West Virginia Legal News Articles & Interviews

Cleveland, OH:Across the U.S., city and county newspapers looking back on 2017 say the top news story was the opioid crisis. And opioid litigation already looks like it will dominate legal news in 2018.

Chicago, IL: A bank that isn’t really a bank in the traditional sense has been hit yet again with Comenity Bank TCPA violations by plaintiffs who assert the bank’s use of robocalling and other, allegedly unlawful methods of contact amounted to undue harassment and flies in the face of regulations governed by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

Victoria, BC This is a story about two women: one Canadian, the other American. Both require long term disability benefits and have been denied. We’ll start with the Canadian, Lois Powell, who suffered injuries when her car was rear-ended, and after she could no longer work a $300 weekly payment from her insurer would be the difference between maintaining her lifestyle, and losing her home.

Bakersfield, CA Just when you think the water situation in California can’t get much worse, fracking in Kern County has resulted in contaminated water that has so far killed one plaintiff’s cherry orchard. A RICO lawsuit filed two days ago claims that Governor Jerry Brown’s office ordered the California Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) to approve permits to inject contaminated water, which violates the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Valley Grove, WV Five years ago Mollie and her husband purchased their dream home in the country. Chesapeake Energy a few years later started fracking nearby and their dream turned into a nightmare. Mollie believes her adrenal issues and other health problems are directly caused by hydraulic fracturing contamination.

New York, NY Opponents of fracking and those concerned over the health effects of hydraulic fracturing water contamination and similar issues are applauding a decision by the administration of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to ban fracking in the state of New York. At a press conference December 17, Cuomo noted that potential health issues and risks to the environment stemming from a state review were too compelling to ignore.

Pittsburgh, PA While many people have discussed the possibility that hydraulic fracturing and fracking contamination are linked to health problems in people who live near the sites, not a lot of research has been done into the issue. Water contamination and other lawsuits have been filed alleging people who lived near the sites suffered injury or illness as a result, but still not a lot is known about the potential link between fracking and health problems.

Karnes County, TX A Texas judge’s decision in favor of two oil companies in a recent fracking lawsuit may affect past and future hydraulic fracking claims that are based on emissions creating a nuisance and not with solid scientific and medical evidence.

Bokoshe, OK Recent evidence from a number of scientists indicate that earthquakes in the US, including the largest quakes that occurred in Central Oklahoma, are linked to fracking, which will likely spur earthquake-fracking lawsuits against the oil and gas industry.

San Francisco, CA Both Democrats and Republicans last week sided with the oil industry and rejected a bill that would have put a temporary stop to fracking in the state of California.