CLARKSBURG —A lawsuit filed against Environmental Reclamation Solutions for a Harrison County man's death was transferred from the federal court in Wheeling to the federal court in Clarksburg.
The agreed order transferring venue was filed June 14 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia at Clarksburg.
"On this day came the Plaintiffs...and Defendants...and hereby advise the Court that Plaintiffs agree to transfer venue in this matter to the Clarksburg Division of the Northern District of West Virginia as requested in Defendants’ Motion to Transfer Venue (Dkt. No. 2),which is now moot as a result of the instant written consent of all parties to transfer venue to the Northern District of West Virginia," the order states.
The defendants had requested the transfer June 10, when the came was removed to federal court.
"In this case, Plaintiffs' claims have no connection whatsoever to the Wheeling Division or Wetzel County," the motion states.
The accident itself occurred in the Clarksburg division and the plaintiffs are residents of Harrison County and Taylor County, which are within the Clarksburg division.
On Nov. 25, both Michael Tyler Asch and Christopher Alan McKinney were passengers in a 2017 Dodge Ram being driven by William G. Johnson when Vallie R. Zettler, an employee by Environmental Reclamation Solutions, was driving a 2019 Peterbilt Water Truck and illegally turned the truck left into oncoming traffic, according to a complaint filed in May in Wetzel Circuit Court and removed to federal court June 10.
When Zettler failed to yield the right of way to the vehicle driven by Johnson, it caused an accident and McKinney was killed, which Asch was seriously injured, according to the suit.
Christina Marie Murphy McKinney, the administratrix of Christopher McKinney's estate, claims the defendants were negligent and caused Christopher McKinney's death.
Christina McKinney and Asch are seeking compensatory and punitive damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. They are represented by Dino S. Colombo ad Travis T. Mohler of Colombo Law.
The defendants are represented by Nathanial D. Griffith of Pullin, Fowler, Flanagan, Brown & Poe.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia Case number: 5:19-cv-00191
