |
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