Joseph C. McComas II v. Mercer County Board of Education

Summary

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for the Mercer County Board of Education in a defamation action arising from the posting of employment-termination hearing minutes. The court held that the petitioner waived his appellate argument concerning an alleged resignation because he had not raised it before the circuit court, and it found no prejudicial error in the judgment based on qualified immunity.

Holdings

1. The circuit court's order granting the Board's motion for summary judgment was affirmed. McComas did not demonstrate prejudicial error or explain why the asserted factual dispute defeated the circuit court's qualified-immunity ruling.
2. McComas waived his argument that his attempted resignation created a genuine issue of material fact because he did not raise that argument before the circuit court.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the circuit court erred in granting summary judgment to the Board in McComas's defamation action.
2. Whether McComas could obtain appellate relief based on his assertion that he had submitted a resignation letter before the termination hearing when he did not raise that argument in the circuit court.

Disposition

affirmed