13 results for 'judge:"Hutchison"'.
J. Hutchison reverses the Intermediate Court of Appeals' decision affirming the West Virginia Workers' Compensation Board of Review's finding that the deputy sheriff should be awarded 13% permanent partial disability for injuries to his back after lifting a bomb-detecting robot from the back of a truck. Based on evidence the deputy submitted showing he has a 25% whole person impairment with 12% apportioned impairment to a pre-existing condition, the ICA's judgment is contrary to the plain language of the statute that "requires both proof of a preexisting condition(s) and proof of 'a definitely ascertainable impairment resulting from' the preexisting condition for the disability to be apportioned.'" Reversed.
Court: West Virginia Supreme Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hutchison, Filed On: April 22, 2024, Case #: 23-43, Categories: Employment, Government, Workers' Compensation
J. Hutchison affirms the lower court's order denying defendant's motion to correct its order for a six-month suspended sentence on a misdemeanor charge of joyriding in lieu of 10-days of actual jail time followed by one-year unsupervised probation to reflect time-served for good behavior. The judge did not abuse his discretion by instructing defendant to file a separate civil suit against the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation within three months, then denying her motion when she failed to provide notice of a suit.
Court: West Virginia Supreme Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hutchison, Filed On: April 17, 2024, Case #: 22-685, Categories: Burglary, Sentencing, Vehicle
J. Hutchison affirms the lower court's order sentencing defendant to 30 years in prison for second-degree murder after denying his motion for a new trial on the grounds the judge sua sponte directed the circuit clerk not to call six jurors selected from the community where the murder occurred. Despite the error to exclude the six "Bradshaw jurors" without notifying the prosecution or defense counsel, defendant received a fair trial since those who were ultimately seated were selected at random, and demonstrated no bias against him. Affirmed.
Court: West Virginia Supreme Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hutchison, Filed On: November 9, 2023, Case #: 22-219, Categories: Fair Trial, Jury, Murder
J. Hutchison finds that the lower court partially erred in declaring that 54 firefighters were entitled to two years’ worth of compensation under a state law providing extra compensation for legal holidays. The city they sued incorrectly interpreted the law, which does create a fringe or wage benefit for firefighters that is protected by the Wage Payment and Collection Act, so the lower court needs to calculate how much they are owed over a five-year, not two-year, period. Affirmed in part. Reversed in part.
Court: West Virginia Supreme Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hutchison, Filed On: November 8, 2023, Case #: 22-185, Categories: Employment, Municipal Law, Damages
J. Hutchison affirms the lower court's order terminating the Hampshire County father's rights to his 16-month-old daughter. The judge did not abuse his discretion in finding the man to be a neglectful parent since paternity had not been established until an earlier petition was filed against the birth mother, and he was incarcerated at the time of the proceeding serving a sentence on two counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance with a maximum term of 15 years. Affirmed.
Court: West Virginia Supreme Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hutchison, Filed On: November 8, 2023, Case #: 22-698, Categories: Family Law, Government
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J. Hutchison reverses the lower court's final order reversing the West Virginia Public Employees Grievance Board's decision denying the two sign language interpreters' grievance, and finding they are full-time special education teachers qualified to receive a 2019 pay increase. The interpreters' grievance is mooted by the 2021 law approving teacher pay increases at the determination of the state schools superintendent, and the judge misinterpreted the Board's 2014 decision that the interpreters are classified as "professional personnel" and not "teachers." Reversed.
Court: West Virginia Supreme Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hutchison, Filed On: November 6, 2023, Case #: 21-0831, Categories: Administrative Law, Education, Government
J. Hutchison adopts the recommendation of the disciplinary body that the Greenbrier County attorney be suspended for one year, take nine additional continuing legal education hours and pay the cost of the disciplinary proceeding. The case stems from the attorney mishandling an elderly client's retainer fee, and also continuing to represent him after he was declared a protected person and a lower court determined the attorney's concurrent representation of the elderly man's wife was a conflict of interest.
Court: West Virginia Supreme Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hutchison, Filed On: October 18, 2023, Case #: 22-0123, Categories: Administrative Law, Attorney Discipline
J. Hutchison reverses the lower court's order denying the inmate's writ of mandamus compelling the commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation to adopt a policy awarding good time to inmates who perform extra assigned duties during emergencies and complete an approved academic or vocational program not part of their individualized re-entry program. The inclusion of "shall" in the final sentence of the statute at the center of the writ imposes a mandatory, non-discretionary duty on the commissioner to adopt the policy. Reversed.
Court: West Virginia Supreme Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hutchison, Filed On: October 16, 2023, Case #: 22-0109, Categories: Government, Remedies, Prisoners' Rights
J. Hutchison partially grants the Randolph County Board of Education and its superintendent’s writ prohibiting enforcement of a lower court’s order denying the board’s motion to dismiss a former elementary school cook’s wrongful termination and retaliatory discharge suit on the jurisdiction and failure to state a claim grounds. The court grants the writ on the cook’s claims brought under the West Virginia Human Rights Act, since she has failed to establish a prima facie case she is a member of protected class, a prerequisite to by-pass the grievance process. Finding she has pled sufficient facts in her amended complaint, the court denies the writ on her whistleblower and First Amendment retaliation claims. Writ granted in part and denied in part.
Court: West Virginia Supreme Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hutchison, Filed On: June 15, 2023, Case #: 22-0480, Categories: Education, Employment, Whistleblowers
J. Hutchison affirms the lower court's Nov. 8, 2021, order reversing the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicle's Office of Administrative Hearing's revocation of the Putnam County man's license for DUI following an alleged domestic dispute on Nov. 28, 2019. The court finds OAH's initial and subsequent revocations were in error since the man was charged with the crime based on the allegation of the complaining witness and his warrantless arrest for domestic battery and assault. Affirmed.
Court: West Virginia Supreme Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hutchison , Filed On: June 15, 2023, Case #: 21-0990, Categories: Government, Transportation, Vehicle
J. Hutchison affirms the West Virginia Environmental Quality Board's Sept. 29, 2021, ruling modifying the utility company's permit to reduce the amount of acid drainage it's allowed to inject into an abandoned underground mine. Since their factual findings were based on "reliable, probative, and substantial evidence" the court finds the Board's conclusions were "neither arbitrary nor capricious nor characterized by an abuse of discretion." Affirmed.
Court: West Virginia Supreme Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hutchison , Filed On: June 14, 2023, Case #: 21-0845, Categories: Environment, Government, Business Practices
J. Hutchison affirms the lower court’s order denying a Raleigh County couple’s motion to intervene in an abuse and neglect proceeding to adopt their niece, who was removed from her mother’s care after the mom tested positive for heroin. The judge committed no error in determining though the blood kin are suitable parents, the child’s best interests are served by her permanent placement with “fictive kin” — an adult 21 or older who is not a relative, but “who has an established, substantial relationship with the child.” Affirmed.
Court: West Virginia Supreme Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hutchison, Filed On: June 8, 2023, Case #: 22-0365, Categories: Family Law, Government, Juvenile Law
J. Hutchison denies the agency’s extraordinary writ seeking dismissal of wrongful death suit after the lower court denied its motion to dismiss the suit on the grounds the administratrix failed to file a certificate of merit under West Virginia Medical and Professional Liability Act. The court finds the judge committed no error in declining to dismiss, since the agency’s duty to the decedent inmate was “not that of health care provider to a patient, but of custodian to inmate to provide reasonable care and protection from reasonably foreseeable harm.” Writ denied.
Court: West Virginia Supreme Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hutchison, Filed On: June 8, 2023, Case #: 22-777, Categories: Government, Wrongful Death, Prisoners' Rights