West Virginia Association for Justice
Recent News About West Virginia Association for Justice
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CALA kicks off Lawsuit Abuse Awareness Week; trial lawyers denounce it
CHARLESTON – A statewide legal reform group is celebrating Lawsuit Abuse Awareness Week, but a group for trial lawyers denounced it as another effort to take away West Virginians’ right to a jury trial. -
WV CALA questions opponent’s reasoning for challenging right to work law
CHARLESTON – West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse questions whether challenging the recent right to work law is more of a search for justice or an attempt to set public policy through the state’s judicial system. -
McDowell Circuit Court Judge honored as Judge of the Year
The West Virginia Association for Justice (WVAJ) has named its Judge of the Year, honoring a McDowell County Circuit Court judge. -
WV Association for Justice Founder inducted into the American Association for Justice Hall of Fame
The American Association for Justice (AAJ) has the honored founder of the West Virginia Association for Justice and inducted him to the AAJ Hall of Fame. -
Group's tour fights what it considers lawsuit abuse
CHARLESTON – West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (WV CALA) is hosting its fourth annual Small Business Summer Tour across the state, in a drive that it characterizes as an attempt to increase awareness of the impact of lawsuit abuse on small businesses and to bring attention to lawsuit reform. -
WVAJ elects Morgantown attorney as new president
CHARLESTON – Morgantown attorney Jane E. Peak has been elected the 2016–2017 president of the West Virginia Association for Justice. Originally from Hurricane, Peak has practiced with the Morgantown firm of Allan N. Karlin and Associates since graduating from the West Virginia University College of Law in 1996. -
WVAJ calls out WV CALA for election money comments
CHARLESTON – The president of the West Virginia Association for Justice is calling out comments made by the executive director of a statewide legal reform group. -
WV CALA updates its 'Dirty Dozen' legislative candidate list
CHARLESTON – A statewide legal reform group says personal injury lawyers are pumping more money into state legislative races. -
Big money still a problem in judicial races
CHARLESTON – This year West Virginia’s judicial elections are nonpartisan. Candidates for the West Virginia Supreme Court as well as our circuit courts, family courts and magistrates will no longer be listed on your ballot as Democrats, Republicans or members of other political parties. -
Public financing helps restore integrity to judicial elections
CHARLESTON – There are two places where every West Virginian is supposed to be equal—in the ballot box and in our courtrooms. While it’s still one person, one vote, the millions now spent to influence elections takes that away. -
Tennant, WVAJ president praise public campaign finance rulings
CHARLESTON – West Virginia’s Secretary of State is praising the state Supreme Court’s decision to reinstate public campaign finance money to two Supreme Court candidates. As Secretary of State, Natalie Tennant is a member of the State Election Commission. That’s the panel that earlier this month awarded more than $500,000 each to the campaigns of sitting Justice Brent Benjamin and former state lawmaker Bill Wooton. -
Legislature helped its corporate backers, failed to tackle real issues
CHARLESTON – The 2016 West Virginia Legislative session has been called one of the worst ever by media outlets and organizations statewide. West Virginia is facing real challenges right now. Our roads are bad. We have a huge budget deficit. Millions of dollars have been cut from our schools. Coal is in decline and West Virginia workers need to be retrained for 21st century jobs. A financial crisis is looming. -
CALA praises work of legislative session
CHARLESTON – A statewide legal reform group praised the West Virginia Legislature for the work done in the session that ended March 12. “We applaud the members of the West Virginia Legislature for their abilities to tackle big issues, particularly lawsuit reforms, which will move our state forward and into the national mainstream,” said Roman Stauffer, executive director of West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse. “This session they continued to focus on much-needed lawsuit reforms that wil -
CALA continues to push intermediate court of appeals
CHARLESTON – As the state legislative session enters its second half, a legal reform group is making another push for lawmakers to consider creating an intermediate court of appeals. -
ATRA: McGraw could mean return to Judicial Hellhole list
CHARLESTON – West Virginia could see a quick return to the Judicial Hellholes report if Darrell McGraw is elected to the state Supreme Court, according to a spokesman for the group that compiles the list. “I’d tell Darrell not to embarrass himself,” said Darren McKinney, spokesman for the American Tort Reform Association, said Monday about McGraw’s filing to run for the court. -
Legal reform groups plan 2016 legislative agendas
CHARLESTON – As the 2016 legislative session gets into a routine, two organizations that watch legal reforms know what they want to happen this term. -
West Virginia no longer listed as a Judicial Hellhole
WASHINGTON – West Virginia no longer is a Judicial Hellhole. The Mountain State, which perennially has been at or near the top of the American Tort Reform Association's annual list, has been moved to the "Watch List," according to the report released Thursday. In discussing West Virginia, the ATRA report commends state lawmakers for enacting reforms that it says has helped the state. "In an encouraging move that may yet stall, perennial Judicial Hellhole West Virginia has dramatically managed -
Aboulhosn resigns as circuit judge to take U.S. magistrate job
PRINCETON – Ninth Judicial Circuit (Mercer County) Judge Omar Aboulhosn has resigned in letters sent to Governor Earl Ray Tomblin and state Supreme Court Chief Justice Margaret L. Workman. -
Sides argue need for intermediate appeals court
CHARLESTON – Lawmakers have heard from both sides in the debate about whether West Virginia needs an intermediate court of appeals. During monthly interim meetings last week, the Joint Standing Committee on the Judiciary was urged to work to create the court in the upcoming session by members of West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse. -
UPDATE: WV CALA kicks off Lawsuit Abuse Awareness Week
CHARLESTON – A statewide legal reform group is using an annual event to raise awareness of lawsuit abuse to also highlight reforms happening in West Virginia. West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse on Monday kicked off its annual Lawsuit Abuse Awareness Week, which is meant "to help raise awareness about abusive lawsuits and the tactics of greedy personal injury lawyers, and highlight recently passed lawsuit reforms." WV CALA Executive Director Roman Stauffer said his organization aims t