Latest / Ask the Lawyer / 11/09/2023 Ask the Lawyer with Harvey Peyton

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11/09/2023 Ask the Lawyer with Harvey Peyton · Ask the Lawyer

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power of pasion on your side. The power of Baby replaced. Good morning
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to you. You're listening to the power of Peyton. It's Thursday morning in
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Charleston, West Virginia. Joining me in studio this morning is Harvey Peyton from
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the Peyton Maw from God. Morning, Harvey. How are you doing this
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morning, Well, mister Cooper, I'm quite well. Actually, it was
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a beautiful morning to drive from a beautiful days valley in the heart of ever
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progressive Putnam County up to the city of Charleston, which actually had some good
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news. You know, we've had so much good news and growth in Putnam
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County it's easy to sort of rub you Charleston's nose in it a bit.
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Well, they announced they got a grant last week, and we announced a
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steel plant. But you know, yesterday apparently the old Seers building at the
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corner of what Clinton and the Boulevard is coming down or CASKI I guess it's
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the most recent occupy building and a sixty million dollars rebuild with some company as
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yet unnamed, and we'll be occupying that space. Good news for the city
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of Charleston. Yeah. Yeah, we'll see to help reinvigorate that part of
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town which is out pretty much just vacant. Yeah, it's it's kind of
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I walk around downtown a lot, and when you get down there towards the
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town center, all the places I remember when I was a kid being hustling
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in, even the Sears place, you know, I mean you go drop
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off your car for some service. Oh yeah, do some shopping in there,
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you know, I mean not there anymore, that's for sure. It's
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Barrick's still in business, I don't think so. They used to be right
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across and that's right. Yeah, I don't think so. Anyway, I
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said, somebody will tell us for sure. We'll find out soon who the
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occupant of the building is going to be. And then we've got flights going
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to Myrtle Beach starting in May Mondays and Fridays out of what is it International
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Multinational Space Station oz Yager Airport or whatever we choose to call it. This
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the International Space Hub. It could well be, but I mean it,
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it pales in comparison to what's happening in Putnam County. But it's good.
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It's good news. So listen. Mountaineer basketball kicked off Monday. My wife
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and I and her sister Stephanie, and Nikki, the her co worker up
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at the Energy Corporation of America up on the We left Charleston probably about two
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thirty and got to Morgantown about five point fifteen. Had a delightful dinner.
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Everybody there saw Scott Roadtrock at the same restaurant. He was on his way
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to see Hoppies performance with Mike Tamask and a debate which superseded the importance of
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basketball, and morgana hop he's got to start getting a well, his fat
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head Wall Medallion, instid coovery his fame, and we were home and saw
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an ice game the Mountaineers, you know, within their limits. They've got
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eight players that dressed. But they played a pretty good Missouri State team.
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I mean Missouri State was loaded with transfers. As one kid from Arkansas really
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lit it up. He put about twenty on the board, a really good
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shooter, and you know, it's a little slow start, but they hadn't
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played a real game together, and we were home by midnight, so it's
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really not a bad evening and can't go tomorrow. So I thought we might
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start the game off of the show off today. Who've got a little bit
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of a giveaway. Four tickets and these are good seats. Two on the
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main floor, right behind the basket at the visitors end. Two just at
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one section hip, Section one, sixteen, Row three, seats one and
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two. I mean they're good seats, all seats. Wow. Yeah.
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And two passes to the Statler Lounge. And a parking pass in the white
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lot at the coliseum, which means you just drive right in and you can
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drive there ten minutes before game time, park and walk. You might walk
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one hundred yards in the door and you're on the way out, so that
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you know, that's a pretty good little bundle. And yeah, I think
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if you went online and bought that from one of the ticket agencies or from
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somebody that's on the secondary markets and probably eight three or four hundred bucks.
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But they're going to be given away to some listener if they can tell me
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or whoever they tell them to call in. We had some big Supreme Court
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case this week on the issue of gun rights, and I was thinking,
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well, who who is the oldest person age is a big factor now in
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politics in America. It's the Court is supposedly a political but you know,
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you've got Jude Biden who's eighty and Donald Trump who's seventy seven, both of
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whom are about to turn seventy eight and eighty one. Who's the oldest justice
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on the Supreme Court? And then who's the longest serving justice on the Supreme
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Court? And it would be interesting to know what presidents or president made their
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appointment. So it's a three prong oldest, longest serving, and appointing president.
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If you can call in and give us the answer to that, then
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and the option is you need to pick the tickets up here at the station
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eleven eleven Virginia Street to East Charleston, West Virginia, or if you'd prefer,
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I'll take them back to Nitro and they'll be on the front desk there.
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But it's a really nice evening. It's a lot of all taxing.
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There's a little roadwork, road construction work, and Fairmont perpetually, but it's
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it's really no worse than driving to Huntington where the perpetual road project in Barbersville
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is in place. So give us a call. You won't be disappointed.
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To be a great family thing, you know. Now, four tickets to
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see the game. It's tomorrow night, right tomorrow night. And now was
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it a seven o'clock tip off? Seven o'clock tip so you could leave as
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late as gosh, three thirty. Yeah, if you want to take a
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bite to eat with you in the car and just drive straight into the coliseum
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parking lot. And assuming the game's over and you don't want to stick around
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for the singing country roads, you can hop put it out and be home
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probably before midnight, not at all time. And the weather's supposed to be
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really good, just like it is now. It was beautiful weather for a
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drive on Monday. I can tell you that the leaves are past peak,
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but it's still nice for a drive. Threes are four three four five fifty
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eight fifty eight. By the ways, our number threes are a four three
6:50
four five fifty eight fifty eight. I think we should keep this one to
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the phone lines and not take text answers on this just so we can keep
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it fair. So give us a call, preacher of four three four five
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fifty fifty eight. You can answer Harvey's question, that is, who is
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the oldest Supreme Court justice, the longest serving, and who appointing? Who
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appointed? Yes? And who appointed was the appointing president? And who was
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the appointed president? And Saturday night out near sports again. One year behind
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me in high school was a fellow named sugar Bowl Lewis. Baron Lewis a
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nice fella and graduated high school, went to work for Americal Electric Power,
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worked out at AMOS for years. Unfortunately, Baron, I believe it was
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prostate cancer early age on set, which is just devastating, passed away his
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son, Anthony, who is my son Tom's age. They played little league
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football in Saint Aubans together, and Anthony used to be a producer with Channel
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three and he's on this station at times. Hotline. Yeah. He has
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a little foundation called the Sugar Bowl Foundation. They raised some money for disadvantaged
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children around Christmas. His fundraiser is at BW three and Cross Lanes almost in
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Putnam County, close enough to pass the glow Saturday night, starting at six,
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game time at seven. He's got a guest of honor, Owen Smith,
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the Runaway Beer Truck, will be there to sign the autographs and to
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shake hands and another good dude. Yeah, he is a good dude.
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I'll be there. We sort of help him out from time to time.
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And so we got a table and I actually have a spiracy at the table,
8:26
so somebody can come and sit. I think maybe Amber who works with
8:30
us, and Dave, her husband, they're going to come. So it's
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coming in here to be a good time. You don't have to stay for
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the whole game. Usually if I go out to watch him out in their
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game anywhere, it's like halftime. You know, yawning starts. I'm seventy
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four years old. You start to yawn. You know what's annoy you know
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what it makes. It's a football game. Those things are four hours anyway,
8:46
you know, to make sleep noises at the table, that's it's bad
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form. So that's what's going on there in the news today. We have
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something on the phone, we have any on the line. I think Eddie,
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I have a answer to the question. Have you googled Heddy? Good
9:03
morning? He was in pretty quick, so I'm not say sure. He
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had Tomson, Good morning, Getty. How you doing? Good morning,
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guys? Are you quite well? Well? As far as I can remember,
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I think Karis Thomas is the oldest he is, and Karis Thomas is
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been the longest serving he has and he was putting on thereby Herbert Walker Bush.
9:26
That's right, HW. George H. W. Bush in nineteen ninety
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one. He was actually nominated the previous year and his after the hearings and
9:35
confirmation, he ascended the the bench in nineteen ninety one. He's seventy five
9:41
years old. He was young time he was appointed. He's born in nineteen
9:43
forty eight, so he's only a year older than me. And when Kennedy
9:46
retired, Justice Kennedy retired, that made Thomas the the longest serving. So
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yeah, he didn't Birol whatn't Bil Steven Bryer. He was old and so
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yeah, it's Clarence Thomas. And that's the reason I sort of selected that
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is, you know, he wrote the latest opinion on gun control, which
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established this sort of historical precedent. The question is, do you want to
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pick up the tickets at the station here or in Nitro? Would be easier
10:22
for me to take them up at the station? Okay, Well I promise
10:24
you'll only use them now. I've got tickets for one of them from in
10:28
town. That feels s lucky. All right, Well you know where they
10:31
are? Then two on the main floor, right right behind the basket,
10:35
right in front of the dancing girls, and to just one section back.
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All right, we'll leave them at the front desk. Then I guess the
10:41
producer will get your information off the ear. Now go ahead, I'm sorry,
10:43
all right? Okay, did you have more Eddie? Did you don't
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want to talk to hard about anything? Was that it? No? That
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was all right, Ryan. Let's go ahead and put Eddie back on holding.
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You can get his last names a week and get the tickets ready for
10:58
him. Eddie will have these waiting for you up front. You can come
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and pick them up anytime. Today. We close it five all right,
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appreciate it any Thank you very much. We got the you know, last
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year in a case out of this New York over the ability people to take
11:13
a gun from their home and transport it without a permit in the state of
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New or the city of New York. That law was overturned by the United
11:26
States Supreme Court as being contrast to the fundamental right to keeping bear arms that
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the Court has found as an individual right based on the Heller decision in the
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Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. It's a part of the Bill of
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Rights. But Justice Thomas in order to route the opinion and came up with
11:48
a different standard for how the Court should review limitations on the purchasing, possession,
11:58
or ownership of firearms, saying that there should be some historical context,
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some connection with the cultural norms or society or laws that existed at are about
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the time seventeen eighty seven that the Constitution of the Bill of Rights was enacted,
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or I suppose that would carry on even up to eighteen sixty five and
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sixty six, when you know, the Constitution was significantly rewritten by the thirteenth,
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fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments, sort of through the trial courts where these
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things originate into a cocktat. Well, what are we looking for? We
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have testimony from historical experts to tell us when this happened. Well, what
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happened in Texas is a gentleman was under a domestic violence protective order. Now
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under the Violence Against Women's Act, a federal law that's been in effect for
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decades. It is a felony for a person who is subject to a state
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court domestic violence protective order to own or possess a firearm, the rationale being
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that the chance of killing, murder, serious injury arising from a domestic dispute
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is heightened. Research shows significantly if a firearm is involved. People who are
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told they have to leave their home as a part of a domestic violence dispute,
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who have limitations on their ability to visit their children, or who may
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be ordered to pay some sort of temporary support that they feel is unfair by
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a state court domestic violence remedy, may become enraged, and with easy access
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to a gun, they solved the problem, quite often killing their domestic partner
14:01
and themselves. Those are just circumstances in which murder suicide is ripe and also
14:11
killing is in the workplace people. We had one here in Kanas City where
14:13
a man walked in and remembered to an office and shot and killed is a
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strange wife was dissatisfaction with the protective order. So Congress found when they established
14:26
the Violence Against Women Acting implemented that law that because of the clear and present
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danger supported by some research empirical research, that at least while the domestic violence
14:41
protective Order was in place, that person, the person who was found to
14:46
be the violent domestic partner, should not have a gun. Well, that
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has been the law for thirty years until in Texas after the last year's Supreme
14:58
Court decisi. A man who clearly clearly in bad cases make bad law.
15:05
But this gentleman from Texas clearly didn't have business having a firearm. I mean,
15:09
he had threatened people. He had shot at the police, He shot
15:13
at his domestic partner in a parking lot, he pulled a gun on people,
15:18
he shot shot up the waiting line of a fast food joint because one
15:24
of his friends wasn't getting And so he's convicted in the district court down there
15:28
in Texas of being a prohibited person and possession of a firearm. He's actually
15:33
served a sentence. He's out. But that case then went to the He
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pleaded guilty with a conditional plea, which gave him the right to appeal the
15:41
constitutionality of the statue. That went to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals,
15:46
and the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit said, well, we're applying
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that the standard that Justice Thomas put into effect in his decision of last year.
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We don't find any specific historical context for the deprivation of firearms in the
16:07
context of domestic violence. I guess on the assumption of wife beating was fairly
16:12
common in the seventeen nineties. I have no idea what the mindset was,
16:18
but that was the ruling, and therefore that this provision by Congress is unconstitutional
16:25
void. That is was argued. Of course, it was appealed by the
16:29
United States, and the Solicitor General argued the case that was argued in front
16:34
of the United States Supreme Court Tuesday. The consensus, seeming to be from
16:40
the embedded reporters from the New York Times or NPR or Wall Street Journal who
16:45
they have people there for all the arguments was that while Justice Thomas didn't say
16:51
much. I mean, but that's not uncommon for me so much. Anyway,
16:55
that Roberts was pretty much well, you know, you question the definition
17:00
of quote danger or responsible conduct, but you know you've got a person here
17:06
that shot up a parking lot. It's a tough case, tough case for
17:10
the court. Not surprisingly, the proponents of unrestricted gun ownership who filed Friends
17:19
of the Court briefs didn't really talk about the unrestricted right to own a gun.
17:26
They talked about, well, maybe this man didn't have sufficient due process
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in order to deprive him of his right. I mean, if he carried
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to its laune of extreme, could a person take a gun in prison with
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him? I mean, they've eve been convicted of a felony, You've got
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a right to carry a gun. Their point being, maybe there's not sufficient
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due process protection in the state court proceedings that give rise to protective orders to
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start with, Well, on paper there is, now whether in fact there
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is. Maybe that's what the court will address. Maybe it's I mean,
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I have thought for a long time that the absolute prohibition against any person convicted
18:07
of any felony I owner possess a firearm as onerous and there is no procedure
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none under the federal law, where a person who may reform themselves, or
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may have committed a crime of passion or under the temporary influence of insanity or
18:30
just infantile, juvenile foolishness, committed a felony should not be able decades later
18:40
to try and rehabilitate themselves in the eyes of the law. If they want
18:42
to take their grandson hunting, I mean, I just that's never been really
18:48
addressed, but that maybe this court will get to it. It'd be interesting
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to see that case was decided, was arguing Tuesday. One would think that
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before Christmas we'll hear what they're going to have to say. I would you
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know, it just seems to me they're going to have some narrow reason to
19:06
overturn this Fifth Circuit decision because this guy's just such a bad actor. It's
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like, well, we can't speak to every aspect of the law, but
19:15
clearly it applies here and the facts are such that they are, And I
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would think, I mean, they're not gonna I don't think that the sixth
19:25
member, what's called the conservative majority of the Supreme Court is going to overturn
19:33
and embarrass Justice Thomas by just the overall criticism of his reasoning they'd be better
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officer to Chris and Justice Thomas for his inadvertent faivor to disclose a two hundred
19:47
and sixty five thousand dollars gift of a motor home, which could happen.
19:51
But we'll see what happens. And you know, I think it's important for
19:55
folks to watch that and see. I mean, this is going to be
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a part of a constant debate. Eight and Supreme Court decisions make a difference.
20:02
I mean, there's going to come a point in the in the mealieu
20:06
of mass shootings and tragic occurrences and murdered children, where you're going to get
20:12
the same sort of blowback that came from the Hobbs decision about Roe v.
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Wade. People are just fat. I'm so we'll wait a minute. You
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know, they're just a point that this so defies our current cultural norm.
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We just can't put up with this anymore. The folks that work so long
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to overturn Row are now suffering unattended consequences. Well, well, they caught
20:30
the car. It's the dog that caught the car. And you see what
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happened in Ohio, which is far from the liberals or seven states now and
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it's not hasn't been closing any of them. No, and it won't be
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closing in any of It won't be. It won't be brought up in West
20:44
Virginia because the legislature, hear, is afraid of what will happen now.
20:47
They all want to referendum and recall when they thought it would lead to the
20:51
passage You're right to work, and you know, organized labor was terrified of
20:56
reference and recall and and got rid of public officials who espouse that because they
21:02
thought it was a threat to right to work. Well, now we've got
21:03
right to work regardless and no referendum and recall, So we won't be joining
21:10
the ranks of those who have ensconced reproductive rights as a constitutional right under state
21:15
constitutions, which the Supreme Court certainly can't medal with as a matter of federalism.
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That's what they say, it's up to the states. That's what they
21:25
wanted, what we want, it's what we got. And now in the
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legal format, first of all, I'm throwing a pitch for the Peyton Law
21:33
firm, the Shenanigan. Whatever is going on in the United States, Supreme
21:37
Court with regard to the appeals from the Fifth Circuit, that's not really the
21:42
ivory tier level that is practiced by the Peyton Law Firm. We at the
21:48
Peyton Law Firm serve our clientele one on one in kinda Putnam, Mason,
21:56
Lincoln, Jackson Counties, Cabell County, UH Southeast Ohio, Mags, Jackson,
22:03
Galley Counties because Thomas Practice licensed over there. We tried some cases in
22:07
Columbus and in all the circuit courts in this area, helping people who have
22:12
suffered a loss, maybe an injury in an automobile accident, having forbid the
22:19
death of a loved one from some active alleged negligence by a third party insurance
22:26
claims. Just managed to settle one this week I did where there's the insurance
22:32
against their own insurance company. The question being well is their coverage for this
22:37
loss? Who is actually the named insured? And we were able to prevail
22:41
and so our class is going to be paid by their carrier. Under those
22:45
circumstances, the carriers obligated to pay your attorney's fees. So those are the
22:49
sorts of things that we do with eighty percent of our time at the Payton
22:53
Law Firm at twenty eight oh one first Avenue in the Putnam County end of
22:57
Nitro. The other about twenty percent is transactional work that people need. I've
23:04
went to law school at WU when the job of the professors was to train
23:11
lawyers to practice and help people in West Virginia across the board, not just
23:15
corporate interests, not bankers, not insurance companies. Not only to go on
23:19
TV and say we're the biggest law firm in the universe, but also to
23:23
be able to help people with other things like little estate planning, or they
23:27
have a contract somebody need to have somebody read it and explain you know what
23:33
your rights are, what you need to do. My son Tom does a
23:36
good bit of employment law. That is, people who feel they've been discriminated
23:40
against or have had their rights violated in the place of employment, either through
23:45
wages and hours or through an adverse working condition. That's about the other twenty
23:52
percent. But our job is to help people, and our names on the
23:59
door, and Tom and I are in the office with the staff that's been
24:02
there and average of about twenty years per person. And you know if you
24:07
have if you're in the Canal or Putnham or Jackson Mason anywhere near within the
24:14
sound of my voice. All we can ask is you give us a thought.
24:17
If you suffer a loss, think about the Peyton Law Firm. Maybe
24:18
give us a call, or you can go online and send us a question
24:22
at Peyton Law Firm dot com. And if we're capasetic, and the important
24:26
thing is not that it's not a knee jerk thing hiring a lawyer. You've
24:30
got to get on these cases with some dispatch, that's true, But someone
24:36
that tells you that you've got to get me when you're in the emergency room,
24:41
that's not true. You need to gather your thoughts, get yourself in
24:45
a state of mind that you can understand what you're doing, talk to a
24:48
lawyer, find out what's going to cost you. Right, and don't be
24:55
swayed or misled by some fancy ads on TV feature. You know, private
25:00
airplanes and cadres of people, none of whom are admitted to practice in this
25:06
state anyway. Marching marching in Unison, down the street. So we're going
25:10
to take a break and we come back. Let's talk a little bit about
25:12
the Southern Regional Jail. We talked to yes the last couple of weeks.
25:15
Okay, that would be a good topic. That's Harvey Payton from the Patent
25:18
Law Firm once again. You can find the Payton Law Firm online. It's
25:22
Peytonmallfirm dot com. That's Pey Tou and Peyton Lawfirm dot com. Located at
25:26
twenty oh ow one First Avenue and Nitro, West Virginia. Their phone number
25:27
three zero four seven to five five fifty five fifty six seven five five fifty
25:32
five to fifty six. We'll take a break and be back after this with
25:33
Harvey Payton from the Payton Law Firm. I'm Del Cooper. You're listening to
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ask the lawyerre on five ADWCHS the Voice of Charleston. Are you suffering from
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Count on us puts the power of Paton on your side, the power of
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babing just so for ten more minutes of the power of Peyton right here on
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whs the voice of Charleston. You can ask the lawyer at three zerre four
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three four five fifty eight fifty eight. Three zer a four three four five
27:52
fifty eight fifty eight. We're going to continue our topic this morning. As
27:55
Harvey's talked to the last couple of weeks about the story of the jail,
27:59
this thing keeps getting well, it's a little weird. It's stranger and stranger.
28:02
You know, as I spoke last week, one of the good things
28:03
about the Peyton Law Firm you get people who understand I've been practicing almost fifty
28:08
years. I've tried hundreds over a couple of hundred cases in front of a
28:15
jury, from beginning to end, opening statement to verdict, you gain a
28:21
perspective on how litigation works. Together with Tom and I, we've probably settle
28:26
one hundred million dollars with the lawsuits in that fifty to thirty year. He's
28:30
been with twenty one years, so you know how things work. And this
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thing about the Southern Regional Jail to me, points out what's a little seam
28:40
in state government that needs to be addressed, and that is you know,
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the controversy arose two weeks ago because it was alleged in some depositions. Officials
28:53
with the Department of Corrections testified about some hard documents that they said could not
28:59
be found, and the judge, understandably, based upon the testimony and evidence
29:03
presented at a hearing, made of finding that those documents have been destroyed because
29:10
the people who should have known where they were didn't know where they were,
29:15
and the judge ordered a fault judgment recommended of a fault judgment against the state
29:21
officials, which could have found a significant amount of money that blew up.
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It turned out that the governor became involved even though there was an Assistant Attorney
29:33
General involved in the Department of Corrections, that person had not made any appearance
29:38
in the lawsuit. There were insurance company lawyers handling the lawsuit on behalf of
29:42
the State Board of Risk. Not someone from the Attorney General's office, not
29:48
the States constitutional lawyer, but insurance lawyers who have I can tell you a
29:56
different perspective. They're ethically obligated to represent the client, their client being that
30:06
state official or state agency. But they're paid through the Border Risk and insurance
30:11
management. They are assigned by adjusters or claims people from the Border Risk which
30:17
is American International Group Insurance. So there's a rub in there, I believe.
30:23
Now someone will say, oh, that's not true. Well there is,
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and I've seen it in action where you know the lawyer paid being paid
30:30
by the insurance company. Well, is their judgment shaded towards let's settle this
30:36
case. Let's resolve this case, because I don't want to go to court
30:37
and get my plow cleaned and end up with this adjuster not hiring me in
30:41
my law firm. Again, Now that just happens, and don't let anybody
30:44
tell you it doesn't. Well, they can tell you, because it's a
30:47
free country. But I have my own perspective on that. But all that's
30:52
required is so nobody that I can tell in the Attorney General's office. No
30:59
central division of the Attorney General's Office has oversight or even the ability to monitor
31:04
the progress of these cases brought against the Department of Highways, the Department of
31:10
Corrections, the Department of Health and Human Resources, because as the Assistant Attorney
31:15
General who was fired last week said, well, I sent the protection of
31:22
evidence letter to these department has but then the insurance lawyer got involved and I
31:26
was out of it. Well wait, think about that. So now this
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afternoon we're told, after all the hubbub about lost evidence, there is a
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quote settlement of that Southern Regional Jail lawsuit. It's going to be discussed in
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Beckley this afternoon and Federal Court in front of Judge Volk, I presume to
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Judge Volk and not Magistrate Judge Abelheuson. Well, this has the state now
31:49
made an appearance. Will Patrick Morris here one of his chief assistants or chief
31:56
deputies be there? Will there be some now making an appearance on behalf of
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the taxpayers not being paid by a third party insurance company with a more objective
32:08
outlook to participate in this settlement. And whose money are you settling this with?
32:15
You know, I think said, well, it's insurance money because it
32:16
comes from the Border risk Well it's not insurance money. The border risk and
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insurance managements funded out the general revenue fund of the state. AIG American Internouncer
32:29
Group has a policy with the state and they're paid a premium for claims administration.
32:34
They don't pay these claims. These claims aren't underwritten by a professional underwriting
32:38
risk management, risk assessment group. Nobody would insure them. And who would
32:44
insure political appointees running a jail. I mean, nobody was in their right
32:51
mind. But you're going to continue to get these bad results, I think,
32:53
unless I think it's legal negligence for the State of West Virginia not to
33:00
have a civil division in the Attorney General's office which makes an appearance and is
33:05
the law should require than an appearance being made by the Attorney General, even
33:08
if it's only a paper appearance, even if it's only your name on the
33:12
docket, so that that lawyer or that division gets a copy of everything that's
33:16
filed is a notice of every proceeding. You know, if you go across
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the river to Ohio, and in Ohio there is a subrogation on behalf of
33:29
workers compensation and injury cases. It's more a key than that which we have.
33:36
We're here in West Virginia. If you go to hearing, an assistant
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Attorney General for Ohio comes in person. We want to see what's happening in
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this case because we have an interest in recovering our subrogation, and we want
33:49
to make sure it's not being dealt away by the insurance lawyers who want to
33:53
settle the case get paid and close a file, or by the PLANETFF lawyers
33:58
who want to maximize the in their client's pocket. It's incomprehensible to me.
34:02
We just heard, well it's going to be settled. Well, who's going
34:05
to settle it? I hope. I mean, you guys have an affiliate
34:08
in Backley and maybe there'll be a reporter over there. It will be interesting
34:13
to see number one, what the legislature does they should. I mean,
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I know Eric Tarr, but I don't think I've ever spoken to him other
34:22
than to say hi. But he represents Potnham County and he's on the finance
34:25
if I seem and he'll talk to me, which might be questionable because he
34:31
doesn't talk to Democrats much. But say, look, you need to codify
34:37
the requirement that the attorney these lawsuits. You know, if you're going to
34:40
sue a state agency, the legislature said several years ago that a thirty day
34:47
notice of that suit has to be given to the agency and to the Attorney
34:53
General, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House,
34:57
thirty days before the suit's filed. And that's jurisdictional. Well what do they
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do with it? Well, once the insurance lawyers get involved, we don't
35:05
do anything. Well, how's that for protecting our interests? How do we
35:09
know that that too much of our money is not being paid out in settlements?
35:16
Right? How do we know that somewhere in the bowels of some courthouse
35:22
there's not a cozy arrangement between an insurance company lawyer and maybe a plainist lawyer
35:28
whose wife works for that firm and some other location to settle a case.
35:34
I mean, you don't, And how do you know that the best interests
35:37
of the agency are How can you look and report back to the governor and
35:39
said, look, you know, I'm reporting that. If that's the case,
35:44
who represents the insurance back to the governmental agency that should be protecting our
35:52
interests? That makes sense? Yeah, I think so, I mean to
35:54
me, it does, and I just I don't. I mean, I
35:59
think the whole thing that blew up about this evidence being destroyed or not destroyed
36:04
was just a fact that there was a crack and the seam. Nobody was
36:10
looking at that from the standpoint of well, wait a minute, are people
36:14
performing here? I mean, I assume we've got an insurance carriers, lawyersays
36:17
what. It's not my job to assess their performance. That's the governor's job.
36:21
Well okay, but who's telling the governor? Well, who's telling the
36:23
attorneys or nobody? Because once the brim gets involved, they wash their hands
36:28
on it, or the appearance is they was there. And maybe I'm wrong.
36:32
Maybe someone can call, Maybe Patrick Morris, you can call say,
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hey, I've got a division up here that follows every one of these cases.
36:38
It seems like there could be like a like a carve out there though,
36:42
where there's like a who knows what kind of structure is involved within that
36:45
carve out of how deals are made, cut processed. I mean, there's
36:49
a whole area of unknown there. It seems like as I mean, I
36:52
don't know anything about this, but just listening to your explanation, I'm kind
36:55
of curious on how all these things are handled. Well, an obvious example
37:01
to me, remember when Mike Warner first got elected Secretary of State. Well,
37:07
he goes up there and fires what fifteen people? Thirteen people, and
37:12
the state ends up paying a settlement three million dollars to them. When the
37:15
Warner says, well, I don't know why we paid it. I didn't
37:15
want him to pay it. Well, okay, so who negotiated that deal?
37:20
Wasn't the Attorney General's office is warn a risk and insurance management? Who?
37:23
And why? Well, we were afraid we'd lose more in court.
37:27
Well, how about if you have a consent to settle clause that we don't
37:30
consent to settle. We want the case tried and if it comes out more
37:34
than three million bucks, we'll pay the difference. How about that? I
37:38
mean, doctors do it all the time, right, We're about we're out
37:42
of time, Yeah, yeah, yeah, a few seconds last, So
37:44
Peyton Law Firm, Mike Tree West Virginia three oh four seven five five fifty
37:49
five fifty six or Peyton Lawfirm dot com. If you suffer a loss,
37:53
and if you think as you will come to believe, if you hire us,
37:58
we know what we're doing and we get really good results. Give us
38:01
a call, either me or Tom Payton. You're not going to get better
38:06
representation anywhere in any sort of an injury or loss claim, then you will
38:09
up the Peyton Law Firm and we you have our word and our name on
38:14
that period the Peyton Law from every Thursday on as Ask the Lawyer on five
38:19
a d w C H. She has voice to Charles so exept for Thanksgiving.
38:21
We won't have a show on plays Thanksgiving. I sha, I'll be
38:22
coming back from Fort Myers, Florida, going down to see the Mountaineers play
38:28
the basketball tournament. See when you have six or seven players left? Yes,
38:30
see who's left. But that's about the only time you're not going to
38:32
catch the Peyton Law of room. You can also catch the podcast WCHS Network
38:36
dot com. You can find the podcast over there. Thanks so much for
38:37
listening today. To an end next Thursday for Ask the Lawyer with Harvey Payton
38:40
or Tom Payton from the Peyton Law firm. Thank you. I'm Del Cooper.
38:44
You're listening to five a d w C chest, The Voice of Charleston