1. State of WV v. David M. Deeley, No. 000401. Defendant appeals from the circuit court’s affirmance of his magistrate court conviction for DUI 2nd offense.

2. DK Excavating, Inc. v. WV Div. of Environmental Protection, No. 000402. The Division of Environmental Protection ("DEP") appeals from the circuit court’s order reversing the decision of the West Virginia Surface Mine Board, which upheld the DEP’s decision that the activity described in plaintiff’s application constituted "surface mining" for which a permit is required by West Virginia law.

3. Marcia Kobily, et al. v. Hancock County Board of Education, No. 000403. Plaintiffs appeal from the circuit court’s order affirming the Grievance Board’s partial denial of their grievance. Plaintiffs were awarded relief, but only for a portion of the 1994-95 school year. Plaintiffs sought wages and interest retroactive to July 1, 1994, and also sought relief for the 1995-96 and 1996-97 school years.

4a. Charles S. Oxley v. Summers County Board of Education, No. 000404. Petitioner appeals from the circuit court’s order affirming the decision of the Grievance Board, which denied petitioner’s grievance that he be instated to certain administrative school positions for which he was qualified, but "pretensively" denied.

4b. Charles S. Oxley v. Summers County Board of Education, No. 000405. Petitioner appeals from the circuit court’s order affirming the Grievance Board’s decision refusing his grievance, which sought an award of an assistant principal’s position.

Refuse 5-0

 

5. Stephen J. Antolini v. Jo Ho Estates Homeowners’ Assoc., No. 000360. Plaintiffs appeal from the circuit court’s order which found that a Second Amendment to the Declaration of Protective Covenants and Reservations pertaining to all of the lots in the Jo Ho Estates was improperly recorded. The circuit court’s order also ruled the defendant was entitled to receive payment from plaintiffs for all past due assessments provided for under the Homeowners’ Association Agreement. Plaintiffs seek a reversal of the circuit court’s order with directions that the circuit court enter an order in their favor.

6. Realmark Development v. Clyde W. Ranson, No. 27755 -  Defendants appeal from the circuit court’s award of summary judgment in favor of plaintiff in this action for unpaid rent and real property taxes. The summary judgment order also struck defendants’ counterclaim for breach of agreement to convey and finance property and for the value of improvements made to the property.

 

7. State of WV v. Samuel Lee Stone, No. 000483. Defendant appeals from his conviction for wanton endangerment for which he received a sentence of 18 months of home confinement.

8. State of WV v. Phillip D. Williams, No. 000501. Defendant seeks a reversal of his convictions on 3 counts of delivery of a controlled substance (cocaine) for which he received a sentence of 3 to 4 years in the State penitentiary.

 

9. Angela S. Love v. Georgia-Pacific Corp., No. 000511. Plaintiff appeals from an adverse jury verdict in this retaliatory constructive discharge action against her employer, defendant Georgia-Pacific Corporation.

 

10. State of WV v. Joseph Coleman, No. 000512. Defendant appeals from his convictions and sentences for numerous sex-related crimes. He seeks a reversal and a remand of his case for a new trial.

 

11. Thomas H. McCorkle v. James M. Pierson, No. 000513. Plaintiff appeals from the circuit court’s order dismissing his action for breach of contract, fraud, conversion, professional malpractice, promissory estoppel, malicious prosecution, defamation of character, and declaratory judgment for the recision of release. Plaintiff seeks a reversal of the circuit court’s order dismissing his action, as well as a reversal of the circuit court’s order staying discovery, which precluded plaintiff from developing extrinsic evidence.

12. Sharon Bailey v. Raleigh County Board of Education, No. 000514. Plaintiff appeals from the circuit court’s affirmance of the Grievance Board’s denial of plaintiff’s grievance.

 

13. Veronica Vanway v. Kenneth Ford, et al., No. 000518. Plaintiff appeals from the circuit court’s award of summary judgment in favor of defendants in this action arising out of a motor vehicle accident. Defendants were guest passengers in the vehicle at fault.

14. Michelle Fuller v. Alice Riffe, No. 000520. Plaintiff appeals from the circuit court’s award of summary judgment in favor of defendants on the basis that her action was barred by West Virginia Code § 55-2-12.

 

15. Nancy S. Frankel v. Andrew H. Frankel, No. 000524. The petitioner, Nancy S. Frankel, appeals from an order entered in the Circuit Court of Cabell County adopting the recommendation of the family law master that custody of one of the parties’ two children be transferred to the respondent, Andrew Howard Frankel, a resident of Texas. The petitioner contends that the transfer was unwarranted because it was based upon the respondent’s ability to send the child to an expensive private school in Dallas, Texas. The respondent, however, contends that the private school is necessary because of the child’s learning disabilities.

16. State of WV v. Carrol E. Humphries, No. 000525. The petitioner, Carrol Eugene Humphries, appeals from his convictions entered in the Circuit Court of Greenbrier County of accessory before the fact to murder of the first degree, with mercy, and conspiracy to commit murder (the petitioner’s jury trial was conducted in Putnam County). The petitioner contends, inter alia, that the Circuit Court committed error in refusing to dismiss the case due to a delay of approximately 23 years between the alleged offense and the petitioner’s indictment.

 

17. State of WV v. Jeremy Neace, No. 000527. The petitioner, Jeremy Neace, seeks the withdrawal of his guilty plea entered in the Circuit Court of Logan County to the offense of murder of the second degree. The petitioner, a juvenile transferred to the adult jurisdiction of the Circuit Court and sentenced to 40 years of imprisonment for the murder, contends that the State violated his plea agreement by opposing his motion to be sentenced under the West Virginia Youthful Offender Act.

 

18. Louis J. Kopf, Jr. v. Scott Lacey, No. 27756 -  The petitioner, Louis J. Kopf, Jr., appeals from an order entered in the Circuit Court of Ritchie County granting summary judgment in favor of the respondent, Scott Lacey. The petitioner, who was injured by a tree cut down by the respondent, settled with, and releases, the owners of the property and the owners’ insurer. Contrary to the assertion of the petitioner, however, the Circuit Court ruled that the release also encompassed the petitioner’s claim against the respondent.

19. Berthold Stollings v. Div. of Environmental Protection, No. 27757 -  The petitioner, Berthold Stollings, appeals from an order entered in the Circuit Court of Logan County upholding a Level IV grievance decision that the petitioner, an employee of the West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection, was entitled to an Engineer III classification (rather than an Engineer I classification) but was not entitled to back pay and attorney fees. This appeal concerns the back pay and attorney fee issues.

 

20. State of WV v. Chad Salisbury, No. 000535. The petitioner, Chad Salisbury, appeals from an order entered in the Circuit Court of Clay County affirming his magistrate court convictions of: (1) assault upon a police officer, (2) obstructing a police officer, and (3) destruction of property. The petitioner contends that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the jury’s verdicts.

21. Kent Grose v. Cabell County Board of Education, No. 000536. The petitioners, Kent Grose and Steven Adkins, appeal from an order entered in the Circuit Court of Cabell County affirming the Level IV decision of the West Virginia Education and State Employees Grievance Board. The administrative law judge rejected the petitioners’ claim that the respondent, Cabell County Board of Education, improperly held-open two posted positions in order to allow other applicants time to satisfy the required qualifications for the jobs.

22. Nancy Jo Burnett v. Clarence Lee Burnett, No. 27758 -  The petitioner, Nancy Jo Burnett, appeals from an order entered in the Circuit Court of Boone County upholding a family law master determination that a garnishment proceeding, instituted to collect child support and alimony from the respondent, Clarence Lee Burnett, was invalid because the Circuit Court of Boone County lacked personam jurisdiction over the respondent, a resident of Arkansas. The petitioner contends that jurisdiction over the respondent was conferred upon the Circuit Court by way of an earlier separate maintenance action.

23. Adaline Stillwell, et al. v. City of Wheeling, et al., No. 000543. In this wrongful death action, the petitioner, Colaianni Construction, Inc., appeals from an order entered in the Circuit Court of Ohio County awarding the respondents, Adaline Stillwell, et. al., a new trial. The Circuit Court determined that, although the jury found that the petitioner was not negligent, the petitioner could still be liable to the respondents, if the petitioner’s corporate subcontractor (against which corporation a default judgment had been entered) had been hired to perform an "inherently dangerous activity."

24. State of WV v. Michael E. Brown, No. 000550. The petitioner, Michael E. Brown, appeals from an order entered in the Circuit Court of Cabell County sentencing him to two consecutive sentences of life imprisonment, with mercy, upon his convictions by a jury of two counts of murder of the first degree. The petitioner raises a number of alleged errors.

 

25. Robert E. Bennett v. Huntington National Bank, WV, No. 000551. The petitioner, Huntington National Bank, appeals from a summary judgment entered in the Circuit Court of Monongalia County in favor of the respondents, Robert E. Bennett and Brenda L. Bennett. The Circuit Court determined that, because of jury verdicts returned in 1996 in an underlying, consolidated action, the Bank is barred by res judicata and collateral estoppel from collecting upon a December 1992 promissory note and trust deed for $125,000 upon the respondents’ personal residence.

 

26. Wayne Seckman v. Ned M. Skaff, No. 000553. The petitioners, Wayne Seckman, James Seckman and Joanna Royster, appeal from a summary judgment entered in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County in favor of the respondents, Ned M. Skaff, Administrator of the Estate of Nick Evanoff, Jr., deceased, and Rose Marie Skaff. The petitioners challenge the conclusion of the Circuit Court that, inasmuch as the petitioners did not reside with the decedent prior to his death during their "tender years," the petitioners could not be the decedent’s heirs by way of equitable adoption.

 

27. Mansour Alaeddini v. Div. of Environmental Protection, No. 000554. On appeal, the petitioner, Mansour Alaeddini, maintains that the circuit court erred in affirming the decision of the W.V. Educ. and State Employees Grievance Bd., which held that the termination of his employment with the Division was based on good cause because of his insubordination, unprofessional behavior and tampering with mail and messages. Mr. Alaeddini maintains that these decisions are wrong because the evidence shows that his termination was in retaliation for filing a grievance and his whistle-blowing activities.

28. John Wilson v. Tammy Wilson, No. 27759 -  On appeal, the petitioner, John Wilson, maintains that the circuit court erred in awarding custody of the minor child to the respondent. Mr. Wilson argues that the circuit court erred in dismissing the only expert opinion as "hearsay evidence" and the circuit court erred in holding that the "best interests of the child" would be served by giving custody to the respondent.

 

29. Metro Rentals v. Marshall Hartley, No. 000558. On appeal, the petitioner, Marshall Hartley, maintains that the circuit court erred in finding that the papers he signed were a lease and that he owed $1,680 in rent. Mr. Hartley argues that the landlord is perpetrating a fraud in that the papers were merely to hold the apartment for 5 days.

 

30. State of WV v. Robert C. Jackson, No. 000559. The petitioner, Robert C. Jackson, entered a conditional plea of guilty and appeals the denial of his motion to suppress his confessions. On appeal, the defense argues that his statements should have been suppressed because: (1) the police violated the defendant’s right against an unreasonable stop and (2) the statements were taken in violation of the defendant’s Miranda rights and were not voluntarily and intelligently made.

 

31. State of WV v. Jerome D. Williams, No. 000560. The petitioner, Jerome Williams, appeals his conviction of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and the doubling of his sentence to 2 to 30 years under W.Va. Code 60A-4-408 based on a prior conviction. On appeal, Mr. Williams argues his conviction should be reversed because of errors in the admission of his statements and evidence of a gun. Mr. Williams also maintains that his sentence should not have been enhanced because the statute was improperly applied and the sentence was disproportionate under the W.V. Const.