Hartley Law Group, PLLC successfully prosecuted an appeal of a dismissal of a third-party product liability case filed in Cabel County Circuit Court when the W. Va. Supreme Court found that the trial court had incorrectly applied collateral estoppel. Plaintiff had filed a workers’ compensation claim due to solvent-induced peripheral neuropathy. The claim was denied. Plaintiff elected to proceed with his civil lawsuit against the various suppliers of the solvents to his jobsite. The suppliers moved to dismiss, arguing that the ruling by the administrative law judge prevented the civil lawsuit from proceeding. The trial court granted the suppliers’ motion. Hartley Law Group appealed the ruling.
In a 4-1 decision, Justice Hutchinson writing for the Court found that workers can file civil lawsuits after losing workers’ compensation claims because workers’ compensation and civil lawsuits involve different legal standards and procedures which allow for separate litigation. Specifically, the Court found that “. . . the workers’ compensation process involved legal standards and procedural rules that were substantially different from those in a courtroom, and that process did not afford the plaintiff a full and fair opportunity to litigate whether the third-party manufacturers’ chemicals were a cause of his injury. Accordingly, we reverse the circuit court’s order and remand the case for further proceedings,” See Michael D. Ruble, et al. v. Rust-Oleum Corporation, et al., No. 22-039 (W.Va. Supreme Court June 12, 2024). Decision, click here.
