Latest West Virginia Headlines
All the headlines from our West Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
West Virginia Bill Would Allow Teachers to Carry Guns at School
Jan 26 2024 // West Virginia’s Republican-dominated Legislature pushed forward a slate of contentious bills Wednesday that would arm teachers, allow people to sue libraries over books that offend them and restrict where transgender...
Former Finance Manager of WV Disaster Assistance Sentenced to 3 Years for Theft
Jan 16 2024 // CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A former finance manager of a nonprofit organization that assists West Virginia disaster victims was sentenced Thursday to more than three years in prison for the theft of $871,000 from the...
Progressive Files for 19.78% Auto Insurance Rate Increase in West Virginia
Jan 10 2024 // Less than a month after Farmers Direct Insurance filed for a hefty rate increase on West Virginia auto liability policies, Progressive has followed suit with an almost identical request. The West Virginia insurance...
Real Estate Firm Bids $4.9M for Campus of Bankrupt West Virginia College
Jan 2 2024 // CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A federal bankruptcy court in West Virginia has set a hearing for next month on the potential sale of a defunct private university`s campus. A court-appointed trustee filed a motion Wednesday...
Farmers Direct Asks for 20% Auto Rate Increase in West Virginia
Dec 15 2023 // The West Virginia Insurance Commissioner’s Office is accepting comments on a proposed 19.9% auto liability insurance rate increase for Farmers Direct Property and Casualty Insurance Co. The proposed increase is one...
West Virginia Appeals Court Reverses $7M Jury Award in Ford Fatality Lawsuit
Dec 11 2023 // An appeals court in West Virginia on Friday reversed a $7 million award in a product liability lawsuit against the Ford Motor Co. to the family of a woman who died when her Ford Mustang was involved in a fiery crash. The...
Wildfires Prompt North Carolina, Tennessee Campgrounds to Evacuate; West Virginia Blaze Contained
Nov 22 2023 // Wildfires prompted campgrounds in North Carolina and Tennessee to evacuate starting Sunday while firefighters prepared for high winds and low humidity on Monday, though officials hoped for some help from expected rain. The...
West Virginia Taps $4 Million in Insurance to Pay Settlement With Inmates
Nov 13 2023 // The state of West Virginia has agreed to pay $4 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by inmates who described conditions at a jail as inhumane, an attorney for the plaintiffs said. Attorney Stephen New disclosed...
WV High Court: Liability Coverage Due for Latent Disease, Even Years After Policy Dates
Nov 13 2023 // Liability insurers that write in West Virginia and beyond received some unsettling and expensive news from the state Supreme Court last week: Without iron-clad policy language barring coverage, long-tail illness claims...
Lawsuit on West Virginia Jail Conditions Has Been Settled
Nov 9 2023 // CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A lawsuit filed by inmates who described conditions at a southern West Virginia jail as inhumane has been settled, a federal judge said Tuesday, a week after a magistrate judge said some...
Local Governments in West Virginia Will Soon See Opioid Settlement Money
Nov 8 2023 // CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Local governments in West Virginia will start seeing opioid settlement money by the year`s end, the board in charge of distributing the lion’s share of around $1 billion in funds...
Autopsies Delayed as WV Pathologists Asked to Do Double the Industry Standard
Oct 19 2023 // CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Forensic pathologists in West Virginia are being asked to perform at least twice as many autopsies as the national best practice standard, resulting in significant delays, the state office of...
West Virginia Regulator Wants Input on Surplus Lines Export List
Sep 25 2023 // The West Virginia Office of Insurance Commissioner is accepting comments on potential changes to the state’s surplus lines export list, through Oct. 16. By state law, the office maintains a list of coverages and...
Heavy Rains Cause Major Flooding in Parts of West Virginia
Aug 30 2023 // Thunderstorms dumped heavy rains that caused significant flooding in parts of West Virginia on Monday, authorities said. Gov. Jim Justice issued a state of emergency in at least five counties, enabling the National Guard...
Insurers to Pay $50M in Settlement Over Abuse at West Virginia Boarding School
Aug 25 2023 // CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A second lawsuit that alleged widespread sexual, physical and mental abuse at a now-closed West Virginia boarding school for troubled youths has been settled for about $50 million, to be paid...
Federal Appeals Court Dismisses Challenge to WV Gas Pipeline
Aug 14 2023 // A federal appeals court on Friday granted a motion to dismiss a challenge to construction permits for a controversial natural gas pipeline in Virginia and West Virginia after Congress mandated that the project move...
WV Approves Raises for Corrections Workers as Lawsuits Filed Over Conditions
Aug 10 2023 // West Virginia`s state Legislature approved millions of dollars in raises and bonuses for corrections employees Tuesday, the same day as a lawsuit was filed against Republican Gov. Jim Justice and other state leaders over...
A WV Teacher Was Caught on Video Abusing Students. Her District is Settling for $11M
Aug 3 2023 // A school district in West Virginia has reached settlements totaling over $11 million in lawsuits involving a teacher who abused special education students in her classroom, according to a media report. Seven lawsuits...
After Decades of Delays, Coal Miners Hail Rule to Slow Black Lung Disease
Jul 25 2023 // A half-century ago, the nation`s top health experts urged the federal agency in charge of mine safety to adopt strict rules protecting miners from poisonous rock dust. The inaction since – fueled by denials and lobbying...
Florida Quelled Attorney Fees But WV Doctrine is Alive – With Limits
Jul 24 2023 // The Florida Legislature made national headlines late last year when it effectively curtailed one-way attorney fees and greatly limited plaintiffs’ fee multipliers in claims litigation. Property insurers celebrated...
