Steve Korris News
Trial date set for law student who wanted more time on bar exam
CHARLESTON – Law school graduate Shannon Kelly and the West Virginia Board of Law Examiners have jointly set a July 1 trial on Kelly's claim that the examiners didn't fully accommodate his learning disorder when he took the bar examination.
Wildlife sanctuary owner wants 'justice not financial gain'
ELKINS – Wildlife sanctuary owner Joel Rosenthal has offered to drop a claim for damages against state conservation agents who prosecuted him for rescuing a half drowned fawn.
No pension for former Lincoln assessor, justices rule
Davis CHARLESTON – Former Lincoln County Assessor Jerry Weaver forfeited his pension by conspiring to buy votes, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals decided Oct. 10.
Zakaib rules for Workman in fee dispute with Ranson
Workman CHARLESTON – Kanawha Circuit Judge Paul Zakaib cast an early ballot for Supreme Court of Appeals candidate Margaret Workman, awarding her 96 percent of a fee she and Michael Ranson disputed.
Flood panel judges announce 60-day deadline
Hoke BECKLEY – Seven years after a natural flood produced a flood of lawsuits, the lawyers who filed them suddenly face a 60-day deadline to explain who sued and why.
Goodwin taps Bell to key role in Digitek cases
Bell CHARLESTON – U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin resolved a dispute among 125 lawyers around the nation by choosing Harry Bell of Charleston to coordinate lawsuits against companies that made heart medicine Digitek.
Justices uphold Huntington residency ordinance
CHARLESTON – Anyone the city of Huntington has hired since July 1, 2002, must live in Huntington, the state Supreme Court of Appeals has decided.
Justices reject hospital's attempt to lower tax
Davis CHARLESTON – Davis Memorial Hospital of Elkins tried to dodge an $800,000 tax through a word trick that would have turned it from a big non-profit into a little charity, but the state Supreme Court rejected the trick and enforced the tax.
Legal malpractice case should stay in federal court, man says
HUNTINGTON – John David Mooney, who lost his freedom in federal district court and regained it in federal appellate court, believes his malpractice suit against lawyer Michael Frazier of Huntington should stay in federal court.
No decision yet in Visa, MC attorney fees
WHEELING – Thirty-five days after Circuit Judge Ronald Wilson gave himself 30 days to consider an objection to a $3.6 million fee for special assistants to Attorney General Darrell McGraw, Wilson has not released a decision.
Invoice breaks down firm's work on Rodriguez case
Flaherty MORGANTOWN – Thomas Flaherty and 22 of his employees devoted 1,497 hours to West Virginia University's lawsuit against former football coach Rich Rodriguez, according to an invoice he submitted to the school.
McGraw originally sought $306 million in Visa, MC case
McGraw WHEELING – West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw praises private lawyers who helped him settle a suit against Visa and MasterCard for $12.2 million, but neglects to mention that he originally sought $306 million.
Record corrects Ketchum quote
HUNTINGTON – Supreme Court of Appeals candidate Menis Ketchum didn't tell the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce he represented defendants in more than half of the cases he argued before the Supreme Court, as the West Virginia Record reported Sept. 2.
AT&T wants arbitrator to hear roadside fee class action
CHARLESTON – U.S. District Judge John Copenhaver disappointed AT&T Mobility the first time he ruled that he lacked jurisdiction over a class action against the company. In a turnabout, now AT&T Mobility hopes he will rule again that he lacks jurisdiction.
Barr's Libertarian ballot suit dismissed by federal judge
Barr CHARLESTON – Libertarians can't blame anyone but themselves for failing to qualify presidential candidate Bob Barr and running mate Wayne Root for West Virginia ballots, according to U.S. District Judge Copenhaver.
Visa, MasterCard fee motion lacks details
WHEELING – West Virginians paying $53,670.62 for expenses of private lawyers in Visa and MasterCard litigation won't know where or how the lawyers spent the money, unless Ohio County Circuit Judge Ronald Wilson decides to find out.
Competition protects consumers, Stossel says
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS – Competition protects consumers and government doesn't, ABC News anchor John Stossel told the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce at the annual Business Summit.
Supreme Court candidates talk business
Ketchum WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS – State Supreme Court candidate Menis Ketchum asked West Virginia's Chamber of Commerce to endorse him and said it was unfair to label him as a plaintiff lawyer.
Recht order on Philip Morris suits leaves it 'wide open'
Recht WHEELING – Circuit Judge Arthur Recht froze a mass of personal injury suits against Philip Morris last winter, and as summer ends he invites either side to thaw it out.
Both sides want AT&T case out of federal court
CHARLESTON – Although the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals told District Judge John Copenhaver he must hear a class action against AT&T Mobility, neither side wants the case to remain in Copenhaver's court.