Opinion ID: 1204380
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Commission's Delay in Proffering the Insurance Contract

Text: Arnold further contends that the circuit court abused its discretion in failing to enforce its scheduling order when it permitted the Lottery Commission to first raise the issue of insurance coverage after an October 15, 1995 deadline for filing dispositive motions. Specifically, it points to the fact that the Commission did not move for summary judgment based upon the absence of insurance until October 29, 1996. Arnold also asserts that the Lottery Commission failed to provide it with a copy of the applicable policy of insurance prior to that date, notwithstanding the fact that this information was requested by interrogatory in November 1993, and the circuit court had earlier granted a motion to compel such discovery in its October 27, 1994 order. The Lottery Commission responds by noting it has asserted constitutional immunity as a jurisdictional bar since the inception of this litigation, and that West Virginia's unique law governing such immunity put counsel in the precarious position of having to assert that the Commission's insurance policy did not provide coverage. In the latter context, it points out that the circuit court's ruling predates our decision in Parkulo v. West Virginia Bd. of Probation and Parole, 199 W.Va. 161, 483 S.E.2d 507 (1997), where we directed that when a plaintiff pursues recovery under an agency's liability insurance policy, [7] the text of the applicable insurance coverages afforded, including any applicable contractual exceptions or limitations contained in the policies, should be included in the record at an early stage of the proceedings so that the trial court can readily determine whether, and to what extent, claims and causes of action pleaded are made subject to litigation in the courts by reason of W. Va. Code § 29-12-5 and the applicable insurance policy or policies. Parkulo, 199 W.Va. at 169-70, 483 S.E.2d at 515-16. The Commission further explains that the failure to provide timely information regarding insurance coverage was an unintentional oversight, occasioned, in part, by a grievous event in counsel's personal life. A trial court's procedural rulings are afforded substantial deference on appeal. As we stated in Syllabus point 1 of McDougal v. McCammon, 193 W.Va. 229, 455 S.E.2d 788 (1995): The West Virginia Rules of Evidence and the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure allocate significant discretion to the trial court in making evidentiary and procedural rulings. Thus rulings on the admissibility of evidence and the appropriateness of a particular sanction for discovery violations are committed to the discretion of the trial court. Absent a few exceptions, this Court will review evidentiary and procedural rulings of the circuit court under an abuse of discretion standard. The imposition of sanctions by a circuit court under W. Va. R. Civ. P. 37(b) for the failure of a party to obey the court's order to provide or permit discovery is within the sound discretion of the court and will not be disturbed upon appeal unless there has been an abuse of that discretion. Syl. pt. 1, Bell v. Inland Mut. Ins. Co., 175 W.Va. 165, 332 S.E.2d 127, cert. denied sub nom., Camden Fire Ins. Ass'n v. Justice, 474 U.S. 936, 106 S.Ct. 299, 88 L.Ed.2d 277 (1985). Although the Court is troubled by the fact that counsel for the Lottery Commission failed to provide the sought-after discovery concerning insurance coverage for such a long period of time, we do not find that the circuit court abused its discretion in permitting the Commission to bring forward the issue of insurance coverage. We take this opportunity, however, to stress the importance of the procedural path set in Parkulo, and to admonish that when constitutional immunity is raised as a jurisdictional defense, the parties (and particularly a defendant governmental agency) have an affirmative obligation to promptly tender copies of applicable liability insurance policies so that the trial court may make a timely determination as to the existence of insurance coverage. C.