Steve Korris News
Senate passes bill that undermines job experience
CHARLESTON - West Virginia would no longer require underground coal mining experience for its mine safety director under a bill that the Senate passed Feb. 8.
St. Paul exec carries the day at trial
CHARLESTON – St. Paul Travelers chief executive Jay Fishman put his company on his back and carried it through the Kanawha County courthouse.
Increased revenue means raises, computers, pension boost for courts
CHARLESTON – Last summer, the five Justices of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals gave their new administrator, Steve Canterbury, four days to prepare an annual budget for their Court and all circuit courts.
St. Paul executive says company didn't cheat W.Va. doctors
CHARLESTON – Jay Fishman, chief executive officer of St. Paul Travelers insurance, swore to a Kanawha County jury that his company did not cheat West Virginia doctors out of millions of dollars when it stopped selling medical malpractice insurance.
Juror tries to get thrown out of court
CHARLESTON -- One of six jurors in the Mantz insurance trial read a book as the trial began, in an apparent effort to get thrown out of Circuit Judge Paul Zakaib's court.
Insurance commissioner to shut down late payers: Ingersoll-Rand among 97 businesses
Jane Cline CHARLESTON – Ingersoll-Rand of Montvale, N.J., takes in about $10 billion a year in revenue, but it could forfeit the privilege of doing business in West Virginia over an alleged debt of about $10,000.
Injunctions sought to shut down businesses in arears over workers' comp
Jane Cline CHARLESTON – West Virginia Insurance Commissioner Jane Cline has moved to shut down businesses that owed money to the former Workers Compensation Commission.
PI attorney predicts dangerous times ahead as coal industry grows
MADISON – Rapid expansion of coal mining could reverse West Virginia's record of progress in safety, according to attorney Tim Conaway of Madison.
ICG sells millions of shares, moving to Putnam County
ASHLAND, Ky. – International Coal Group, owners of the mine that exploded at Tallmansville, recently sold 21 million shares in a public offering at $11 per share, according to a Dec. 12 press release on the company's website.
McGraw keeps legal fees funneling to AG office
West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw CHARLESTON – When tobacco companies agreed to pay West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw more than $700,000 for his costs in suing them a few years ago, he could have handed it over to the state treasurer. Instead, McGraw found a way to keep every penny in his office.
Christmas bonus: Charleston attorneys get next installment for pressing OxyContin case
West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw CHARLESTON – Five days before Christmas, West Virginia taxpayers sent Charleston attorneys David Brumfield and William Druckman checks for $208,333.31 each.
WVU agrees to monitor employees in asbestos settlement
MORGANTOWN – West Virginia University will set up a 20-year program to guard the health of employees it may have exposed to dangerous levels of asbestos.
Auto insurer must honor policy paid by bad check, court rules
Justice Larry Starcher CHARLESTON – West Virginians can buy auto insurance with worthless checks, the Supreme Court of Appeals decided Dec. 2.
Maynard dissents: Insurance decision ranks poor as 'O.J.' verdict
Justice Spike Maynard CHARLESTON - Supreme Court of Appeals Justice Elliott "Spike" Maynard blistered his colleagues for ordering West Virginia National Auto Insurance to cover a customer whose check bounced.
Supreme Court reverses Kanawha decision in divorce
CHARLESTON -- In a divorce where a woman says she owns half the house and a man says he owns the whole house, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has taken the man's side.
Supreme Court rules statute ran on Calwell case
Stuart Calwell Attorney Stuart Calwell of Charleston advertised that his firm would represent painters with breathing problems. Retired automobile painter John Edward Goodwin responded to the pitch, but got nothing because the Calwell firm waited too long to sue.
Daewoo class action suit goes to trial Jan. 23 with 91 plaintiffs
Mark Swartz Class action lawsuits typically pull in thousands of plaintiffs. But, a class action over Daewoo automobiles will go to trial in Kanawha County with no more than 91 plaintiffs.
Charleston attorney awarded 20 times more than client
Attorneys generally collect about a third of what their clients win, but David Grubb of Charleston created new math when his firm made more than $20 for every dollar his clients won.
Zakaib's order spells out class action
Courts should resolve any doubts about certifying a class action lawsuit in favor of certification, Kanawha County Circuit Judge Paul Zakaib ruled in ordering a class action against C&O Motors of Saint Albans.
Former justice-turned-plaintiff's attorney expects huge jury award
Neely Former Supreme Court of Appeals Justice Richard Neely expects a Kanawha County jury to award West Virginia doctors at least $45 million in punitive damages in a class action trial set to begin Jan. 6.