By Jeffrey V. Mehalic on Posted in Appellate Decisions
Late in its January Term, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia issued a decision dealing with the well-known, but somewhat misunderstood, or at least misapplied, doctrine of forum non conveniens. In essence, the doctrine allows a court to decline to assert jurisdiction over an action before it if another,
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By Jeffrey V. Mehalic on Posted in Appellate Decisions
I want to close out the month by discussing two decisions from the Supreme Court of Appeals that address the scope of the trial court’s review of an arbitration agreement. Tomorrow I’ll write about two new decisions from the United States Supreme Court that also deal with arbitration.
In State Continue Reading
By Jeffrey V. Mehalic on Posted in Attorney Fees
First of all, happy Memorial Day to everyone, and thank you to our active and retired service men and women and their families for the sacrifices they have made and continue to make for all of us.
As we reach the end of May, it has been a good month for
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By Jeffrey V. Mehalic on Posted in Attorney Fees
I want to discuss a new decision from the Fourth Circuit, which Rob Hoskins brought to my attention last week on ERISABoard. The case involves the reasonableness of attorney’s fees in general, and a substantial contingency fee in particular.
The facts in In re Continue Reading
By Jeffrey V. Mehalic on Posted in Appellate Decisions
I have not written since early last month — and have no excuse to offer for my dereliction — but thanks to a much-anticipated decision released this afternoon by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, there is plenty to discuss.
The Court has issued its opinion in Perrine v. Continue Reading
By Jeffrey V. Mehalic on Posted in Appellate Decisions
In case you haven’t noticed, there are two opinions from the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia that were not released during the term that ended on November 25, and presumably will be issued during the term that begins next month. One of the opinions is Perrine v. E. I.
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By Jeffrey V. Mehalic on Posted in Appellate Decisions
Hugh Caperton is not going down without a fight. Despite losing three times in front of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, most recently on November 12 when the court voted 4-1 to reverse the $50 million verdict that he and his companies recovered against A. T. Massey Coal Co. and
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By Jeffrey V. Mehalic on Posted in Appellate Decisions
The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia has again reversed the $50 million verdict obtained in 2002 by Hugh Caperton and his companies against Massey and several of its subsidiaries. Caperton v. A. T. Massey Coal Co. was before the Court for the third time, following the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in
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By Jeffrey V. Mehalic on Posted in Appellate Decisions
I haven’t written too much lately, which will change, but I did want to write a brief post about an article in yesterday’s New York Times that caught my eye. In his Sidebar column, Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for the Times, wrote about
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