SER Thornhill Group v. Charles E. King, Jr., Judge

Opinion

14-0059 – State of West Virginia ex rel. Thornhill Group, Inc. and Wally L. Thornhill v. Charles E. King, Jr., Judge of the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, and George A. Roberts

FILED June 6, 2014 released at 3:00 p.m.

RORY L. PERRY II, CLERK

SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS

OF WEST VIRGINIA

Justice Ketchum, concurring:

Our venue statute; W.Va. Code §56-1-1 mandates that a civil suit shall be brought

where the individual defendant resides, where a corporate defendant has a principal place of

business or where the cause of action arose. The statute prevents forum shopping.

I would overrule all our cases which indicate in a breach of contract suit that the

place of contract formation, breach and damages may be considered in determining venue.

These cases misconstrue the statute and may allow the plaintiff a choice of forums not allowed

by our venue statute.

I do agree with the result in this case.

Therefore, I concur.