Rory Perry's Weblog

Summaries of first opinion in Fall 2009 term posted

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:30:30 GMT

I just posted summaries of the first four opinions, issued today, for cases argued in the Fall 2009 term of court. This term I am trying to issue the summaries as close to the opinion release time as feasible. Today I got lucky.

I'm back

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:39:55 GMT

After nearly a year of not posting, here we go again . . .

Recent rules activity - Mass Litigation Panel; changes to Rule 3(a) of the Rules of Civil Procedure

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:10:44 GMT

On October 9, 2008, the Court approved four rule changes related to mass litigation that become effective immediately. Those changes are:

Amendments to Trial Court Rule 26: These amendments relate to the Mass Litigation Panel, referral of cases, and conduct of business before the Panel, among other changes. An engrossed version of TCR 26 is also available.
New Trial Court Rule 15: This is a new rule that will allow the implementation of electronic filing and service in cases referred to the Mass Litigation Panel under Trial Court Rule 26. Electronic filing and service will not be used to initiate cases, and implementation will be triggered by entry of an order by the Panel (See TCR 15.02).
Amendment to Trial Court Rule 16.05(a): This amendment adds mass litigation to a list of exceptions from time standards otherwise applicable in civil litigation.
Amendment to Rule of Civil Procedure 5(e): This amendment enables electronic filing and service for post-complaint filings, following the model used to enable filing by facsimile.

In addition, the Court approved an amendment to Rule of Civil Procedure 3(a) that becomes effective on November 10, 2008. The amendment adds a second sentence to the existing rule, as follows: "(a) Complaint. [~] A civil action is commenced by filing a complaint with the court. For a complaint naming more than one individual plaintiff not related by marriage, a derivative or fiduciary relationship, each plaintiff shall be assigned a separate civil action number and be docketed as a separate civil action and be charged a separate fee by the clerk of a circuit court." For additional background on this rule, see syllabus points 3 and 4 of CABLE v. HATFIELD, 202 W.Va. 638, 505 S.E.2nd 701 (Davis, C.J.)(July 7, 1998).

First seven opinions of the September 2008 term

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:48:15 GMT

Summaries of the first seven opinions issued in the September 2008 term of court were posted today. One opinion, Savarese v. Allstate, resolved a case that was argued in the January term of court. Unless otherwise stated, in all opinions issued this term, Justice Albright is not participating and Senior Status Justice McHugh is sitting by temporary assignment.

The final day of arguments in the September term of court is Tuesday, October 29.

January 2008 opinion summaries

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:46:05 GMT

Today I'll be posting summaries of the 66 opinions issued by the West Virginia Supreme Court in the January 2008 term of court. Of those opinions, 26 were signed opinions setting forth new points of law in syllabus points, and 40 opinions were per curiam opinions. I know it's been a long time since there was an update to this site, due to other duties in the past six months.

CRIMINAL :: Lesser-included misdemeanor, statute of limitations defense waived

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 20:01:44 GMT

STATE v. DANIEL B. BINGMAN, No. 33299 (Per Curiam)(Starcher, J., dissenting)(Albright, J., dissenting)(October 26, 2007). Affirming a conviction and sentence imposed by the Circuit Court of Gilmer County upon conviction for one count of petit larceny in violation of W. Va. Code 61-3-13(b). The indictment for grand larceny occurred more than one year after the offense. Holding that defense counsel failed to object to jury instructions on the lesser-included offense, thereby waiving any statute of limitations defense that could be asserted, in accord with rule announced in syllabus point 3 of STATE v. BOYD, 209 W. Va. 90, 543 S.E.2d 647 (2000).

Updates

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 12:56:51 GMT

Throughout the day, I'll be posting the summaries of all 58 opinions issued in the September 2007 term of court. All told, there were 42 per curiam opinions and 16 signed opinions.

First six opinions of September 2007 term

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 19:40:26 GMT

The first six opinions of the September 2007 term of court were released today, and are available at this link.

Summaries of all January 2007 opinions posted - corrected

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 13:54:59 GMT

Summaries of all 62 opinions issued in the January 2007 term of court are now posted. The summaries are in three groups. Issue 91, posted on March 2, 2007, contains summaries of the first ten opinions of the term. Issue #92, posted August 22, contains summaries of 45 opinions. Finally, Issue #93, posted August 28, contains seven opinion summaries that were inadvertently omitted from Issue #92.

The opinion summaries are also available on three general category pages: Civil, Criminal, and Family.

The first court day of the September term will take place on September 11th, with a Motion Docket and Argument Docket. Most of the dockets and briefs are now posted on the September calendar page.

Opinion summary Issue #92

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 14:55:18 GMT

Today I'll be posting the contents of Issue #92 of the opinion summary service. The most recent issue covers the last 45 opinions issued in the January 2007 term of court.

Table games challenge refused

Tue, 22 May 2007 17:56:07 GMT

The Court today refused to issue a rule to show cause in State ex rel. WV Family Foundation v. Musgrave. The vote was 3-2, Justice Starcher and Benjamin would grant.

Response filed in table games case

Wed, 16 May 2007 18:38:43 GMT

The initial response to the petition for writ of mandamus was filed today.

Motion to Expedite Refused

Thu, 10 May 2007 17:18:54 GMT

The Court today refused the motion to expedite filed by the petitioners in State ex rel. West Virginia Family Foundation v. Musgrave. The vote was 3-2, Justices Starcher and Albright would grant the motion. In accordance with Rule 14(b) of the Rules of Appellate Procedure, the respondent now has an opportunity to respond to the petition on or before May 16th, 2007. Thereafter, as is usual in these types of cases, the Court will take up the petition at a regularly scheduled Miscellaneous Motion conference on May 23rd, 2007. At that time, the Court will decide whether to issue a Rule to Show Cause, meaning that the Court would hear oral argument, or whether to refuse the petition.

Respondents oppose expedited consideration of table games suit

Tue, 08 May 2007 19:43:48 GMT

The respondent in State ex rel. West Virginia Family Foundation v. Musgrave has filed a response in opposition to the motion to expedite. The Court is expected to rule on the motion to expedite later this week.