This spot along the Staff Sergeant Jimmy G. Stewart Highway near Mason is where Point Pleasant attorney and West Virginia Association for Justice lobbyist James M. Casey was involved in an automobile accident with Herbert O. Hoover in 2005. (Photo by Lawrence Smith)
POINT PLEASANT – The defendants in a personal injury suit filed by a Point Pleasant attorney and lobbyist for the state trial lawyer’s association say it is he — and not they — responsible for any misfortune he may have suffered.
In January, the estate of Herbert O. Hoover and Claytongage Inc. filed their respective replies in a lawsuit filed against them by James M. Casey. In his initial complaint and suit, Casey alleged that both contributed to “permanent injuries and damages” he received as a result of a motor vehicle accident in 2005.
Casey, a partner in the Casey Law Offices in Point Pleasant, and lobbyist for the West Virginia Association for Justice, first filed suit against Hoover and Claytongage, parent company of Smoke Time Sams, a discount tobacco retailer doing business in Mason County as the Mason Smoke Shak, on August 27. In his suit, Casey claims that as result of a collision he had with Hoover, as he was exiting the Smoke Shak’s parking lot, caused him to suffer “physical pain, discomfort, mental anguish and nervous and emotional damage and disorder and the ability to enjoy the normal pursuits of life.”
According to court records, Casey was traveling in the southbound lane of the Staff Sergeant Jimmy G. Stewart Highway driving a 2002 Lincoln LS on Aug. 28, 2005 when shortly after noon he collided with a Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck driven by Hoover. The collision occurred when Hoover attempted to exit the Smoke Shak’s parking lot and make a left turn into the Highway’s northbound lane.
Along with blaming Hoover for failing to maintain control of his vehicle, Casey accuses the Smoke Shak of placing he and other motorists “in imminent peril” by “failing to have an unobstructed view of the highway from the parking congestion, plans, design or maintenance, and further in failing to warn of the hazards thereof.”
For reasons not immediately clear, neither party filed their reply promptly after receiving notice of Casey’s suit. This prompted Casey to reserve his suit on Dec. 12.
According to court records, Hoover’s estate was first to reply to the second notice on Jan. 24.
Through its attorney, Ann L. Haight with the Charleston law firm of Kay, Casto and Chaney, Hoover’s estate says Casey has “failed to mitigate his damages regarding his alleged injuries in this matter” as to pertains to the collision. The other contributing factors, such as the Smoke Shak’s location, to Casey’s injuries were out of Hoover’s control.
“The action described in the complaint was the result of a cause or causes over which Defendant has no control,” Haight said.
Nevertheless, Haight filed a cross claim against the Smoke Shak incorporating Casey’s allegations.
On Jan. 28, Claytongage, with the assistance of Jeffrey M. Wakefield and Elizabeth L. Taylor from the Charleston law firm of Flaherty, Sensabaugh and Bonasso, filed its reply. Since his alleged injuries resulted from his collision with Hoover, which occurred off premises, Casey has no grounds to sue the Smoke Shak.
“Claytongage specifically denies that it owed or breached any duty to the plaintiff inasmuch as the accident nor the plaintiff were on premises owned by Claytongage,” Wakefield said.
Since filing Claytongage’s reply, Wakefield submitted a first set of interrogatories and request for production of documents on Feb. 22 to Casey. No other action in the case has been taken since then, court records show.
Mason Circuit Court Case No. 07-C-131