May 19 WVSCOA Opinions

Hill v. Stowers is a civil action by plaintiff Hill, who sought damages alleging he lost an election due to vote buying in Lincoln County by the defendant. Affirming dismissal of the action, the SCOAWV Court holds (1) There is no constitutional claim for damages because "as a candidate for public office, Mr. Hill could have filed an election contest. There is simply no legal basis for Mr. Hill's contention that the West Virginia Constitution allows him to pursue a private cause of action for damages against Mr. Stowers. (2) There is no civil claim for violation of the criminal statute outlawing vote buying. The Court concluded "this Court would be creating an alternative means by which an unsuccessful candidate could contest the results of an election and providing a private cause of action for damages to one individual for conduct violative of the rights of the citizenry at large. Not only would there be the potential for the outcome of such a private cause of action to be at odds with the certified results of the election at issue, there would be the potential for no finality to any election."; (3) There is no claim for damages for Unjust Enrichment because the "[Plaintiff] was not the payor of the salary and benefits that Mr. Stowers received as circuit clerk. Accordingly, there is simply no basis to allow Mr. Hill to pursue a claim against Mr. Stowers for unjust enrichment." (4) Finally, the Court held there was no claim for damages based upon "public policy."

Gainer v Walker affirms the circuit court's reversal of a four day suspension of a CPS worker for disclosing confidential notes to a guardian ad litem and lawyer in a child abuse proceeding. The notes were used to cross examine the colleague to show her testimony was inconsistent with her notes. The Court found the disclosure was appropriate because it was in the best interest of the child, thus finding the suspension was unjustified.

Little v WV Adjutant General applies West Virginia Code § 15-1B-26 (2004) which requires that "any individual employed by the West Virginia Adjutant General as a firefighter after June 2, 2004, the effective date of the statute, must also be a member of the West Virginia National Guard. Consequently, if an individual ceases to be a member of the West Virginia National Guard, then the individual can no longer be employed as a firefighter under the provisions of West Virginia Code § 15-1B-26."

Jochum v. Waste Mgt reverses summary judgment, finding that whether the defendant properly terminated a contract under its terms was a question for the jury due to ambiguity in the terms used in the contract.

Read the Opinions: http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca/Spring2009.htm.