May 10
James Morrow vs. Harold E. Ayers, M.D. and Pleasant Valley Hospital
PA – R.R. Fredeking; J – Nibert
* The plaintiff, a Point Pleasant resident, is suing the defendants for medical malpractice, for not detecting a pituitary tumor and diabetes in 2004 which were later detected in 2007. He seeks unspecified damages and interest.
Case number: 11-C-51

June 6
Rodger and Eileen Beller vs. Peter Allinder d/b/a Forest Hills Cemetery
PA – Raymond G. Musgrave; J – Nibert
* The plaintiffs, residents of Medina, Ohio, are asking the court to order the defendant to disinter remains from a cemetery space belonging to them. They also seek unspecified damages, court costs and attorney fees.
Case number: 11-C-61

June 10
Zaraka Shirley and Susan Knapp, co-administrators of the estate of Pinkney N. Shirley vs. Paula King
PA – Pro se; J – Evans
* The plaintiffs are suing the defendant, a Proctorville, Ohio resident, for wrongful death following a collision she had with Shirley in Gallipolis Ferry on June 11, 2009. They seek unspecified damages.
Case number: 11-C-63

June 14
Dwayne E. White vs. Dale Humphreys, as executor of the estate of Charles V. Humphreys
PA – R. Matthew Vital; J – Nibert
* The plaintiff is suing the defendant, a New Haven resident, for injuries he sustained on June 23, 2009, when Charles Humphreys, who later died in December from pancreatic cancer, rear ended White near Mason. He seeks unspecified damages, interest, court costs and attorney fees.
Case number: 11-C-64

July 1
Derrick Armstrong vs. Winans Sanitary Supply Company, Inc. d/b/a Extras Support Staffing and Felman Production
PA – Mark Atkinson and C. Dallas Kayser
* The plaintiff is suing the defendants for wrongful termination, and race discrimination when after 4 ½ months working through Extras at Felman’s plant in New Haven, was let go on March 23. He seeks unspecified damages, attorney fees and court costs.
Case number: 11-C-68

July 7
Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance, Inc. vs. Kevin L. Meadows
PA – Bruce B. Lazenby; J – Nibert
* The plaintiff is suing the defendant, a Milton resident, for failing to make any payments on a 2003 mobile home he purchased on Dec. 10, 2003, at The Home Show-Beckley. They seek judgment for $47,793, and immediate possession of the mobile home.
Case number: 11-C-69

July 14
Douglas Brown, Marion Robinson, Mason County Farm Museum, Mason County Board of Education, Henderson Church of Christ, Bob Rimmey, Heather Hutchinson and Kayla Nave vs. Robert D. Fluharty
PA – R. Michael Shaw; J – Evans
*The plaintiffs are suing the defendant, a Charleston attorney, for improperly admitting a will of Bright McCausland into probate despite McCausland executing a superseding will prior to his death on April 22, 2010. They seek a court order setting aside the previous will, and admitting the superseding one into probate.
Case number: 11-C-74

Aug. 3
Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance Inc., as power of attorney for Oakwood Acceptance Corp. vs. Pamela C. Nibert
PA – Marc B. Lazenby; J – Nibert
* The plaintiff is suing the defendant for defaulting on a loan given to her on May 14, 2001, to finance a 2000 Oakwood Mobile Home that she ceased making payments on Nov, 1, 2010. They seek an order for her eviction from the mobile home, and immediate possession of it.
Case number: 11-C-80

Aug. 5
Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance, as power of attorney for Oakwood Acceptance Corp. LLC vs. Christopher A. Huddleston and Amy M. Cremeans
PA- Marc Lazenby; J – Nibert
* The plaintiff is suing the defendants for defaulting on a 2002 Oakwood Mobile Home on Jan. 1, 2011. They seek an order granting them immediate possession of it.
Case number: 11-C-82

Aug. 10
Paul and Sherry Wamsley vs. Pleasant Valley Hospital, R. Michael Kennerly and Stephen Rerych
PA – Richard D. Lindsay; J – Nibert
* The plaintiffs are suing the defendants for medical malpractice when Paul, while undergoing a hernia repair at Pleasant Valley Hospital on Oct. 4, 2010, had his left testicle ruptured by Kennerly and Rerych. The damage was so severe that his testicle had to later be removed. Sherry makes a claim for loss of consortium. They seek unspecified damages, interest and attorney fees.
Case number: 11-C-85

Kennerly

Rerych

POINT PLEASANT –- A Mason County man is suing Pleasant Valley Hospital, and two of its physicians for causing him to lose part of his testicles following surgery last year.

PVH and Drs. R. Michael Kennerly and Stephen K. Rerych are named as co-defendants in a medical malpractice suit filed by Paul Wamsley in Mason Circuit Court. In his complaint filed Aug. 10, Wamsley, of Letart, alleges carelessness in performing a hernia operation in October resulted in the loss of his left testicle.

According to his suit, Wamsley became a patient at PVH on Nov. 3, 2009. Though the reason for his seeking treatment is not specified, he was referred to Rerych.

Eleven months later, Wamsley was scheduled for an umbilical and left inguinal hernia repair at PVH with Kennerly. Rerych was scheduled to assist in the surgery.

In performing the surgery, a suture was placed through the spermatic cord of Wamsley’s left testicle causing the cord to twist, resulting in tissue damage and infection. The damage was so severe that it necessitated removal of the testicle.

In his suit, Wamsley maintains he not only suffered great pain in the surgery, but also, among other things, mental anguish, humiliation and embarrassment and impairment of his capacity to enjoy life following it. Wamsley’s wife, Sherry, makes a claim for loss of consortium, and is listed as a co-plaintiff.

The Wamsleys seek unspecified damages, interest and attorney fees. They are represented by Matthew C. Lindsay with the Charleston law firm of Tabor Lindsay and Associates.

The case is assigned to Judge David W. Nibert.

Mason Circuit Clerk’s Office case number 11-C-85

Aug. 18
Former Deputy Robert H. Glenn vs. Sheriff David Anthony II
PA – Michael Eachus; J – Evans
* The plaintiff is appealing a decision rendered by the Mason County Civil Service Commission for Deputy Sheriffs on April 11 upholding the defendant’s termination of his employment as a deputy sheriff on March 25 after he accused of making an inappropriate remark about a female student at Hannan High School while serving there as a school resource officer. Along with reinstatement, he seeks back pay, and attorney fees.
Case number: 11-AA-95

POINT PLEASANT – A Mason County deputy sheriff is continuing to challenge his boss’s decision earlier this year to fire him.

Robert H. Glenn on Aug. 18 appealed to Mason Circuit Court the county’s Civil Service Commission ruling affirming Sheriff David Anthony’s decision terminating him following allegations he made an inappropriate comment in March about a female student at Hannan High School. In his appeal, Glenn maintains the Commission should have ruled in his favor based both on the evidence presented during a recent hearing, and Anthony’s failure to follow state law regarding disciplinary action.

According to his appeal, Glenn was hired as a deputy sheriff on Oct. 15, 2006. On a date not specified, he was assigned to work as the school resource officer at HHS.

In a letter dated March 18, Anthony informed Glenn he was being suspended pending completion of an investigation regarding a comment he made about a T-shirt Kelsey Williams recently wore to HHS. Five students reported to the principal that Glenn said a Hooter’s T-Shirt Williams wore should’ve said mosquito bites.

According to his appeal, Glenn was informed a week later via letter he’d been fired. Immediately, he appealed his termination to the Commission.

Following a hearing on April 11, the Commission on May 20 by a 2-0 vote affirmed Anthony’s decision to fire Glenn. Commissioners Bob R. Powers and Matt Musgrave found just cause for Glenn’s termination while Commissioner David K. “Cheyenne” Simpson was not present for the hearing.

In his appeal, Glenn challenges the Commission’s just-cause finding. The evidence supporting it, he says, is not only unreliable, but also false.

Aside from denying he ever made it, Glenn maintains the allegation leveled against him stems from only one student, Cade McCoy, who testified Glenn pulled him aside and made the comment about Williams’ T-shirt. The four other students merely repeated what McCoy repeated to Williams what Glenn allegedly said.

According to Glenn, the allegations were concocted by Williams as a way to have him removed as HHS’ school resource officer. During the hearing, he offered as evidence testimony from Morgan Dunham who said she heard Williams talking with another student about ways to get him fired as they were upset with him “strictly enforcing the rules and handing out detention.”

Assuming he made the comment, Glenn says Anthony’s decision to fire him is extreme since this was first time he’d been accused of unprofessional behavior. In his appeal, Glenn cited testimony Anthony made during the Commission’s hearing his failure to recall any previous disciplinary action taken against Glenn, and departmental policy stating that termination is only a last resort form of punishment.

“The information before [Anthony] a [sic] the time of termination and record of the Hearing cannot be substantial proof of misconduct warranting termination of a four and one-half year employee with no disciplinary history,” Glenn said in is appeal.

“[Anthony] chose to terminate [Glenn] based on an alleged statement that [he] denied making. [Anthony] chose to accept the word of a minor over that of a seasoned civil service employee when no supporting evidence exists.”

Furthermore, Glenn maintains the Commission erred in upholding his firing in overlooking the fact Anthony did not provide him a pre-disciplinary hearing as set forth in state law, and affirmed in the state Supreme Court’s 2009 decision in Burgess v. Moore. According to Glenn’s appeal, Anthony testified during the hearing he formed a three-member pre-disciplinary panel, but had yet to get it approved, and never informed Glenn of his right to request a pre-disciplinary hearing.

“The Civil Service Commission seems to hold that [Glenn] was at fault for not requesting a pre-disciplinary hearing which is contrary to the law which imposes the burden on [Anthony],” Glenn said in his appeal. “The evidence is clear that no notice of a pre-disciplinary hearing, including the time and place, was provided by [Anthony] to [Glenn].”

In his appeal, Glenn asks for an order vacating the Commission’s decision, and reinstatement as deputy sheriff. He seeks full back pay, attorney fees and court costs.

Glenn is represented by Gallipolis, Ohio, attorney Michael N. Eachus. The case is assigned to Judge Thomas C. Evans III.

Mason Circuit Court case number 11-AA-95

POINT PLEASANT – The state Supreme Court’s recent decision in the appeal of a former Jefferson County deputy sheriff’s termination has implications for a pending case in Mason County where a former deputy sheriff there alleges he, too, was not provided a pre-disciplinary hearing prior to his termination.

A month before the Court rendered its decision reversing Jefferson Circuit Judge David Sander’s ruling upholding the county’s Deputy Sheriff’s Civil Service Commission’s decision affirming Sheriff Robert Shirley’s termination of Sgt Michael T. Dodson, former Mason County Deputy Sheriff Robert Glenn appealed his termination to Mason Circuit Court.

In March, Mason County Sheriff David Anthony fired Glenn, who was assigned to Hannan High School as a school resource officer, after he was accused of making an inappropriate comment about a female student’s T-shirt.

In his appeal to circuit court, Glenn is asking Judge Thomas C. Evans III to overturn Mason’s civil service commission’s decision finding in Anthony’s favor on the grounds Anthony did not give him a pre-disciplinary hearing. Glenn cited testimony Anthony gave at the Commission’s hearing admitting he did not give him a pre-disciplinary hearing because he hadn’t gotten approval yet for the three-member panel.

Glenn’s attorney, Michael Eachus, cited the Court’s 2009 decision in Burgess v. Moore where it reversed Raleigh Circuit Judge John Hutchison’s 2008 ruling upholding Sheriff Daniel W. Moore’s demotion of Randy Burgess from corporal to deputy. In its opinion in Dodson’s case, the Court referred to the Burgess decision.

The West Virginia Record attempted to get a comment from both Eachus and R. Michael Shaw, Anthony’s attorney, for a comment on what impact the Dodson decision may have in Glenn’s case. Eachus declined comment, and Shaw was not immediately available.

A hearing is scheduled before Evans on Monday, Dec. 12.

Mason Circuit Court case number 11-AA-95

Sept. 19
Angela and Bryan Dehart vs. the West Virginia State Farm Museum and the Mason County Commission
PA – Shannon Bland; J – Nibert
* The plaintiffs, residents of Pikeville, Ky., are suing the defendants for injuries Angela sustained on Sept. 19, 2009, when she fell into a hole at the Museum during a hayride sponsored by the Commission during that year’s Mothman festival. Bryan makes a claim for loss of consortium. They seek unspecified damages, court costs and interest.
Case number: 11-C-101

POINT PLEASANT – A Kentucky woman’s fall at an event showcasing one of the state’s most famous extraterrestrial creatures has resulted in a lawsuit against its co-hosts.

The West Virginia State Farm Museum and the Mason County Commission are named as co-defendants in personal injury lawsuit filed by Angela Dehart.

In her complaint filed Sept. 19 in Mason Circuit Court, Dehart, 51, of Pikeville, alleges both were partially responsible for her fall into a hole on the Museum’s grounds during her visit to Point Pleasant for the Mothman Festival.

According to her suit, Dehart attended the festival on Sept. 19, 2009. Known as MothFest, it is a three-day event held in mid-September highlighting the fabled Mothman, a winged, man-like creature with red glowing eyes believed spotted by several Point Pleasant residents in November 1966.

MothFest was started in 2002 as a way to capitalize on the interest in the Mothman legend following release of the movie “The Mothman Prophecies,” starring Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Debra Messing and Will Patton, earlier that year. The movie was based on John Keel’s 1975 book by the same name that theorized the appearance of the Mothman was a foretelling of disasters to come including the collapse of the Silver Bridge in Point Pleasant on Dec. 15, 1967, that claimed the lives of 46 people.

The event includes a hayride to where the Mothman was believed sighted, an abandoned TNT munitions dump operated by the U.S. Army during World War II in the Camp Conley area north of Point Pleasant off W. Va. 62. It was in the course of the hayride, operated by the Commission, that Dehart alleges she was injured.

According to her suit, the ride stopped at the Museum which is up the road from the TNT dump. During the stop, Dehart visited a barn that featured “live stock and other events.”

After staying at the barn for an unspecified amount of time, Dehart says she returned to the wagon. Before she could reach it, Dehart alleges she fell into an unmarked hole beside the walkway, knocked unconscious and severely injured.

The extent of her injuries are not specified in her suit.

Nevertheless, as a result of them, Dehart says “her enjoyment of life has been and will continue to be greatly impaired” and “has incurred and will continue to incur mental anguish.” Her husband, Bryan, 52, is a co-plaintiff in the suit, and makes a claim for loss of consortium.

The Deharts seek unspecified damages, court costs and interest. They are represented by Charleston attorney Shannon M. Bland.

The case is assigned to Judge David W. Nibert.

Mason Circuit Court case number 11-C-101

Sept. 19
Ashley R. and Scott L. Edmonds vs. Pleasant Valley Apartments Ltd., Colonial American Development Corp. and George J. Kontogiannis
PA – James Casey; J – Nibert
* The plaintiffs, residents of Point Pleasant, are suing the defendants, a Columbus, Ohio, resident and two of his businesses, for injuries Ashley received on Sept. 22, 2009, including a broken foot, and ankle after falling on an uneven piece of pavement near her apartment. Scott makes a claim for loss of consortium. They seek unspecified damages and attorney fees.
Case number: 11-C-106

POINT PLEASANT – A Mason County woman is whistling a foul on the county board of education and a Roane County radio station for creating conditions that led to her becoming injured at a basketball game earlier this year.

The Mason County Board of Education and Star Communications are named as co-defendants in a personal injury lawsuit filed by Karen Jackson in Mason Circuit Court. In her complaint filed Oct. 24, Jackson,55, of Point Pleasant, alleges she tripped and fell over a cable line Star Communications was using as part of its broadcast in February of a girls basketball game in Point Pleasant.

Star Communications operates WVRC 104.7 FM in Spencer. Along with its Country music format, WVRC broadcasts area high school sporting events.

According to her suit, Jackson was working as an adult volunteer for the upcoming Black Knight Revue, an annual theatrical performance that includes accompaniment by the Black Knight Band, at Point Pleasant Junior/Senior High School on Feb. 22. That same evening, WVRC was broadcasting the game between the Richie County Lady Rebels and the Point Pleasant Lady Black Knights.

To aid in its broadcast, WVRC had a cable extended from the gymnasium, across the commons area of the school in front of the auditorium and into a phone jack in the main office. At a time not specified, Jackson alleges she tripped over the cable resulting in “severe and permanent injuries her muscular and skeletal systems, including, but not limited to, a comminuted fracture of the right humerous.”

In her suit, Jackson says both the Board, and WVRC were responsible for her injuries as they did not take the necessary precautions to either have a phone jack in the gymnasium or properly secure the cable from the gym into the main office to prevent a tripping hazard. As a result of the injuries she sustained from her fall, Jackson says she’s incurred “medical expenses, physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of wages and earnings capacity, loss of ability to perform household services and loss of capacity to enjoy life.”

Jackson’s husband, Kerr David, is listed as a co-plaintiff in the suit.

The Jacksons seek unspecified damages, interest, court costs and attorney fees. They are represented by C. Dallas Kayser with the Point Pleasant law firm of Kayser Layne and Clark.

The case is assigned to Judge David W. Nibert.

Mason Circuit Court case number 11-C-118

Oct. 24
Karen and Kerr David Jackson vs. the Mason County Board of Education and Star Communications, Inc. d/b/a WVRC 104.7 FM
PA – C. Dallas Kayser; J – Nibert
* The plaintiffs, residents of Point Pleasant, are suing the defendants for injuries Karen received on Feb. 22 after tripping an a cable WVRC had extended from the gymnasium at Point Pleasant Junior/Senior High School into the main office to use in conjunction with broadcasting a girls basketball game. They seek unspecified damages, interest, court costs and attorney fees.
Case number: 11-C-118

POINT PLEASANT – The former human resources and marketing directors for a Mason County hospital allege they were terminated from their positions by the hospital’s board of trustees on account of their sexuality.

Pleasant Valley Hospital is named in a wrongful termination suit by Terri Greenwald-Hill and Amy Leach in Mason Circuit Court. In their complaint filed Nov. 28, Greenwald-Hill, 43, of Mineral Wells, and Leach, 43, of Point Pleasant, allege PVH violated the state Human Rights Act when the board fired them earlier this year because of their sexual orientation.

According to their suit, Greenwald-Hill and Leach allege they were fired by the board as the hospital’s human resources and marketing directors, respectively, for unspecified reasons. However, they maintain the “true reason” for the Board’s decision was “because they are lesbian, because [the board] perceived them to be lesbians and/or they do not conform to traditional sex or gender stereotypes acceptable to [the] Board members.”

The suit does not specify when the board fired them. However, they maintain it was done under the direction of William Barker, the vice-president for business development, and Thomas Schauer, PVH’s chief executive and financial officer, who were “involved in, conspired, aided and abetted and participated in the decision.”

After becoming PVH’s CFO in 1997, Schauer was appointed interim CEO in February following the abrupt departure of former CEO Hugh Collins. The board formally hired him as CEO in September.

The reason for Collins’ departure after only four months on the job remains unclear. In February, Leach, whose duties as marketing director included acting as spokeswoman, was quoted in The Point Pleasant Register that the hospital had “no comment other than [he] is no longer CEO.”

However, the suit makes a veiled reference to Collins’ departure. In it, Greenwald-Hill, and Leach say, despite a work history of little or no misconduct, they were fired while “[m]isconduct by PVH male employees and certain male Board Members did not result in termination of either employees or Board members.”

Along with Barker and Schauer, the PVH’s 19-member board -– Peter Allinder, Alex Scott Barnitz, Mike Bartram, Annette Boyles, Dorsel Keefer, William Knight, former state Sen. Charles Lanham, Mario Liberatore, Dr. Jack Buxton, Clayton Faber, Dr. Stephen Rerych, Dr. Randall Hawkins, C. Dallas Kayser, Michael Lieving, Dr. James Lockhart, James Rossi, R. Michael Shaw, William Tatterson and Lannes Williamson -– are named as co-defendants in the suit. Greenwald-Hill, and Leach allege the Board’s action caused them to incur “lost wages and benefits, out-of-pocket losses, emotional and mental distress, humiliation, anxiety, embarrassment, aggravation, annoyance and inconvenience.”

It remains unclear where Greenwald-Hill is working since her termination from PHV. However, Leach became the marketing and public relations director of Blanchard Valley Health Systems in Findlay, Ohio, in June.

Greenwald-Hill and Leach seek unspecified damages, including front and back pay, attorney fees, court costs and a court order reinstating them to her jobs. They are represented by Walt Auvil with the Parkersburg law firm of Rusen and Auvil.

The case is assigned to Judge David W. Nibert.

Mason Circuit Court case number 11-C-136

Nov. 28
Terri Greenwald-Hill and Amy Leach vs. Pleasant Valley Hospital, Inc. and Pleasant Valley Hospital Board of Directors, Peter Allinder, Alex Scott Barnitz, Mike Bartram, Annette Boyles, Dorsel Keefer, William Knight, former state Sen. Charles Lanham, Mario Liberatore, Dr. Jack Buxton, Clayton Faber, Dr. Stephen Rerych, Dr. Randall Hawkins, C. Dallas Kayser, Michael Lieving, Dr. James Lockhart, James Rossi, R. Michael Shaw, William Tatterson and Lannes Williamson, William Barker and Thomas Schauer
PA – Walt Auvil; J- Nibert
* The plaintiffs, residents of Mineral Wells, and Findlay, Ohio, are suing the defendants for wrongful termination, and violations of the state Human Rights Act after the board fired them on an unspecified day for being lesbians. They seek unspecified damages, including front and back pay, attorney fees, court costs and a court order reinstating them to her jobs.
Case number: 11-C-136

Nov. 18
Michael Ray Coughenour vs. Pleasant Valley Hospital, Inc. and John/Jane Does 1, 2 and 3
PA – Michael Eachus; J – Nibert
* The plaintiff, a Gallipolis, Ohio, resident, is suing the defendants for injuries he received on Nov. 19, 2010 following his admission to Pleasant Valley the day before for emergency treatment when an a nurse grabbed his arm where his IV was located, and closed the bathroom door on his foot after he confronted her about attempting to steal his prescribed pain medication. He seeks unspecified damages, interest, court costs and attorney fees.
Case number 11-C-133

POINT PLEASANT – Finding that he was not afforded the opportunity of a pre-disciplinary hearing as required by state law, a judge has reversed a civil service panel’s decision upholding the termination of a Mason County sheriff’s deputy.

Judge Thomas C. Evans III ruled that the county Deputy Sheriff’s Civil Service Commission erred in affirming Sheriff David Anthony II’s decision firing Robert H. Glenn earlier this year. In his Dec. 8 order, Evans said the state Supreme Court made clear in a 2009 decision that prior to taking any disciplinary action, especially termination, against a deputy, the sheriff is duty bound to provide him or her a hearing prior to the case going before the Commission.

“The Court finds Appellant [Glenn] was denied his statutory right to notice of a pre-disciplinary hearing under W. Va. Code §7-14C-3,” Evans said in his ruling.

“No opinion is here provided regarding the substantive merit of the disciplinary action taken by the Respondent Sheriff.”

According to court records, Anthony fired Glenn, a five-year Department veteran, on March 25 two weeks after he was accused of making an inappropriate comment about Hannan High School student’s T-shirt. On March 11, Glenn reportedly whispered to Cade McCoy the Hooter’s T-shit Kelsey Williams was wearing that day should’ve said “mosquito bites.”

At the time, Glenn was working as a school resource officer at HHS. A week after he made the alleged comment, which was relayed to Anthony by the principal, Glenn was placed on administrative leave.

Following a hearing on April 11, the Commission on May 20 by a 2-0 vote affirmed Anthony’s decision to fire Glenn. Commissioners Bob R. Powers and Matt Musgrave found just cause for the termination while Commissioner David K. “Cheyenne” Simpson was not present for the hearing.

‘Completely adverse’

In his appeal to Mason Circuit Court, Glenn asked his termination be reversed on the grounds Anthony’s decision to terminate him was too harsh as that was first time he’d ever had disciplinary action brought against him. Also, Glenn argued Anthony’s decision was flawed as he neither provided him notice of or the actual pre-disciplinary hearing.

According to court records, Anthony during the April 11 hearing before the Commission, did not contest the fact he didn’t provide Glenn a pre-disciplinary hearing. The reason was that he had yet to get one approved.

In its May 20 ruling, the Commission made note of Anthony’s failure to get approval for a hearing board, but said it was irrelevant as “Glenn failed to request a pre-disciplinary hearing as required by law.”

However, Evans took issue with that logic. In citing the Supreme Court’s decision in Burgess v. Moore, where the Court ultimately reversed Raleigh County Sheriff Daniel W. Moore’s demotion of Cpl. Randy Burgess, Evans said the “statutory language at issue herein is plain and clearly requires that a deputy sheriff facing discipline receive notice of his/her entitlement to a predisciplinary hearing, and that such a hearing be provided unless one of the specified disciplinary actions has already been taken against the deputy sheriff facing discipline.”

Also, Evans found the Commission erred in its interpretation of state law regarding notice of a pre-disciplinary hearing. Citing again the Burgess decision, Evans said the duty to provide notice is clearly with the sheriff.

“Appellee [Anthony] also contends that Appellant had the duty to request a pre-disciplinary hearing,” Evans said. “This is completely adverse to the statutory language of W. Va. Code § 7-14C-3.”

“The Court held that notice from the Sheriff’s Department was required; the Court did not hold that the affected deputy had to request the hearing.”

Similar case

Glenn’s case was aided by the Court’s decision in a similar case from Jefferson County. In a Sept. 23 memorandum opinion, the Court unanimously reversed Judge David Sanders’ ruling upholding Sheriff Robert Shirley’s 2009 decision to terminate Sgt. Michael T. Dodson.

Memorandum opinions are issued by the Court in cases that would not be significantly aided by oral arguments, and present no new or significant questions of law.

Following an investigation he had a romantic relationship with Cpl. Tracey Edwards, a Sheriff’s detective, and testified falsely about it, newly elected Sheriff Robert Shirley fired Dodson on Jan. 6, 2009. Though outgoing Sheriff Everett Boober did provide Dodson a pre-disciplinary hearing on Nov. 5, 2008, it was postponed because one of the members of the panel participated in the investigation.

A replacement was never named, and a hearing was never rescheduled.

The Court citing Burgess said state law is clear “that a civil service police officer be afforded a predisciplinary hearing prior to his/her discharge from employment.” In his ruling reversing the Commission’s decision, Evans made no reference to the Dodson decision.

Ethical dilemma

Along with reversing their decision, Evans remanded Glenn’s case back to the Commission. What happens next remains unclear, however, given Anthony’s own ethical dilemma.

On Nov. 11, Anthony, 42, was arrested, and charged on one count of wanton endangerment. According to the criminal complaint, Anthony, while intoxicated, was accused of firing a small caliber handgun over the head of his 13-year-old son the week before.

Records show he waived his preliminary hearing on Nov. 15 sending his case to the grand jury. Currently, he is free on $20,000 bond, and a patient at an undisclosed rehabilitation facility until February.

Since Anthony’s arrest, Chief Deputy Jeff Fields has been acting as sheriff. When contacted, he referred calls to Point Pleasant attorney R. Michael Shaw, who represented the Anthony in Glenn’s appeal.

When he was contacted, Shaw declined to comment except to say, “The case has been resolved.”

Shaw is also representing Anthony on the wanton endangerment charge.

Following Anthony’s arrest, the Mason County Commission has been conferring with Damon Morgan, the county prosecutor, on their options regarding Anthony, including a possible petition for removal from office prior to the conclusion of his term next December. He was first elected sheriff in 2008.

Mason Circuit Court case numbers 11-AA-95(Glenn appeal) and 11-B-87 (Anthony criminal)