10:06am: Talkline with Hoppy Kercheval

High Court denies appeal of Claims Commission decision in Monongalia County DUI crash

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Supreme Court denied an appeal Friday of a decision made by the state’s legislature’s Claims Commission in connection with a deadly drunk driving crash near Morgantown five years ago.

Justice Evan Jenkins

The Court denied a request by the estate of Jonathan Ladanye which argued last month the Court could overturn the Claims Commission decision. A decision that denied the estate damages in the I-79 crash.

Ladanye was one of two passengers in a truck driven by James Coffman. The truck hit a snow bank on an I-79 bridge and went over the bridge. Ladanye died as a result of the collision. Coffman was later convicted for driving drunk and causing a death.

Following a hearing, the state Claims Commission ruled in February 2018 the DOH was not at fault for the snow bank and the Ladanye estate was due no damages from the state. The estate appealed the decision to the High Court.

MORE Read opinion here

Justice Evan Jenkins authored the opinion handed down Friday denying the writ.

“Upon review of the parties’ briefs, oral arguments, the submitted record, and the pertinent authorities, we deny the requested writ of certiorari because we find that the opinion of the Claims Commission is not reviewable by this Court on a writ of certiorari at this procedural posture,” Jenkins wrote.

A writ of certiorari is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or administrative agency.

Friday’s ruling sides with the argument of the legislature and its attorney Dan Greear who said during last month’s oral arguments the appeal was wrongly targeted.

“The determinations of the Claims Commission without legislative action and action by the governor have absolutely no legal effect and this Court isn’t in the business of deciding issues that have no legal effect,” Greear said.

Dan Greear

The legislature approves a Claims Commission bill each legislative session. It contains claims for payment that are moral obligations of the state. The information forwarded by the commission includes both the claims the commission approved and didn’t approve. The legislature also chose not to fund the Ladanye claim when it passed its bill earlier this year. Greear said those legislative decisions could be appealed.

“We’re not saying this Court can’t review legislative action. We’re saying the legislature has to act, because it’s the legislature that makes this decision not the Claims Commission,” Greear said.

Jenkins agreed in Friday’s opinion.

“This Court has, with limited exceptions, consistently acknowledged the importance and necessity of reviewing matters only after a final determination has been made.”

The Ladanye estate sought answers to six questions from the High Court in connection with the case but the Court chose not to answer the other five after finding “we do not have the authority to review this non-binding recommendation at this juncture.”





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