New Faces and Interesting Places |
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This September brings new faces to the firm as well as a field trip courtesy of our friends at the Gavel. The attorneys at Bailey & Wyant continue to work diligently for our clients while achieving phenomenal results. We are excited for you to meet Heather Hutchens and Celeste Webb. Please continue reading to learn more and enjoy the latest news for you. |
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Welcome to the Bailey & Wyant Team |
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Bailey & Wyant, PLLC would like to congratulate Heather L. Hutchens and Celeste E. Webb on being named the firm’s newest Attorneys at Bailey & Wyant’s Charleston office.
Heather L. Hutchens is a native of Beckley, West Virginia. She graduated from Wake Forest University in 1994 with a B.A. in English and Sociology. She then graduated from the West Virginia University College of Law in 1997.
Heather was admitted to the West Virginia State Bar in October of 1997. She has also been admitted to practice law before the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
Prior to coming to Bailey & Wyant, Heather was General Counsel for the West Virginia Department of Education. She has held positions at the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, and Brown & Levicoff, PLLC. As Of Counsel with Bailey & Wyant, her practice is primarily focused on education law.
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Celeste E. Webb resides in Putnam County, West Virginia. She graduated from Marshall University in 2001 with a B.A. in Political Science. She then earned her J.D. from the Appalachian School of Law in 2006. While at the Appalachian School of Law, Celeste participated in many community service projects and was also active in the Association of Women in Law.
Celeste was admitted to the West Virginia State Bar in 2007. She has also been admitted to practice law before the United States District Court for the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia.
As an Associate with Bailey & Wyant, Celeste’s practice is primarily focused in the areas of Workers Compensation and Defense Litigation and general civil defense work including civil rights and employment law. Prior to joining the firm of Bailey & Wyant, Celeste practiced at Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard & Smith, LLP, was Assistant Prosecuting Attorney with the Kanawha County Prosecutor’s Office, and Assistant Attorney General for the Office of the Attorney General.
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Dismissal of Circuit and Family Court Judges |
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Bailey & Wyant PLLC's Equity Member, John P. Fuller obtained dismissal of a Circuit Court Judge and a Family Court Judge in a case pending before the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. The Plaintiff had alleged that the Judges had violated his Constitutional Rights by entering Orders in various cases.
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Definitely a HOT Situation |
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Charleston Associate Harrison M. Cyrus attended a Fall Summit Meeting in Columbus, courtesy of the Gavel. |
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This September, Harrison M. Cyrus travelled to Columbus, Ohio to attend the Fall Summit Meeting hosted by the Gavel. An "explosive" demonstration was conducted by a Gavel Specialist Member, S-E-A Limited. The purpose of the presentation was to provide addition education to those members involved in the Construction, Product and Professional Liability practice groups. |
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Significant Win in Wheeling |
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Wheeling Equity Member, Mark A. Kepple |
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Mark A. Kepple ,Esq. of the Wheeling office recently obtained a judgment on behalf of a corporate client for $1,400,254.72 against the daily operations manager of its company who had fraudulently received monies and deposited the funds in his own account instead of the company. The case also involved successfully acquiring the daily operations manager’s membership units in the company. Any questions about this case or other commercial litigation matters, please feel free to reach out to Mark at the Wheeling office.
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Absolute Prosecutorial Immunity, Qualified Immunity, and the Applicability of Both Immunities to Claims for Unreasonable Invasion of Privacy.
The article this month discusses the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeal’s decision in Hamstead v. Harvey, which was decided earlier this year in March. The case dealt with the public disclosure of sensitive information of the petitioner to a reporter. The pertinent background information for purposes of this article is as follows: the petitioner had a criminal matter pending when she filed a civil rights lawsuit against law enforcement related to her arrest for which she was ultimately charged. For reasons unknown, the Report of Response to Resistance or Aggression that was completed by law enforcement, which contained the petitioner’s name, date of birth, social security number, and medical condition after petitioner’s arrest, was somehow placed in the magistrate court file in the petitioner’s criminal case. Thus, this sensitive information was inadvertently disclosed to the public via public record. Petitioner and her counsel received a copy of the magistrate court file containing this information, but never did anything to seal the records or redact the information.
During the civil litigation filed by the petitioner against the law enforcement officers, a reporter contacted the prosecutor and inquired about the criminal matter against the petitioner. The prosecutor responded in an email giving the reporter the public records contained in the magistrate court file. Of course, contained in the documents turned over to the reporter was the above-mentioned report containing sensitive information. The reporter ended up tweeting an unredacted copy of the Report of Response to Resistance or Aggression. When petitioner discovered this, she moved the Court to dismiss her remaining charges for prosecutorial misconduct. The Court ultimately denied the motion and the petitioner was convicted for a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge.
As a result, the petitioner filed suit against the prosecutor alleging an unlawful invasion of privacy by the prosecutor. The Circuit Court granted summary judgment in favor of the prosecutor, finding that he enjoyed absolute prosecutorial immunity since he turned over the public records in his official capacity as the county prosecutor. In the alternative, the Court found that the prosecutor would have also been entitled to qualified immunity as well as the statutory immunity provided to employees of political subdivisions via The Governmental Tort Claims and Insurance Reform Act. Petitioner appealed the Circuit Court’s decision to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals arguing, amongst other things, that the circuit court erred in finding that the prosecutor was entitled to absolute and qualified immunity.
The Supreme Court of Appeals agreed with the Circuit Court and upheld its decision to grant summary judgment to the prosecutor. The Supreme Court of Appeals did not reach petitioner’s argument regarding absolute immunity as the petitioner essentially conceded the issue when arguing that the lower court should have focused on whether qualified immunity was available. Thus, the Court found that the Circuit Court did not err in finding that the prosecutor was entitled to absolute immunity. With respect to the qualified immunity issue, the Supreme Court of Appeals found that the prosecutor was indeed entitled to qualified immunity because there is no specific delineation of what may or may not be said when a prosecuting attorney communicates with the press, therefore, discretion is inherent and qualified immunity was certainly available.
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Summary Judgment from USDC |
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Bailey & Wyant PLLC's Equity Member, John P. Fuller
and Member, Suleiman Oko-ogua
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John P. Fuller and Suleiman Oko-Ogua obtained summary judgment from the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia on behalf of a Correctional Officer. The Plaintiff had alleged that the Correctional Officer had used excessive force in violation of the 8th Amendment of the United States Constitution by spraying the inmate with OC Spray. The Court held that the Correctional Officer was entitled to qualified immunity and could not be held liable for any alleged damages.
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Favorable Trial Verdict for Charleston |
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Bailey & Wyant PLLC's Equity Member John P. Fuller and Of Counsel, Josef A. Horter tried a OC Spray use of force case before the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. After a two day trial the jury deliberated for less than one hour before returning a verdict in favor of the Correctional Officer and against the Plaintiff. The jury found that the Correctional Officer was afforded qualified immunity and could not be held liable for any alleged damages.
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Golfing for a Great Charity |
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Managing Member Charles R. Bailey and Of Council, Albert "Abbie" C. Dunn participated in the 23rd Annual Children's Therapy Clinic Golf Tournament.
Children's Therapy Clinic provides therapy services (physical, speech, occupational and music therapies and social skills groups) to children with special needs in the Kanawha Valley. Since 1935, they have helped children take their first steps, speak their first words and live more independent lives.
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Our philosophy is simple. We provide aggressive and effective legal representation, while being ever mindful of each client's individual needs, goals, and economic interests. No matter how complex or novel, our focus in a case is always to reach the right resolution for our client.
304.345.4222 CHARLESTON
304.233.3100 WHEELING
304.901.2000 MARTINSBURG
Sincerely,
Bailey & Wyant, PLLC
304-345-4222
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