Latest / WCHS Network Podcasts / 04/25/2024 - Ask the Lawyer with Tom Peyton

Transcript

04/25/2024 - Ask the Lawyer with Tom Peyton · WCHS Network Podcasts

0:00
Unlock your dream property with meex Realty Group, where Rich the realtor makes real
0:04
estate dreams a reality, whether it's residential or commercial. We've got Charleston to
0:08
Huntington covered. Your key to exceptional real estate experience is start here Meeks Realty
0:12
Group. Contact us at Meeks dot us. The views and opinions expressed on
0:18
this program do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of five ADWCHS it's employees
0:23
or WVRC Media. Put the power of Peyton on the side. We have
0:31
the courtroom experience that you need. We never give up. We're prepared to
0:38
fight for your rights. When you need action, count on us. Put
0:46
the power of Pagson on your side, the power of bag. It's a
0:52
twenty two and five eighty WCCHS. The Voice of Charleston is Thursday Morning and
0:56
welcome to ask the lawyer. And that's what the Peyton All Firm in Nitro
1:00
three oh four three four five fifty eight fifty eight an illegal question, question
1:04
about the law. Tom Peyton is with us this morning three oh four three
1:10
four five fifty eight fifty eight. Three oh four three four five fifty eight
1:14
fifty eight be on the air with us. If you want to leave,
1:15
our producer just he'll he'll answer and take a question off the air and text
1:21
that to me. You can do that also, but give us a call.
1:23
Three oh four, three four five fifty fifty eight. Good morning,
1:26
Tom, Good morning. Yeah, if you want to call in, it's
1:29
great like to take questions, but call in early. I've had a couple
1:32
of people said it couldn't get through sometimes, probably because we're gabbing and run
1:36
out of time or something. But don't hesitate because you don't have to come
1:38
when the air live, right, you pull in what you're saying and the
1:41
producer will just take your question and text it and hear to you and then
1:44
we can we can respond with some information. So that's right. Yeah,
1:48
nice, Chris. Morning. Traffic was good so far, knock on wood.
1:52
Kind a lot going on really in the legal stuff. Yeah, yeah,
1:56
I mean we got the Trump stuff going on. It's just all over
2:00
the place on at least two but well maybe I don't know what's going in
2:06
the the civil case. He already lost where he posted the bond, Well,
2:12
I was you know, a bond is basically an insurance company or a
2:15
surety company. That says, hey, we we assure you that we'll pay
2:23
this x amount if the appeal loses or something like that, but they don't
2:30
necessarily, you know, post the actual full amount. It's a it's a
2:37
they're authorized as a company to do business like that normally, and then you
2:42
know they have the financial resources and backing to fund that loss if it happens.
2:49
And in this case, apparently the company that posted the appeal bond for
2:53
Trump, which is an appeal bond, it doesn't affect his ability to appeal
2:57
if he doesn't post the bond, but it allows the prosecutter in this case
3:00
to go ahead and start collecting assets and trying to collect on the judgment.
3:07
But it's in that case there's some question about whether the surety company that posts
3:14
it has the assets to fund the bond. And it's not a company that's
3:16
been authorized in the state of New York. And it's so that one's there's
3:21
been some challenge to that bond being posted. So we'll see how that one
3:24
falls out. I'd say that the company may end up I don't know.
3:30
They have to have so many assets and behind them, and they don't seem
3:34
to have them now they may get them. By the time they get a
3:36
little further down the line and get into court on that particular issue, then
3:40
you got the Trump criminal trial it's going on. Of course, they take
3:44
a break every Wednesday. I think that's something that judge does in all cases.
3:47
Maybe not, it doesn't have anything to do with the Trump case.
3:52
So they were essentially off from court yesterday and back in court today. And
3:54
Tuesday morning wasn't the trial. It was a hearing on whether there's been a
4:00
violation of this gag order. I didn't listen to the hearing. What I've
4:06
heard in reports. One of the things I think Trump did do was say
4:13
something about jurors in the public, which is really a big no no.
4:15
You know, they don't let even they let cameras in the courtroom around here.
4:18
I mean, the judges are very strict, as you know, about
4:20
not putting jurors on in the media or their identities in any way. And
4:28
I think what Trump posted something on some social media about going all the so
4:32
many percentage of the jurors or level of Democrats or something like that, which
4:35
would you know, is if you're reading that as a juror or you know,
4:42
it's kind of an implied threat, and it's pointing particular personal characteristics out
4:46
of the jurors that the public wouldn't know if they don't know the jurors identity.
4:50
So I don't know. We'll see what the judge does with that.
4:54
I think he's not going to lay the hammer down. I mean, I
4:57
think the judge's got to be careful because he doesn't want to do something that
4:59
helped Trump sees as helping him. You put him in a holding sell for
5:02
an afternoon. I don't think that's gonna it won't hurt Trump. He's going
5:06
to be there anyway, and it'll probably he'll he'll spend that to help his
5:11
overall cost. So we'll see how the judge handles that. It's going to
5:13
be I mean a person who didn't have that type of popularity or influence or
5:20
be in this situation. I mean, if you violated a guy, gooulder
5:24
like that with jurors, I mean you're going to get a probably a hefty
5:27
fine or maybe sent back to the to the holding cell for a while.
5:30
I mean, that's what would happen, I think in a regular court room.
5:31
And then we'll see if it's a criminal trial, that's going on.
5:35
So of course mister Trump doesn't have to testify, and if he does not,
5:40
it will not be held against him, and the jurors will be told
5:42
that over and over again. But I think he here his lawyers made some
5:46
statement that he may he wants to testify or something. So we'll see what
5:48
happens there on that one. Because if you recall when he testified in the
5:51
other case that resulted in the big civil judgment before a judge, there was
5:57
no jury there and Trump kind of went wild on this, and I think
6:00
the judge kind of tried to control him, but in the end figured,
6:03
well, I'm the one deciding this anyway, so I'll just let him kind
6:06
of wear himself out by saying whatever he wants, and which is rare.
6:11
I mean, that's that's something that you wouldn't most people wouldn't get that that
6:16
kind of treatment. But well, you know, he's not going to be
6:19
allowed to do that if it's a jury trial, because everything is very controlled
6:24
in relation to what the jury can hear. I mean, they only hear
6:26
admissible evidence. You don't get to throw everything in the world against the wall
6:29
and see what sticks. And so if that that'll be interesting if that if
6:33
that plays out, and then of course we've got his appeal today about whether
6:36
his argument is basically you get absolute immunity as as president or former president of
6:42
the United States. So that's being argued today in the U. S.
6:45
Supreme Court, So that'll be an interesting one. Nel Trump has complained that
6:48
he he wanted to go there, and the judge and his criminal trial,
6:53
because he's on bond, isn't making him attend to all the critical stages of
6:56
the trial, which is perfectly normal and required and in most every every criminal
7:01
case. And then Trump's made a big deal about not being able to go
7:03
to see his appeal. But I'm telling you that, I mean, I've
7:08
never argued before the U. S. Supreme Court, but I've argued up
7:11
in the Circuit court the level below, and I've argued before our Supreme Court
7:16
here in West Virginia multiple times. And not not to be cold, but
7:23
they don't care if your client is there. That's not what it's about.
7:27
I've even seen lawyers trying to introduce their client one time and it was really
7:31
didn't go over well with the court because it's, you know, it's an
7:35
appeal. So you're not there to present any evidence. You're you can if
7:40
there's something new discovered, I guess you can bring that up, but you're
7:42
not. There's no testimony given. It's just lawyers arguing or presenting their positions
7:47
verbally before the before the court. And so they, I suggest as of
7:51
our read or briefs and avery, sure they're alreadad the briefs, but I
7:54
mean none of that has to do with your right. I mean, ultimately
7:57
it all has to do with your client, but their personal Like mister Trump
8:01
sitting there, I mean, he thinks it will or he's just making a
8:05
you know, he's being mistreated again in his mind, but he's not in
8:09
that regard because you there isn't there's very little purpose. I mean, I'm
8:13
sure they stream these arguments. You can see them if you want to.
8:16
They certainly do at our Westernian Supreme Court of Appeals. So he's not being
8:22
shorted by not being allowed to attend his appeal because he wouldn't do anything but
8:26
sit there. And I'm sure he wants to go so he can have the
8:31
walk in the in the courthouse and that kind of thing. But so that's
8:35
not when he's complaining about that issue. It's really a false complaint because he's
8:41
not being shorted. You don't. Your clients can go and watch, but
8:45
it doesn't help and it doesn't make any difference in the result in my opinion.
8:50
So so it's have there been any and again our lines are open,
8:56
Tom Payton, anything about the law. We're talking about the former president now,
8:58
but anything about the law three oh four three four five fifty eight fifty
9:01
eight three oh four, three four five fifty eight fifty They have they said
9:05
how long the New York trial is expected to last. I don't know,
9:07
I don't know. I know they've so that they've got the one witnesses testifying,
9:13
right, it's oh, the National Inquirer. Oh that's the trial.
9:18
Yeah, so yeah, the National Acchoir guy. Yeah. And he is
9:22
laying out in pretty good detail this catch and kill schemes. So the idea
9:24
of being the idea being, Hey, Trump, Mike Cohen, our friends
9:31
or acquaintances with the folks that own the National inquir or the tabloid type magazine.
9:35
So what he has testified to is there was an agreement that whenever something
9:41
negative was going to pop up or they got word of it, there was
9:45
a scheme or plan or agreement to then find the person who would be publishing
9:52
that story or or whatever, and then pay for the story with a non
9:56
disclosure agreement. A national incquirer would buy the story, but then they would
10:01
kill it. They wouldn't publish it, but they own it, so then
10:03
it wouldn't get out. Now why is that illegal? I mean, that's
10:07
the I mean, I think we don't know what Trump's evidence will be for
10:13
sure, but I mean apparently David Pecker's are pretty and he's giving a lot
10:16
of detail, like here was the call, Yes, this is what we
10:18
said. There might even be texts. I don't know, but it's very
10:20
detailed, very specific. It's probably going to be something difficult to rebut I
10:28
mean, especially if Trump was on the actual calls and continuing to blame his
10:31
lawyer for things that were helping mister Trump, is probably not going to go
10:35
over that well. But all that being said, I mean, then the
10:37
prosecutor has to tie that into this obstructing the election criminal case argument. And
10:46
so all those facts that David Pecker said, I mean, a jury could
10:48
still come back and say, well, we just that's not enough to be
10:52
a crime. You know, so it's not it's seedy, you know,
10:56
and if you have enough bad stuff coming out that you have to do this
11:00
catch and kill scheme, it's not not great, but I'm not sure it's
11:03
a crime. You know, you have to connect all that back. It's
11:07
kind of like the scheme, the modus operandi, and then they're going to
11:09
try and assume connect it back to the Stormy Daniels payoff, and that was
11:13
an attempt to obstruct or influence illegally influence the election in twenty sixteen. So
11:20
we'll see how that plays out. I'm kind of thinking what I'm hearing so
11:24
far is that they're there not be a large dispute about the underlying facts.
11:28
I mean, it's I mean, and whether mister Trump actually had intercourse with
11:35
Stormy Daniels. I don't know that that's even whether it really happened or not.
11:39
I don't think is even relevant to this case necessarily, So you're not
11:41
going to get into probably a lot of that type content that of course people
11:46
like to hear. But so I think you might see a lot of facts
11:50
that are agreed upon. It it's just whether that conduct is a meets the
11:52
elements of a crime, and then you know, if the jurors are going
11:56
back and forth one they may find him not guilty. We'll see how it
11:58
play out. Three oh four three four five fifty eight fifty eight. Three
12:03
oh four, three four five fifty eight fifty eight lines are open. Give
12:07
us a call any questions about the law. It's a thirty four with Tom
12:09
Payton at the Paytent Law Firm in Nitro. Again the number three oh four,
12:13
three four five fifty eight fifty eight or one and only break right now
12:18
five eighty w cochs in the aftermath of a serious car wreck. Peytent Law
12:22
Firm stands ready to be your beacon of hope. With unwavering dedication, Peyton
12:26
Law Firm will navigate the complexities of your case, fighting for justice in the
12:31
compensation you deserve. From debilitating injuries to emotional trauma. Paytent Law Firm understands
12:37
the toll it takes. Our attorneys have more than sixty years combined experience handling
12:41
injury case. Called Peyton Law Firm for a free consultation at seventy five five
12:46
fifty five fifty six or online at Paytentlawfirm dot com at Grief Dental Group.
12:52
We love to see your smile. Take proactive steps towards optimal oral health with
12:56
our comprehensive preventive care services. Our team of experience doctors at six convenient locations
13:01
is passionate about keeping your smile healthy and frights. From regular checkups and cleanings
13:07
to advanced treatment, we are here to prevent dental issues before they start.
13:11
Visit Garebdentalgroup dot com to learn more and experience personalized care tailor to your needs.
13:16
Garb Dental Group where your smile receives the care it deserves. This update
13:22
is brought to you by Fourth Avenue Financial. A good retirement takes planning.
13:26
Let's get started today. Good morning, here's your traffic update. A vehicle
13:31
crash on US fifty two near fifty five thirty Cold Heritage Road and Bluefield also
13:37
in Mercer County. Maintenance on I seventy seven South at mile marker eighteen to
13:41
mile marker seventeen, the southbound right lane is closed. And other maintenance on
13:46
I seventy seven South at mile marker seventy five to mile marker seventy four at
13:50
Paint Creek Road, the southbound right lane is closed. I'm Chapel in the
13:54
WCHS network traffic studio of Peyton on the side. We have a court room
14:03
experience that your need. We never give up. We're prepared to fight for
14:11
your rights when you need action. Count on us put the power of Peyton
14:20
on your side, the power of pay thirty six on five eighty w UCS,
14:26
The Voice of Joston Jeff Jenkins with you and Tom Payton and the Peyton
14:28
Law Firm in Nitro three oh four three four five fifty eight fifty eight.
14:33
Three oh four, three four five fifty eight fifty eight, three oh four
14:37
three four five fifty eight fifty eight. Yeah, we got some more US
14:41
Supreme Court action. Maybe happened with West Virginia because is Patrick Morrisey announced yesterday
14:48
that he's going to go ahead and an expetition for a rid petition. So
14:50
really, and I've never well, actually I have had one thing before the
14:54
US Supreme Court as a respondent, but it was summarily ruled upon, so
14:58
they get a ruling from the Supreme Court. One time, US Supreme Court
15:01
was a one pager. It's not really framed on a wall or anything,
15:05
but it operates as I understand kind of like our Supreme Court used to.
15:11
So you petition for a rid of cerciori, meaning you're petitioning initially just to
15:15
get your appeal accepted, and then there's a after that, there's a full
15:18
briefing period and you get little argument in most cases and things like that.
15:22
That's how it was in West Virginia. And then now every case gets there's
15:28
really a full decision, although the summary decisions are called memorandum decisions or that
15:31
they can be quite lengthy, multiple multiple pages. So we'll see whether that
15:37
one gets accept I mean, I'm sure there's some other case is about the
15:43
transgender girl, the middle school student at the time, at least where the
15:48
Fourth Circuit said that West Virginia's law as applied to her violated her Title nine
15:56
rights, so she should be allowed to participate in at least those two sports
16:00
across country and track, and that one. So so Patrick Moorey's announce Patrick
16:03
Morrissey has announced that he's going to petition the US Supreme Court to hear it,
16:07
which is the next level up. They may accept it. If there's
16:10
otter cases that they like better on the similar subject, they may accept those
16:14
instead. So we'll see how that plays out, it will not be I
16:17
mean that's not possible to have it decided, certainly not only be filed by
16:19
the primary because I know this is a big this is a big political uh
16:26
hot iron right now. I mean, if it happens, it probably won't
16:29
be argued till next year. No, it wouldn't be argued till next year,
16:30
I wouldn't think. And you're not going to get a ruling until then.
16:33
I mean, I guess to let everybody know that he's filing it is
16:37
with the purpose of the But I've heard your dad say that it takes I
16:41
mean that there are tons of petitions asking the US Supreme Court a year to
16:45
hear Kpe. They only take, as we know, the handful. I
16:48
mean, that's right, that's what it's a It's an issue that's kind of
16:51
on the forefront, and there might be some conflicting decisions out there, and
16:56
that's that that kind of gets the U. S. Supreme Court's attention.
16:57
But you yeah, there's an and certainly an art as I understand it,
17:02
defining those petitions trying to catch the eye of the of the court so they
17:07
will accept it. Because yeah, there's I mean a small number are accepted
17:11
compared to the number of petitions for writ of society that are attempted. So,
17:17
and that's what I was saying. It seems like an issue that needs
17:18
to get up there. But there may be cases more compelling for the court
17:22
to take up arising out of other states. So we'll see how it applies.
17:26
But yeah, it won't be decided during this election cycle. I wouldn't
17:30
think they could turn it down probably this year, if they were not going
17:34
to take it up. I mean, we could get a ruling by November,
17:38
for example, saying yeah, we're gonna summarily dispose of this one and
17:42
not accept the appeal, and then the ruling stands from the lower court.
17:45
Yeah, we've talked about this too and the last couple of weeks. But
17:49
in general, I mean, we're just early voting begins next Wednesday, and
17:53
just to the electorate, I mean, and still probably some people are still
17:57
getting used to this circuit, judge, magistrate, at Court of Appeals,
18:03
the State Supreme Court. All of those races are final, right, This
18:07
is the general basically for them, because they are non partisan. No primaries,
18:12
that's right, there's no primary. It's non partisans. And I think
18:15
the traditionally that it's been the school board is always that way. These are
18:22
the judicial I don't know how many years, what ten years, eight years
18:26
that they switched it to non partisan, probably the idea being that, you
18:29
know, you shouldn't really have a party affiliation with a judicial officer, because
18:34
it's supposed to be except for when they run for election, kind of a
18:37
non political type office. And it's been completely mutated and twisted because I mean,
18:45
I've heard one commercial that starts off as judicial candidate. I can't remember
18:48
which one it is saying. I mean, it starts off saying I'm the
18:52
Republican running for the non partisan position of circuit judge. Me I'll just listen
19:00
to that thing. Well, I think the Ethics Commission has said you're allowed
19:03
to say what. You can't stop judicial candidates from saying they're affiliated with a
19:08
particular political party. But it does seem as the candidate that it's just exactly
19:15
the opposite of the point of the law. I mean, literally, in
19:18
your commercials, tell people what you are, and you're running for a non
19:21
partisan position, but of course it's politics and when it comes to elections,
19:26
and so now that I think there was some whisper about going back to partisan
19:32
judicial elections this session, because of course the folks that wanted to non partisan
19:37
now have the advantage and so they want it to be partisan again, so
19:41
everybody can see who is Republican, Democrat or independent on when they get a
19:45
vote on the ballot. So what you're looking at here in so they're just
19:52
let's just take Putnam and Kanall County for example, there are magistrate races.
19:56
Putnam has one contested magistrate race. We have three magistrates in Putnam County,
20:03
Genne, Luke Hart, Linda Hunt. And then there's an open seat that
20:08
was vacated by Collieen Brown. She retired after oh of cost twenty some years
20:12
of operating a magistrate as a magistrate in Putnam County, and so that seat
20:15
is open. We have a temporary magistrate now, he is not running for
20:19
elections. So we got three different candidates, Larry Wingo, Eric Whitney,
20:25
and Sarah Weaver. I talked about it last week. I think Sarah Weaver's
20:27
the most qualified. I don't know Larry Wingo, he's probably fine. I
20:32
know Eric Whitney generally he's a bailiff at the courthouse and so he's seen it
20:36
and done it. And I think he's prior law enforcement as well, so
20:37
he's a good candidate. I just think Sarah, she's worked as the assistant
20:41
to Judge Tabot and then magister a court in Kannall County. Just Tabot being
20:45
a well respected circuit judge in Kannall County who unfortunately passed away way too young.
20:52
I think her ability to her experience dealing with lawyers, regular people on
20:56
those different levels, and dealing with the judges in the back room as far
21:00
as when decisions are made and how to handle a docket, and I just
21:03
think it it gives her a little better qualifications than the other ones. But
21:07
those are good candidates. Then we have Judge Reader, doesn't is it?
21:11
We have two circuit judges, Judge Joseph Reader. Those are eight circuit judges
21:15
or eight years eight year terms. Yes, so Stretcher four circuit judges are
21:18
eight yes, yes, yeah, sorry, that's right. And so that
21:26
does take some of the politics out of the circuit judge position because it's an
21:30
eight year term. So once they get past this flurry of political conduct,
21:37
that it's back to normal judging again. And so and then the spring our
21:41
spring courts twelve year terms, so that kind of I mean a quarter of
21:44
appeals ten year term. Yeah yeah, Other's were staggered at the beginning.
21:48
Yeah, so so this will be the first ten year. Well there's and
21:51
there's a position open there being contested the quarter Appeals. I apologizes, I
21:55
don't know who the candidates are for that. One of the judges is not
22:00
okay, yes, and the incumbents are not The incumbent is not running again,
22:03
So that's an that's an open Yeah, one of the appointees is not
22:06
running again, right, uh and uh yeah, so there's three candidates for
22:10
that, and then and then you have the Then you have the State Supreme
22:15
Court, which both Justice Bunn, Uh, she's not opposed, and and
22:21
then Justice Hutcheson is not running and so that's Charlie Trump is running for that.
22:26
Yeah. Yeah, he's unopposed. Yeah. Yeah, So that's yeah,
22:30
it's just odd you have somebody on it. In Potnam, we have,
22:32
uh, Judge Readers doesn't have an opponent. Judge Stowers has an opponent.
22:36
But I think Judge Towers is a with his experience and and what he's
22:40
done for our County and in the work. I mean, he's far and
22:42
away the better candidate. This is my opinion. This this take it to
22:45
call from the text line? All right about that? Okay, this is
22:48
for Tom Payton and uh again the text line is three oh four three seven
22:53
O three oh four three seven. Oh. If you want a text that's
22:56
three oh four three seven O. Can Tom discuss the various lobbying groups still
23:00
targeting West Virginia as a judicial hellhole and similar? Seems that these lobby groups,
23:06
dressed as objective researchers are trying in West Virginia elsewhere to limit the people's
23:11
access them. People's actually just legal protection in favor of organizations and corporations.
23:18
Sure, I mean's I talk about that because I always keep an eye out
23:22
because I represent for the most part, I don't represent big business. I
23:26
represent kind of ordinary people. And if I represent businesses, they're usually small,
23:29
local businesses or medium size. Oh. Ok yeah, let me let
23:33
me give the text line again. I actually dave where it came from.
23:36
I didn't want to do that, but anyway, our text is three oh
23:40
four nine three five five zero zero eight. Oh you read the Yeah,
23:45
sorry about that? Three oh four nine, three, five five zero zero
23:49
eight. But again, well, it's funny that question came in because almost
23:52
there's a show after our show to Dave Allen Show last week, and there
23:56
was somebody on from West Virginia Kayla or Cala, that's West Virginia Citizens against
24:03
Lawsuit Abuse. And frankly I listened to that person be interviewed by mister Allen
24:08
and she had no clue what she was talking about in relation to the legal
24:14
system, and was obviously just spitting out one liners that didn't make any sense.
24:18
And that's what you got to watch for, and it was it was
24:21
obviously it was that interview was spun into some kind of negative political attempt to
24:30
target particular judicial candidates, and it's just more of the same. But you
24:34
hear Westernia Cala. I mean what I heard last Thursday after I left and
24:38
was driving home. I mean, if anybody listens to that and it made
24:41
any sense and you believe them, then you know, I got a bridge
24:45
to sell you. But you always got to watch for us out of state
24:47
interests, you know you got, I mean, and they've even asked her,
24:51
I think, well, how are you funded? It was a meetly
24:52
mouth answered, it's funded by big business. I mean Westernian cali Is they
24:56
have a they had. I think we've gone we've improved on the judicial hell
25:00
hole because we've were limited some access to the courts over the last few years.
25:06
In Westernion Cala likes that I trust juris, I mean you get complaints.
25:10
Well, the lawyer just played on the sympathy of the jury. It
25:14
said, well, you know, there's a lawyer on the other side that
25:15
probably gets paid a whole lot more than the lawyer that's representing mom and pop
25:21
that lived down the street in Nitro who got you know, rear ended and
25:25
smashed by some semi truck. And now the legislator's put a limit on what
25:29
the jury can award and those so you just got to watch because the right
25:33
to a jury trial, you don't realize how important it is until you get
25:37
in that position. But think about how many business environments or transactions. You
25:45
know, somebody that works at McDonald's can get in where they can go and
25:48
be on an even keel with maybe the biggest casualty insure in the world.
25:52
In a courtroom in say Putnam County, where there's six people sitting that get
25:56
to go back in a room and decide. Know, you know, you
26:00
complain about they complain about trial lawyers and and that kind of thing, but
26:07
you know they've got lawyers too, and so they have every ability, and
26:11
they're skilled, and they're good lawyers. I have friends that are civil defense
26:12
lawyers that are smart, good, they they have the skills to rebut any
26:19
attempt by the planeiff's lawyer to uh prey on the emotions of jurors. But
26:25
some cases involve emotions, so there's really not much wrong with that. But
26:27
I'm very you got to watch. I don't know about any other particular lobbying
26:32
groups that are out there, but you just I keep attuned to it.
26:34
I think we escaped it for the most part. This session. There was
26:38
some some cap on damages in relation to trucking accidents, but I think it's
26:45
very, very limited. So, you know, the legislature has been doing.
26:48
I've been satisfactory to me the last few years that we haven't had too
26:51
much of this what they call tort reform. But you got to watch.
26:55
I mean, that's what you watch for. Are they are they trying to
26:57
take regular people pool's access away or limit what they can get because the big
27:03
business likes to control things, and you get in that courtroom and they don't
27:07
have control of those six people and other than their lawyer, you know,
27:11
they don't control the courtroom, and so it's uncomfortable and they battle against that.
27:15
Now, for a long time, we were near the top of the
27:19
quote judicial hellhole list, and I tend to think it had a lot less
27:26
to do with our actual law and more of our environment. We have here
27:29
a lot of blue collar workers, a lot of heavy industry, a lot
27:32
of you get a lot of injuries, you get a lot of people hurt.
27:37
We got a lot of bad roads. We've got issues there. So
27:40
you know, I think that there are a lot of factors that that kind
27:44
of go into our legal environment other than the need to limit what juries do.
27:51
But we've improved. When the judicial hell whole list, if anybody pays
27:52
attention to that, we were ranked higher. And I think personally a lot
27:56
of that has to do with who big business, big insurance, which state
28:02
they want to target that particular year, and they craft their opinions on that,
28:07
because I don't think there's very reliable statistics. And if you go back
28:11
and listen to the I mean you and on your website, by the way,
28:14
just for the these every show, our show and Dave Allen show is
28:18
all readily event just go on your website and you can find them right there.
28:21
Right that one last Thursday after our show, I may have to go
28:25
back and listen to it because it was amazed at how bad it was,
28:27
frankly, and I mean, maybe I'll go on Dave's show here and do
28:33
a counterpoint at some point. But I'm glad the question was asked. Western
28:37
of cala is the biggest one I know that I've heard recently. I don't
28:40
know about other lobbying groups. Unfortunately, I would like to. I just
28:42
don't have a lot of time to go to the legislature when they're in session
28:45
and see what's going on and who's saying and doing what right. Well,
28:51
again to text lives three oh four nine three five five zero zero eight.
28:55
Three oh four nine three five five zero zero eight if you want to text
28:59
in a question to Tom three oh four three nine three five five zero zero
29:03
eight, or of course on on the air three oh four three four five
29:08
fifty eight fifty eight. All right, and so we've talked a lot about
29:15
and you know, people do call the show. People hear the show,
29:18
they and they contact you, and that's obviously you as you mentioned, you
29:23
represent you know, you represent the people the Mama popped down the shops,
29:27
right and you know, one of the things that we were kind of talking
29:30
about it off the air, there was a kind of interesting case sided on
29:33
the workers comp workers comp case. Yeah, and so it was it was
29:37
it has a local connection here because it was a fellow that was a I
29:41
think a sheriff's deputy, maybe the canine officer, but hurt his back on
29:45
the job maybe I don't know, if he was lifting the dog or something,
29:48
but pulled his back. And of course back injuries GE's. They're probably
29:52
the number one workers comp injury out there. But it was interesting and a
29:56
lot of people don't understand how workers comp works. It's it's a usually disappointing
30:02
if you're hurt and when you hear about it, but you know, when
30:03
you get hurt at work, you know you're generally your only remedy is defied
30:07
workers compensation claim, which is basically an insurance claim. It's governed by West
30:11
Virginia law. But if you're off work, initially you get total disability paid.
30:15
That's what you get replacement wages, not what you not your full wage,
30:19
but a percentage. We got a call. We'll go the phone.
30:22
Just go to the phone, Steve and Milton. Steve, you're on the
30:25
air with Tom. Go ahead. Yeah, I have a question about an
30:27
easement on my property. Yeah, there is there is an easement. Uh,
30:32
and I acknowledge that right now. There is a gravel road that they
30:38
can cross. But the folks are wanting to come in and pour a concrete
30:42
road. Is that not an improvement to the easement. And they are also
30:47
wanting to tie it into my private driveway not the street. Okay, So
30:52
want to digest there. But you start off with the source of their easement.
30:56
So there's either a maybe when you got your if it can I from
31:00
one big piece of property, then when their piece was sectioned out, they
31:03
may have been also granted a right away across the residues. So you have
31:07
to go back to that find the source document for their right away to see
31:11
if there are any limitations on it as far as with meet some bounds,
31:15
descriptions, maintenance materials. Now, if it's just one of these ingress and
31:19
egress and it's been used for a long time. I mean, the deed
31:23
just says you have a right away through our property for the purpose of ingress
31:27
and egress going to and from your property. And then these old ones there
31:33
usually aren't mean measured descriptions. It's this wide and that kind of thing.
31:37
So if they've been using that gravel roadbed as the easement for a long time,
31:44
let's say ten years or more, unless it's going to somehow interfere with
31:51
the use of your property in some significant way, I don't think using a
31:56
different material if they pay for it on their red bed is really a problem.
32:00
I mean, if they concrete it versus gravel, I don't know that
32:04
you can stop that unless there's a limitation in the deed that that created the
32:09
right of way. Now, if they're going beyond the boundaries of the right
32:15
away, or they start to use it in some way that is was never
32:20
contemplated or intended, then you might have some way to stop it. But
32:25
it's there's so many facts in that one, Steve, it's real difficult to
32:30
give any more than just some general information like that, but start, you
32:32
know, But I do think if your core question is, let's say they
32:35
have a right away for ingress egress. Here's where it is. They have
32:37
gravel, if they want to pay for it to concrete it. I don't
32:42
think general. As a general matter, you probably can't stop that. But
32:45
you know, there could be drainage issues, there could be other issues with
32:49
the construction that affect your properties. So I can't. I can't tell you,
32:52
but there'll be factual disputes in that one, and it will be a
32:58
difficult one too, uh to resolve, at least to stop them from use
33:01
it. Now, if they're going to travel on your property outside the easement,
33:04
well, I mean they don't. If you tell them no, they
33:06
don't have a right to do that, and you can block it, or
33:08
you know, I f I'll suit to enjoin their conduct stop them from doing
33:13
it. Okay, Steve, how about tying into my personal driveway? Well
33:20
it depends. So if your driveway is on land you own, then okay,
33:25
And they don't have an easement across it in writing, and they haven't
33:30
been using it for ten years or more than, they probably don't have a
33:35
right to travel on your property. Now, if your driveway is an easement
33:39
across somebody else's property, so you can get to your home, for example.
33:44
Then I don't know, because they may have a right to use that
33:46
easement as well. It might be a joint easement where they can travel and
33:51
use the road that you use primarily or driveway to get to your place.
33:54
So do you feel that that will at some point affect the sale on my
34:00
property? I have sixteen acres and it's on the front of my property and
34:05
I have a seven multi seven figure home on it. It could, but
34:13
I mean that's really a I mean, I don't I don't know. You
34:15
know, you have to ask really if you're talking about whether it would do
34:17
minute could increase the value. I mean, I mean, I'm listening to
34:22
it, not seeing the lay of the land Steveness, I'm just trying to
34:24
I'm hearing it in my head. But yeah, I'm thinking, well,
34:28
if you've got a a really nice home and you have kind of run down
34:31
gravel road near it can run through your property, it might be better to
34:35
have them concrete it. I mean, I was thinking it would increase the
34:37
value. You're going to say, well, that would be traffic and this
34:38
and that probably, But so whether it diminishes or increases your value or it's
34:43
a neutral effect. I don't know. I mean you have to ask an
34:45
appraiser about that. Certainly if it's you know, it could be part of
34:51
your I just go ahead. I'm sorry, I just need to not create
34:52
a fight. The the thing it has irked me so is no one came
34:58
and asked me. They're just doing it right, right, and that's you
35:00
know, sure, And if you're traveling over somebody else's property on a right
35:07
away and and you're going to make a major change to it, like an
35:10
improvement, I mean there's going to be construction trucks, concrete trucks, things
35:14
like that, you think it would be a matter of courtesy to come have
35:17
a short discussion with the neighbor. But you know it's not probably not required
35:23
legally. But now that there's but that's when you get into these you know,
35:28
you don't want to have a bad neighbor. You don't want to have
35:30
a bad neighbor because they're really I mean, it goes both ways. So
35:32
you know, it's a problem that is the law can't solve most of the
35:37
time, and so it's right, try and try and get along, for
35:40
sure. But yeah, if you wanted a more thorough. You know,
35:43
I haven't seen any documents anything like that. If you wanted some kind of
35:45
formal opinion about you know, you tell me what they're doing and then we
35:49
can take that fact scenario and apply do some research. Go yeah, okay,
35:57
all right, all right, Steve, thanks a lot. All Right,
35:59
so we've got thanks for Steve, and we've got about ninety seconds to
36:02
talk about the Painton Law Firm. All right, Yeah, So we are
36:06
trial lawyers. We do a lot of civil trials. We do criminal defense,
36:09
not a whole lot, but we also do everyday things. We do
36:14
deeds wills. We started to talk about workers comp a little bit. Don't
36:16
really glad to give information about workers comp not taking those new cases unless they
36:22
are along with an automobile accent, because that's what we do a lot of.
36:24
So for example, if you're a delivery driver driving for work and you
36:28
get hit by another person, you've got two claims there. You've got to
36:30
claim against the person to automobile insurance that cause the accident, then you have
36:34
your workers comp claim. So that's a case where you know, if someone
36:37
hires us to do the automobile accident insurance claim, we'll do the workers comp
36:42
We know how to do them, we just don't generally take them stand alone.
36:46
But if you have any issue legal issue and you need some information,
36:52
you can give us a call at the office three or four seven five five
36:54
five five five six, or go to our website at Patentlawfirm dot com and
37:00
you can submit email questions or inquiries there. And Dad and I are both
37:04
pretty good about getting back to you on those within a day or so.
37:07
And and we don't start to clock ticking on an email response or a phone
37:10
call. Those are we consider those initial consultations. These days, you don't
37:15
need to come in the office because you can do pretty much everything over the
37:16
computer. We're a boy telephone. But all we asked if you if you
37:22
have a case, especially if you have an injury unfortunately, or or a
37:27
family members injured, and you want a law firm that will work really hard
37:30
and pay attention to your case and return your calls and get good results,
37:35
then I just asked you to take a look at us and consider us.
37:37
Okay, that's good, and it's Peyton Lawfirm dot com where you can send
37:40
the email at Peytonlawfirm dot com. Call the office first, Avenue in nightro
37:45
three oh four seven five five fifty five fifty six. Three oh four seven
37:50
five five fifty five fifty six. And if you're in the area, beautiful
37:53
office, you can stop buy right on frush having twenty eight oh one stop
37:58
buy any time, Yeah, stop buy all right, Good Tom, you
38:00
do appreciate it, all right. ABC News is next thing. We'll have
38:02
local news in them five eight Live with Dave Allen coming up, Hoppy Kachible
38:07
Metro News talk Line headed your way at ten o six this morning. Thanks
38:12
for joining us this morning. This is five eighty WCHS, the Voice of Charleston