Providing students with a firsthand glimpse of the judicial process, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia came to campus last week to hear oral argument sessions in several cases.
Education has been a central theme to the current court. In 2020, Chief Justice Elizabeth D. Walker helped initiate a podcast called “Women of the Court’’ in collaboration with other female members of a state supreme court. You can listen to this podcast on their website, www.ladyjusticepod.com.
Three court cases were presented on Wednesday, Sept. 13: Jayson Nicewarner, et al. v. City of Morgantown; Roland F. Chalifoux, Jr. D.O., v. West Virginia Board of Osteopathic Medicine, et al., and State ex rel. West Virginia Attorney-General Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and Nathan R. Lyle v. Hisel Bailey.
The first case revolved around a dispute between Morgantown-area firefighters (the petitioners) and the city of Morgantown (the respondent) regarding the calculation of holiday benefits for firefighters.
The firefighters contended that since their workdays span a 24-hour period, including sick leave, the entire shift should be considered a legal holiday, entitling them to holiday benefits for the full 24-hours.
However, the circuit court disagreed, asserting that the city hadn’t failed to pay wages or fringe benefits to the firefighters and that the West Virginia Wage Payment and Collection Act wasn’t applicable to the case.
The subsequent case on the oral argument docket concerned an individual doctor seeking damages resulting from the suspension of his medical license. The West Virginia Bureau for Public Health conducted an investigation following a patient’s hospitalization with bacterial meningitis after a medical procedure.
The investigation attributed fault to the clinic, citing unsafe injection practices, including the physician’s failure to observe hand hygiene before or after the procedure.
Following non-cooperation with the Department of Health and Human Resources, the doctor’s medical license was suspended.
Dr. Roland Chalifoux filed a complaint, alleging that the suspension of his medical license without a hearing breached his duty and resulted in monetary damages.
The circuit court dismissed the petitioner’s claims, citing the doctrine of res judicata, as these claims were not raised in the initial action.
The final case addressed in the oral argument involved registered nurse Hisel Bailey, who sued after being terminated for alleged patient abuse at Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital.
Bailey swiftly filed a grievance with the West Virginia Public Employees Grievance Board, contending that the report contained factual errors and false opinions. Consequently, she was
reinstated as a registered nurse.
Later, Bailey sued the Department of Health and
Human Resources, the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Lyle, Legal Aid of West Virginia and two of their employees, alleging a violation of his Fourth Amendment rights and malicious prosecution.
The petitioners sought dismissal, asserting qualified and prosecutorial immunity, shielding specific government entities from lawsuits. In August 2022, the circuit court denied the petitioner’s motion.
Decisions for these three cases are anticipated to be reached this November.
