Longwell v. Board of Education of the County of Marshall, 213 W. Va. 486

Summary

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia held that a county board of education may exercise its discretion to hire private legal counsel under West Virginia Code § 18-5-13(l), despite the prosecuting attorney’s statutory duty to represent the board under § 7-4-1. The court concluded that the statute does not require the board to establish necessity before hiring outside counsel and affirmed dismissal of the taxpayers’ declaratory judgment and mandamus action. A dissent and a separate concurrence addressed limits and practical implications of the board’s authority.

Holdings

1. When a county board of education is in need of legal services, it may exercise its own discretion to use the county prosecuting attorney or hire its own legal counsel under West Virginia Code § 18-5-13(l), without first establishing that private counsel is necessary.
2. The Board's statutory duty to conserve quasi-public funds does not foreclose its authority to hire legal counsel; it provides guidance for the Board's discretionary choice between the prosecuting attorney and independent counsel.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a county board of education must use the county prosecuting attorney for legal services unless necessity is established before hiring private counsel.
2. Whether West Virginia Code §§ 7-4-1 and 18-5-13(l) must be read together to impose a necessity limitation on a county board of education's authority to hire legal counsel.
3. Whether the Board's duty to conserve quasi-public funds limits its statutory authority to hire legal counsel.

Disposition

affirmed