By Jeffrey V. Mehalic on Posted in Appellate DecisionsLate 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 AppealsYesterday was the first day for arguments before the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia under the Revised Rules of Appellate Procedure that went into effect on December 1, 2010. The revised rules govern appeals from final judgments entered by a circuit court on or after December 1, 2010
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By Jeffrey V. Mehalic on Posted in Appellate DecisionsI 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 ArbitrationToday I want to bring to your attention two new decision from the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, which deal with the substance and procedure of the arbitration process.
In the first opinion, State ex rel. Clites v. Clawges, 2009 WL 3320488 (W.Va. 2009), Clites was hired as a
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By Jeffrey V. Mehalic on Posted in CourtsRegardless of your area of specialty, if you practice in federal court, you will be affected by amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that take effect on December 1, 2009. Of particular importance are changes to calculating deadlines under Rule 6. My thanks to
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By Jeffrey V. Mehalic on Posted in Appellate DecisionsI 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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By Jeffrey V. Mehalic on Posted in AppealsYou may remember Paul Ratchford, the former president of The Greenbrier, who was terminated in 2007 after less than one year on the job. He filed suit against CSX Corporation, the resort’s then-owner and some individual officers, and alleged several causes of action, including a violation of the West Virginia Wage
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By Jeffrey V. Mehalic on Posted in Appellate DecisionsThe United States Supreme Court’s recent decision in Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (2009), dealt with a detainee’s claims that he had been discriminated against and treated harshly during his detention. But the Supreme Court dismissed his complaint for failure to state sufficient facts to support his claims against
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By Jeffrey V. Mehalic on Posted in ERISATwo recent decisions from federal courts in West Virginia illustrate some procedural and substantive pitfalls that can arise in ERISA cases.
In Conner v. Elkem Metals Co., 2008 WL 5122197 (S. D. W. Va. 2008), which originated in the Southern District, Conner retired in 2000 and was told by an
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By Jeffrey V. Mehalic on Posted in Appellate DecisionsThe doctrine of res judicata or claim preclusion can trip up an unwary plaintiff, as illustrated by a recent decision from the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.
In Beahm v. 7-Eleven, Inc., 2008 WL 4386838 (W. Va., September 26, 2008), the plaintiffs appealed from summary judgment in the
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By Jeffrey V. Mehalic on Posted in ERISA My thanks to Rob Hoskins for his post at www.ERISABoard.com about a recent decision from the Northern District of West Virginia that presents a twist on the typical removal-remand scenario.
Before I get to the case, though, let me plug ERISABoard, which is a discussion forum for attorneys who
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By Jeffrey V. Mehalic on Posted in Courts Does a judge’s past membership in an organization require his disqualification from a case in which the organization is a party? That’s the issue presented by Fola Coal Company, LLC’s motion to disqualify United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers from a case involving a challenge by the West Virginia Highlands
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