Malcolm David Setser, Personal Representative for the Estate of Kedron Eugene Setser v. Alaina Harvey, John Workman, Boone County Sheriff's Department, and the Boone County Commission

Summary

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed the dismissal of claims arising from the suicide of a person on home confinement after an alleged failure to accommodate his cauda equina syndrome during drug testing. The court held that the complaint could not establish a basis for liability under the recognized wrongful-death-by-suicide duty exception and that the respondents were not places of public accommodation under the West Virginia Human Rights Act for purposes of the asserted claims.

Holdings

1. The complaint failed to state a claim for relief because, under the facts alleged, petitioner could prove no set of facts establishing that respondents owed Setser a duty to prevent his suicide or otherwise establishing a viable wrongful-death claim.
2. Respondents were not places of public accommodation with respect to Setser's court-ordered home confinement and monitoring, so the complaint did not state a claim under the West Virginia Human Rights Act.
3. The circuit court properly dismissed the complaint under Rule 12(b)(6) because the allegations, accepted as true and construed liberally, did not state a claim upon which relief could be granted.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the complaint stated a claim for wrongful death by suicide based on respondents' alleged violation of Setser's constitutional or statutory rights and alleged causation of his suicide.
2. Whether respondents were places of public accommodation subject to the disability-discrimination and reasonable-accommodation provisions of the West Virginia Human Rights Act.
3. Whether the circuit court properly dismissed the complaint under West Virginia Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6).

Disposition

affirmed