reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7C. Immunity From Civil Liability for Qualified Directors of Certain Governmental and Nonprofit Entities › §55-7C-3. Limited Civil Liability of Qualified Directors

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, a qualified director is not personally liable for negligence, either through act or omission, or whether actual or imputed, in the performance of managerial functions performed on behalf of a volunteer organization or entity: Provided, That this section shall not exempt a qualified director from liability when he or she is found to be grossly negligent in the performance of his or her duties.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, a qualified director is not personally liable for the torts of a volunteer organization or entity, or the torts of the agents or employees of a volunteer organization or entity, unless he or she approved of, ratified, directed, sanctioned, or participated in the wrongful acts.
(c) Nothing in this section relieves a volunteer organization or entity from imputed liability for the negligent acts of a qualified director committed within the scope of the qualified director’s duties. Nothing in this article shall be construed as a grant of immunity to any person who, through his or her operation of a motor vehicle, causes any injury or damage to another person.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7D. Good Samaritan Food Donation Act › §55-7D-1. Legislative Findings

The Legislature finds that wholesale and retail food distributors, shipping terminals and other establishments across the state are disposing of food that could be made available to those in need. However, many potential food donors are discouraged from donating this food because of potential liability. The United States Congress has recognized the need to encourage food distributors to make otherwise disposed-of food products available to those in need and has adopted Title 42 United States Code §1791 entitled the "Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act." This federal law encourages state and local governments to enact good samaritan or donor liability limitation laws to encourage private cooperative efforts to provide food for hungry people within their respective jurisdictions. The Legislature finds that this is a worthy goal, and therefore it is appropriate for the state to encourage participation in food donation programs by providing a statutory framework to protect food donators from liability for their good faith efforts.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7D. Good Samaritan Food Donation Act › §55-7D-2. Definitions

As used in this section:
(a) "Apparently fit grocery product" means a grocery product that meets all quality and labeling standards imposed by federal, state and local laws and regulations even though the product may not be readily marketable due to appearance, age, freshness, grade, size, surplus or other conditions.
(b) "Apparently wholesome food" means food that meets all quality and labeling standards imposed by federal, state and local laws and regulations even though the food may not be readily marketable due to appearance, age, freshness, grade, size, surplus or other conditions.
(c) "Donate" means to give without requiring anything of monetary value from the recipient, except that the term includes donations by one nonprofit organization to another nonprofit organization, notwithstanding that the donor organization has charged a nominal fee to the donee organization, if the ultimate recipient or user is not required to give anything of monetary value.
(d) "Food" means any raw, cooked, processed or prepared edible substance, ice, beverage or ingredient used or intended for use, in whole or in part, for human consumption.
(e) "Gleaner" means a person who harvests a donated agricultural crop for free distribution to the needy or for donation to a nonprofit organization for ultimate distribution to the needy.
(f) "Grocery product" means a nonfood grocery product, including disposable paper or plastic products, household cleaning supplies, laundry detergent or other household item.
(g) "Gross negligence" means voluntary and conscious conduct, including a failure to act, by a person who, at the time of the conduct, knew that the conduct was likely to be harmful to the health or well-being of another person.
(h) "Intentional misconduct" means conduct by a person with knowledge, at the time of the conduct, that the conduct is harmful to the health or well-being of another person.
(i) "Nonprofit organization" means an incorporated or unincorporated entity that:
(1) Is operating for religious, charitable or educational purposes; and
(2) Does not provide net earnings to or operate in any other manner that inures to the benefit of, any officer, employee or shareholder of the entity.
(j) "Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership, organization, association or governmental entity, including a retail grocer, wholesaler, hotel, motel, manufacturer, restaurant, caterer, farmer, nonprofit food distributor or hospital. In the case of a corporation, partnership, organization, association or governmental entity, the term includes an officer, director, partner, deacon, trustee, council member or other elected or appointed individual responsible for the governance of the entity.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7D. Good Samaritan Food Donation Act › §55-7D-3. Limiting Liability of Persons or Corporations Who Donate Food or Grocery Products; Exceptions

(a) A person or gleaner is not subject to civil liability or criminal liability arising from the nature, age, packaging or condition of apparently wholesome food or an apparently fit grocery product which the person or gleaner donates in good faith to a nonprofit organization for ultimate distribution without profit or gain to needy individuals: Provided, That this limitation on liability does not apply to an injury to or the death of an ultimate user or recipient of the food or grocery product which results from an act or omission of the person or gleaner which constitutes gross negligence or intentional misconduct.
(b) A nonprofit organization is not subject to civil liability or criminal liability arising from the nature, age, packaging or condition of apparently wholesome food or an apparently fit grocery product which the nonprofit organization received as a donation in good faith from a person or gleaner for ultimate distribution without profit or gain to needy individuals: Provided, That this limitation on liability does not apply to an injury to or the death of an ultimate user or recipient of the food or grocery product which results from an act or omission of the nonprofit organization which constitutes gross negligence or intentional misconduct.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7D. Good Samaritan Food Donation Act › §55-7D-4. Limitation of Liability for Landowners or Occupiers Who Allow Collection or Gleaning of Donations; Exceptions

Any person who is a landowner or occupier and who allows the collection or gleaning of donations on his or her property by gleaners or representatives of a nonprofit organization, whether paid or unpaid, for ultimate donation without profit or gain to needy individuals is not subject to civil liability or criminal liability that arises due to the injury or death of the gleaner or representative while engaged in collecting or gleaning on the property: Provided, That this limitation on liability does not apply to an injury or death that results from an act or omission of the landowner or occupier which constitutes gross negligence or intentional misconduct.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7E. Duty to Mitigate Damages in Employment Claims › §55-7E-1. Definitions

In this article:
(a) "Back pay" means the wages that an employee would have earned, had the employee not suffered from an adverse employment action, from the time of the adverse employment action through the time of trial.
(b) "Front pay" means the wages that an employee would have earned, had the employee not suffered from an adverse employment action, from the time of trial through a future date.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7E. Duty to Mitigate Damages in Employment Claims › §55-7E-2. Legislative Findings and Declaration of Purpose

(a) The Legislature finds that:
(1) Employees of this state are entitled to be free from unlawful discrimination, wrongful discharge and unlawful retaliation in the workplace. Employers are often confronted with difficult choices in the hiring, discipline, promotion, layoff and discharge of employees.
(2) The citizens and employers of this state are entitled to a legal system that provides adequate and reasonable compensation to those persons who have been subjected to unlawful employment actions, a legal system that is fair, predictable in its outcomes, and a legal system that functions within the mainstream of American jurisprudence.
(3) The goal of compensation remedies in employment law cases is to make the victim of unlawful workplace actions whole, including back pay; reinstatement or some amount of front pay in lieu of reinstatement; and under certain statutes, attorney's fees for the successful plaintiff.
(4) In West Virginia, the amount of damages recently awarded in statutory and common law employment cases have been inconsistent with established federal law and the law of surrounding states. This lack of uniformity in the law puts our state and its businesses at a competitive disadvantage.
(b) The purpose of this article is to provide a framework for adequate and reasonable compensation to those persons who have been subjected to an unlawful employment action, but to ensure that compensation does not far exceed the goal of making a wronged employee whole.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7E. Duty to Mitigate Damages in Employment Claims › §55-7E-3. Statutory or Common Law Employment Claims; Duty to Mitigate Damages

(a) In any employment law cause of action against a current or former employer, regardless of whether the cause of action arises from a statutory right created by the Legislature or a cause of action arising under the common law of West Virginia, the plaintiff has an affirmative duty to mitigate past and future lost wages, regardless of whether the plaintiff can prove the defendant employer acted with malice or malicious intent, or in willful disregard of the plaintiff's rights. The malice exception to the duty to mitigate damages is abolished. Unmitigated or flat back pay and front pay awards are not an available remedy. Any award of back pay or front pay by a commission, court or jury shall be reduced by the amount of interim earnings or the amount earnable with reasonable diligence by the plaintiff. It is the defendant's burden to prove the lack of reasonable diligence.
(b) In any employment law claim or cause of action, the trial court shall make a preliminary ruling on the appropriateness of the remedy of reinstatement versus front pay if such remedies are sought by the plaintiff. If front pay is determined to be the appropriate remedy, the amount of front pay, if any, to be awarded shall be an issue for the trial judge to decide.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7F. Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Claims Transparency Act › §55-7F-2. Findings and Purpose

(a) The West Virginia Legislature finds that:
(1) The United States Supreme Court in Amchem Prods., Inc. v. Windsor, 521 U.S. 591, 598 (1997) described the asbestos litigation as a crisis;
(2) Approximately one hundred employers have declared bankruptcy at least partially due to asbestos-related liability;
(3) These bankruptcies have resulted in a search for more solvent companies, resulting in over eight thousand five hundred companies being named as asbestos defendants, including many small- and medium-sized companies, in industries that cover eighty-five percent of the United States economy;
(4) Scores of trusts have been established in asbestos-related bankruptcy proceedings to form a multibillion dollar asbestos bankruptcy trust compensation system outside of the tort system, and new asbestos trusts continue to be formed;
(5) Asbestos claimants often seek compensation for alleged asbestos-related conditions from solvent defendants in civil actions and from trusts or claims facilities formed in asbestos bankruptcy proceedings;
(6) There is limited coordination and transparency between these two paths to recovery;
(7) An absence of transparency between the asbestos bankruptcy trust claim system and the civil court systems has resulted in the suppression of evidence in asbestos actions and potential fraud;
(8) West Virginia's Mass Litigation Panel has previously entered cases management orders that apply substantive transparency provisions requiring plaintiffs to disclose, among other things, any claims that may exist against asbestos bankruptcy trusts; and
(9) It is in the interest of justice that there be transparency for claims made in the asbestos bankruptcy trust claim system and for claims made in civil asbestos litigation.
(b) It is the purpose of this article to:
(1) Provide transparency for claims made in the asbestos bankruptcy trust claim system and for claims made in civil asbestos litigation; and
(2) Reduce the opportunity for fraud or suppression of evidence in asbestos actions.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7F. Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Claims Transparency Act › §55-7F-3. Definitions

For the purpose of this article:
(1) "Asbestos action" means a claim for damages or other civil or equitable relief presented in a civil action arising out of, based on or related to the health effects of exposure to asbestos, including loss of consortium, wrongful death, mental or emotional injury, risk or fear of disease or other injury, costs of medical monitoring or surveillance and any other derivative claim made by or on behalf of a person exposed to asbestos or a representative, spouse, parent, child or other relative of that person. The term does not include a claim for compensatory benefits pursuant to workers' compensation law or for veterans' benefits as defined by article seven-f of this chapter.
(2) "Asbestos trust" means a government-approved or court-approved trust, qualified settlement fund, compensation fund or claims facility created as a result of an administrative or legal action, a court-approved bankruptcy, or pursuant to 11 U. S. C. §524(g) or 11 U. S. C. §1121(a) or other applicable provision of law, that is intended to provide compensation to claimants arising out of, based on or related to the health effects of exposure to asbestos.
(3) "Plaintiff" means a person asserting an asbestos action, a decedent if the action is brought through or on behalf of an estate, or a parent or guardian if the action is brought through or on behalf of a minor or incompetent.
(4) "Trust claims materials" means a final executed proof of claim and all other documents and information related to a claim against an asbestos trust, including claims forms and supplementary materials, affidavits, depositions and trial testimony, work history, medical and health records, documents reflecting the status of a claim against an asbestos trust, and if the asbestos trust claim has settled, all documents relating to the settlement of the asbestos trust claim.
(5) "Trust governance documents" means all documents that relate to eligibility and payment levels, including claims payment matrices, trust distribution procedures or plans for reorganization, for an asbestos trust.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7F. Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Claims Transparency Act › §55-7F-4. Required Disclosures by Plaintiff

(a) For each asbestos action filed in this state, the plaintiff shall provide all parties with a sworn statement identifying all asbestos trust claims that have been filed by the plaintiff or by anyone on the plaintiff's behalf, including claims with respect to asbestos-related conditions other than those that are the basis for the asbestos action or that potentially could be filed by the plaintiff against an asbestos trust. The sworn statement shall be provided no later than one hundred twenty days prior to the date set for trial for the asbestos action. For each asbestos trust claim or potential asbestos trust claim identified in the sworn statement, the statement shall include the name, address and contact information for the asbestos trust, the amount claimed or to be claimed by the plaintiff, the date the plaintiff filed the claim, the disposition of the claim and whether there has been a request to defer, delay, suspend or toll the claim. The sworn statement shall include an attestation from the plaintiff, under penalties of perjury, that the sworn statement is complete and is based on a good faith investigation of all potential claims against asbestos trusts.
(b) The plaintiff shall make available to all parties all trust claims materials for each asbestos trust claim that has been filed by the plaintiff or by anyone on the plaintiff's behalf against an asbestos trust, including any asbestos-related disease.
(c) The plaintiff shall supplement the information and materials provided pursuant to this section within ninety days after the plaintiff files an additional asbestos trust claim, supplements an existing asbestos trust claim or receives additional information or materials related to any claim or potential claim against an asbestos trust.
(d) Failure by the plaintiff to make available to all parties all trust claims materials as required by this article shall constitute grounds for the court to extend the trial date in an asbestos action.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7F. Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Claims Transparency Act › §55-7F-5. Discovery; Use of Materials

(a) Trust claims materials and trust governance documents are presumed to be relevant and authentic and are admissible in evidence. No claims of privilege apply to any trust claims materials or trust governance documents.
(b) A defendant in an asbestos action may seek discovery from an asbestos trust. The plaintiff may not claim privilege or confidentiality to bar discovery and shall provide consent or other expression of permission that may be required by the asbestos trust to release information and materials sought by a defendant.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7F. Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Claims Transparency Act › §55-7F-6. Scheduling Trial; Stay of Action

(a) A court shall stay an asbestos action if the court finds that the plaintiff has failed to make the disclosures required under section four of this article within one hundred twenty days prior to the trial date.
(b) If, in the disclosures required by section four of this article, a plaintiff identifies a potential asbestos trust claim, the judge shall have the discretion to stay the asbestos action until the plaintiff files the asbestos trust claim and provides all parties with all trust claims materials for the claim. The plaintiff shall also state whether there has been a request to defer, delay, suspend or toll the claim against the asbestos trust.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7F. Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Claims Transparency Act › §55-7F-7. Identification of Additional or Alternative Asbestos Trusts by Defendant

(a) Not less than ninety days before trial, if a defendant identifies an asbestos trust claim not previously identified by the plaintiff that the defendant reasonably believes the plaintiff can file, the defendant shall meet and confer with plaintiff to discuss why defendant believes plaintiff has an additional asbestos trust claim, and thereafter the defendant may move the court for an order to require the plaintiff to file the asbestos trust claim. The defendant shall produce or describe the documentation it possesses or is aware of in support of the motion.
(b) Within ten days of receiving the defendant's motion under subsection (a) of this section, the plaintiff shall, for each asbestos trust claim identified by the defendant, make one of the following responses:
(1) File the asbestos trust claim;
(2) File a written response with the court setting forth the reasons why there is insufficient evidence for the plaintiff to file the asbestos trust claim; or
(3) File a written response with the court requesting a determination that the plaintiff's expenses or attorney's fees and expenses to prepare and file the asbestos trust claim identified in the defendant's motion exceed the plaintiff's reasonably anticipated recovery from the trust.
(c) (1) If the court determines that there is a sufficient basis for the plaintiff to file the asbestos trust claim identified by a defendant, the court shall order the plaintiff to file the asbestos trust claim and shall stay the asbestos action until the plaintiff files the asbestos trust claim and provides all parties with all trust claims materials no later than thirty days before trial.
(2) If the court determines that the plaintiff's expenses or attorney's fees and expenses to prepare and file the asbestos trust claim identified in the defendant's motion exceed the plaintiff's reasonably anticipated recovery from the asbestos trust, the court shall stay the asbestos action until the plaintiff files with the court and provides all parties with a verified statement of the plaintiff's history of exposure, usage or other connection to asbestos covered by the asbestos trust.
(d) Not less than thirty days prior to trial in an asbestos action, the court shall enter into the record a trust claims document that identifies each claim the plaintiff has made against an asbestos trust.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7F. Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Claims Transparency Act › §55-7F-8. Valuation of Asbestos Trust Claims; Judicial Notice

(a) If a plaintiff proceeds to trial in an asbestos action before an asbestos trust claim is resolved, the filing of the asbestos trust claim may be considered as relevant and admissible evidence.
(b) Trust claim materials that are sufficient to entitle a claim to consideration for payment under the applicable trust governance documents may be sufficient to support a jury finding that the plaintiff may have been exposed to products for which the asbestos trust was established to provide compensation and that such exposure may be a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff's injury that is at issue in the asbestos action.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7F. Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Claims Transparency Act › §55-7F-9. Setoff; Credit

In any asbestos action in which damages are awarded, a defendant is entitled to a setoff or credit in the amount of the valuation established under the applicable trust governance documents, including payment percentages for asbestos trust claims pending at trial and any amount the plaintiff has been awarded from an asbestos trust claim that has been identified at the time of trial. If multiple defendants are found liable for damages, the court shall distribute the amount of setoff or credit proportionally between the defendants, according to the liability of each defendant.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7F. Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Claims Transparency Act › §55-7F-10. Failure to Provide Information; Sanctions

A plaintiff who fails to provide all of the information required under this article is subject to sanctions as provided in the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure and any other relief for the defendants that the court considers just and proper.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7G. Asbestos and Silica Claims Priorities Act › §55-7G-6. Elements of Proof for Silica Actions Alleging Silicosis

No silica action related to alleged silicosis may be brought or maintained in the absence of prima facie evidence that the exposed person has a physical impairment as a result of silicosis. The plaintiff shall make a prima facie showing of claim for each defendant and include a detailed narrative medical report and diagnosis signed under oath by a qualified physician that includes all of the following:
(1) Radiological or pathological evidence of silicosis or a high-resolution computed tomography scan showing evidence of silicosis;
(2) A detailed occupational and exposure history from the exposed person or, if that person is deceased, from the person most knowledgeable about the exposures that form the basis of the action, including identification of all principal places of employment and exposures to airborne contaminants and whether each place of employment involved exposures to airborne contaminants, including silica or other disease causing dusts or fumes, that may cause pulmonary impairment and the nature, duration and level of any exposure;
(3) A detailed medical, social and smoking history from the exposed person or, if that person is deceased, from the person most knowledgeable, including a thorough review of the past and present medical problems and their most probable cause;
(4) Evidence that a sufficient latency period has elapsed between the exposed person's date of first exposure to silica and the day of diagnosis;
(5) Evidence based upon a personal medical examination and pulmonary function testing of the exposed person or, if the exposed person is deceased, based upon the person's medical records, demonstrating that the exposed person has or the deceased person had a permanent respiratory impairment rating of at least Class 2 as defined by and evaluated pursuant to the AMA's Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment or reported significant changes year to year in lung function for FVC, FEV1 or DLCO as defined by the American Thoracic Society's Interpretative Strategies for Lung Function Tests, 26 European Respiratory Journal 948-68, 961-62, Table 12 (2005) and as updated; and
(6) The specific conclusion of the qualified physician signing the report that exposure to silica was a substantial contributing factor to the exposed person's physical impairment and not more probably the result of other causes. An opinion stating that the medical findings and impairment are consistent with or compatible with exposure to silica, or words to that effect, do not satisfy the requirements of this subdivision.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7G. Asbestos and Silica Claims Priorities Act › §55-7G-7. Evidence of Physical Impairment

Evidence relating to physical impairment, including pulmonary function testing and diffusing studies, offered in any action governed by this article or article seven-e of this chapter, shall:
(1) Comply with the quality controls, equipment requirements, methods of calibration and techniques set forth in the AMA's Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment and all standards set forth in the Official Statements of the American Thoracic Society which are in effect on the date of any examination or pulmonary function testing of the exposed person required by this article;
(2) Not be obtained and may not be based on testing or examinations that violate any law, regulation, licensing requirement, or medical code of practice of the state in which the examination, test, or screening was conducted, or of this state; and
(3) Not be obtained under the condition that the plaintiff or exposed person retains the legal services of the attorney or law firm sponsoring the examination, test or screening.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7G. Asbestos and Silica Claims Priorities Act › §55-7G-8. Procedures

(a) Evidence relating to the prima facie showings required under this article shall not create any presumption that the exposed person has an asbestos-related or silica-related injury or impairment and shall not be conclusive as to the liability of any defendant.
(b) No evidence shall be offered at trial, and the jury shall not be informed of:
(1) The grant or denial of a motion to dismiss an asbestos or silica action under the provisions of this article; or
(2) The provisions of this article with respect to what constitutes a prima facie showing of asbestos or silica-related impairment.
(c) Until a court enters an order determining that the exposed person has established prima facie evidence of impairment, no asbestos or silica action shall be subject to discovery, except discovery related to establishing or challenging the prima facie evidence or by order of the trial court upon motion of one of the parties and for good cause shown.
(d) Consolidation of cases. --
(1) A court may consolidate for trial any number and type of nonmalignant asbestos or silica actions with the consent of all the parties. In the absence of such consent, the court may consolidate for trial only asbestos or silica actions relating to the exposed person and members of that person's household.
(2) No class action or any other form of mass aggregation relating to more than one exposed person and members of that person's household shall be permitted.
(3) The provisions of this subsection do not preclude consolidation of cases by court order for pretrial or discovery purposes.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7G. Asbestos and Silica Claims Priorities Act › §55-7G-9. Statute of Limitations; Two-Disease Rule

(a) With respect to an asbestos or silica action not barred by limitations as of this article's effective date, an exposed person's cause of action shall not accrue, nor shall the running of limitations commence, prior to the earlier of the date:
(1) The exposed person received a medical diagnosis of an asbestos-related impairment or silica-related impairment;
(2) The exposed person discovered facts that would have led a reasonable person to obtain a medical diagnosis with respect to the existence of an asbestos-related impairment or silica-related impairment; or
(3) The date of death of the exposed person having an asbestos-related or silica-related impairment.
(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to revive or extend limitations with respect to any claim for asbestos-related impairment or silica-related impairment that was otherwise time-barred on the effective date of this article.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed so as to adversely affect, impair, limit, modify, or nullify any settlement or other agreements with respect to an asbestos or silica action entered into prior to the effective date of this article.
(d) An asbestos or silica action arising out of a nonmalignant condition shall be a distinct cause of action from an action for an asbestos-related or silica-related cancer. Where otherwise permitted under state law, no damages shall be awarded for fear or increased risk of future disease in an asbestos or silica action.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7H. Immunity From Civil Liability for Clinical Practice Plans and Personnel Associated With Medical and Dental Schools › §55-7H-2. Definitions

For purposes of this article:
(1) "Clinical practice plan" means any of the nonprofit corporations that are operated to assist the state medical school and state's medical and dental schools in providing clinical services to patients and which are controlled by governing boards all the voting members of which are faculty members or university officials. Clinical practice plans as defined herein shall be considered agents of the state.
(2) "Contractor" means an independent contractor, whether compensated or not, who is licensed as a health care professional under chapter thirty of this code, who is acting within the scope of his or her authority for a state medical school, state's medical and dental schools, or a clinical practice plan, and is a member of the faculty of a state's medical and dental schools or state medical school.
(3) "Employee" means a director, officer, employee, agent or servant, whether compensated or not, who is licensed as a health care professional under chapter thirty of this code and who is acting within the scope of his or her authority or employment for a state's medical and dental schools, a state medical school or a clinical practice plan.
(4) "Health care" means any act or treatment performed or furnished, or which should have been performed or furnished, by any director, officer, employee, agent or contractor of a state medical school, state's medical and dental schools, or a clinical practice plan for, to or on behalf of a patient during the patient's medical care, treatment or confinement.
(5) "Medical injury" means injury or death to a patient arising or resulting from the rendering or failure to render health care.
(6) "Medical professional liability insurance" means a contract of insurance, or any self-insurance retention program established under the provisions of section ten, article five, chapter eighteen-b of this code, that pays for the legal liability arising from a medical injury.
(7) "Patient" means a natural person who receives or should have received health care from a director, officer, employee, agent or contractor of a state medical school, state's medical and dental schools, or a clinical practice plan under a contract, express or implied.
(8) "Scope of authority or employment" means performance by a director, officer, employee, agent or contractor acting in good faith within the duties of his or her office, employment or contract with a state medical school, state's medical and dental schools, or a clinical practice plan, but does not include corruption or fraud.
(9) "State's medical and dental schools" or "state medical school" means the Marshall University School of Medicine, the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, the West Virginia University School of Medicine and the West Virginia University School of Dentistry.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7H. Immunity From Civil Liability for Clinical Practice Plans and Personnel Associated With Medical and Dental Schools › §55-7H-3. Immunity for Clinical Practice Plans and Their Directors, Officers, Employees, Agents and Contractors

Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, all clinical practice plans, and all employees and contractors of a state's medical and dental schools, state medical school or a clinical practice plan, are only liable up to the limits of insurance coverage procured through the State Board of Risk and Insurance Management in accordance with section four, article seven-e, chapter fifty-five of the code, arising from a medical injury to a patient, including death resulting, in whole or in part, from the medical injury, either through act or omission, or whether actual or imputed, while acting within the scope of their authority or employment for a state's medical and dental schools, state medical school or a clinical practice plan. The provisions of this article apply to the acts and omissions of all full-time, part-time, visiting and volunteer directors, officers, faculty members, residents, fellows, students, employees, agents and contractors of a state's medical and dental schools, state medical school or a clinical practice plan, regardless of whether the persons are engaged in teaching, research, clinical, administrative or other duties giving rise to the medical injury, regardless of whether the activities were being performed on behalf of a state's medical and dental schools, state medical school or on behalf of a clinical practice plan and regardless of where the duties were being carried out at the time of the medical injury.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7H. Immunity From Civil Liability for Clinical Practice Plans and Personnel Associated With Medical and Dental Schools › §55-7H-4. Medical Professional Liability Insurance for State's Medical and Dental Schools and State Medical Schools

The State Board of Risk and Insurance Management shall provide medical professional liability insurance to all of the state's medical and dental schools, state medical school, all of their clinical practice plans and all of their directors, officers, employees, agents and contractors in an amount to be determined by the State Board of Risk and Insurance Management, but in no event less than $1.5 million for each occurrence after July 1, 2015, to increase to account for inflation by an amount equal to the Consumer Price Index published by the United States Department of Labor, up to $2 million for each occurrence. The clinical practice plans shall pay for this insurance. The provision of professional liability insurance is not a waiver of immunity that any of the foregoing entities or persons may have pursuant to this article or under any other law. Any judgment obtained for a medical injury to a patient as a result of health care performed or furnished, or which should have been performed or furnished, by any employee or contractor of a state's medical and dental school, state medical school or clinical practice plan shall not exceed the limits of medical professional liability insurance coverage provided by the State Board of Risk and Insurance Management pursuant to this section.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7I. Successor Asbestos-Related Liability › §55-7I-1. Findings and Purpose

(a) The West Virginia Legislature finds that:
(1) Asbestos-related claims threaten the continued viability of uniquely situated companies that have never manufactured, sold or distributed asbestos or asbestos products and are liable only as successor corporations.
(2) The viability of these businesses is threatened due solely to their status as successor corporations by merger or consolidation based on actions taken prior to the May 13, 1968, American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists change in the recommended, longstanding threshold workplace-exposure limit for asbestos.
(3) More than twenty other states have enacted legislation similar to this article to provide limits on asbestos-related liabilities for innocent successors.
(4) The public interest as a whole is best served by providing relief to innocent successors so that they may remain viable.
(b) The purpose of this article is to limit the cumulative recovery by all asbestos claimants from innocent successors.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7I. Successor Asbestos-Related Liability › §55-7I-2. Definitions

As used in this article:
(1) “Asbestos claim” means any claim, wherever or whenever made, for damages, losses, indemnification, contribution or other relief arising out of, based on, or in any way related to asbestos, including:
(A) Property damage caused by the installation, presence or removal of asbestos;
(B) The health effects of exposure to asbestos, including any claim for:
(i) Personal injury or death;
(ii) Mental or emotional injury;
(iii) Risk of disease or other injury; or
(iv) The costs of medical monitoring or surveillance; and
(C) Any claim made by or on behalf of any person exposed to asbestos, or a representative, spouse, parent, child or other relative of the person.
(2) “Corporation” means a corporation for profit, including:
(A) A domestic corporation organized under the laws of this state; or
(B) A foreign corporation organized under laws other than the laws of this state.
(3) “Successor asbestos-related liabilities” means any liabilities, whether known or unknown, asserted or unasserted, absolute or contingent, accrued or unaccrued, liquidated or unliquidated, or due or to become due, that are related in any way to asbestos claims that were assumed or incurred by a corporation as a result of or in connection with a merger or consolidation, or the plan of merger or consolidation related to the merger or consolidation, with or into another corporation or that are related in any way to asbestos claims based on the exercise of control or the ownership of stock of the corporation before the merger or consolidation. The term includes liabilities that, after the time of the merger or consolidation for which the fair market value of total gross assets is determined under section five of this article, were or are paid or otherwise discharged, or committed to be paid or otherwise discharged, by or on behalf of the corporation, or by a successor of the corporation, or by or on behalf of a transferor, in connection with settlements, judgments or other discharges in this state or another jurisdiction.
(4) “Successor” means a corporation that assumes or incurs, or has assumed or incurred, successor asbestos-related liabilities.
(5) “Transferor” means a corporation from which successor asbestos-related liabilities are or were assumed or incurred.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7I. Successor Asbestos-Related Liability › §55-7I-3. Applicability

(a) The limitations in section four of this article shall apply to a domestic corporation or a foreign corporation that has had a certificate of authority to transact business in this state or has done business in this state and that is a successor which became a successor prior to May 13, 1968, or which is any of that successor corporation’s successors, but in the latter case only to the extent of the limitation of liability applied under subsection (b), section four of this article and subject also to the limitations found in this article, including those in subsection (b) of this section.
(b) The limitations in section four of this article shall not apply to:
(1) Workers’ compensation benefits paid by or on behalf of an employer to an employee under the provisions of chapter twenty-three of this code or a comparable workers’ compensation law of another jurisdiction;
(2) Any claim against a corporation that does not constitute a successor asbestos-related liability;
(3) An insurance corporation;
(4) Any obligation under the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U. S. C. Section 151, et seq., as amended, or under any collective bargaining agreement;
(5) A successor that, after a merger or consolidation, continued in the business of mining asbestos or in the business of selling or distributing asbestos fibers or in the business of manufacturing, distributing, removing or installing asbestos-containing products which were the same or substantially the same as those products previously manufactured, distributed, removed or installed by the transferor;
(6) A contractual obligation existing as of the effective date of this article that was entered into with claimants or potential claimants or their counsel and which resolves asbestos claims or potential asbestos claims;
(7) Any claim made against the estate of a debtor in a bankruptcy proceeding commenced prior to the effective date of this article, under the United States Bankruptcy Code, 11 U. S. C. Section 101, et seq., by or against such debtor, or against a bankruptcy trust established under 11 U. S. C. Section 524(g) or similar provision of the United States Code in such a bankruptcy; and
(8) A successor asbestos-related liability arising under common law or statute for premises liability, or a cause of action for premises liability, as applicable, but only if the successor owned or controlled the premise or premises at issue after the merger or consolidation.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7I. Successor Asbestos-Related Liability › §55-7I-4. Limitations on Successor Asbestos-Related Liabilities

(a) Except as further limited in subsection (b) of this section, the cumulative successor asbestos-related liabilities of a corporation are limited to the fair market value of the total gross assets of the transferor determined as of the time of the merger or consolidation. The corporation does not have any responsibility for successor asbestos-related liabilities in excess of this limitation.
(b) If the transferor had assumed or incurred successor asbestos-related liabilities in connection with a prior merger or consolidation with a prior transferor, then the fair market value of the total assets of the prior transferor, determined as of the time of such earlier merger or consolidation, shall be substituted for the limitation set forth in subsection (a) of this section, for purposes of determining the limitation of liability of a corporation.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7I. Successor Asbestos-Related Liability › §55-7I-5. Establishing Fair Market Value of Total Gross Assets

(a) A corporation may establish the fair market value of total gross assets for the purpose of the limitations under section four of this article through any method reasonable under the circumstances, including:
(1) By reference to the going concern value of the assets or to the purchase price attributable to or paid for the assets in an arms-length transaction; or
(2) In the absence of other readily available information from which the fair market value can be determined, by reference to the value of the assets recorded on a balance sheet.
(b) Total gross assets include intangible assets.
(c) Total gross assets include the aggregate coverage under any applicable liability insurance that was issued to the transferor whose assets are being valued for purposes of this section and which insurance has been collected or is collectible to cover successor asbestos-related liabilities (except compensation for liabilities arising from workers' exposure to asbestos solely during the course of their employment by the transferor). A settlement of a dispute concerning such insurance coverage entered into by a transferor or successor with the insurers of the transferor 10 years or more before the enactment of this article shall be determinative of the aggregate coverage of such liability insurance to be included in the calculation of the transferor's total gross assets.
(d) The fair market value of total gross assets shall reflect no deduction for any liabilities arising from any asbestos claim.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale › Article 7I. Successor Asbestos-Related Liability › §55-7I-6. Adjustment

(a) Except as provided in subsections (b), (c) and (d) of this section, the fair market value of total gross assets at the time of the merger or consolidation increases annually at a rate equal to the sum of:
(1) The prime rate as listed in the first edition of the Wall Street Journal published for each calendar year since the merger or consolidation; and
(2) One percent.
(b) The rate found in subsection (a) of this section is not compounded.
(c) The adjustment of the fair market value of total gross assets continues as provided in subsection (a) of this section until the date the adjusted value is exceeded by the cumulative amounts of successor asbestos-related liabilities paid or committed to be paid by or on behalf of the corporation or a predecessor, or by or on behalf of a transferor, after the time of the merger or consolidation for which the fair market value of total gross assets is determined.
(d) No adjustment of the fair market value of total gross assets shall be applied to any liability insurance otherwise included in the definition of total gross assets by subsection (c), section five of this article.