State of West Virginia ex rel. West Virginia University Hospitals, Inc., d/b/a Chestnut Ridge Center and West Virginia University Board of Governors v. The Honorable Lynn A. Nelson, Judge of the Circuit Court of Tucker County, and Mark Heckler, Individually and as Personal Representative and Administrator of the Estate of Marion Heckler, deceased

Summary

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia granted a writ of prohibition concerning venue in a third-party medical negligence action under West Virginia Code § 55-7B-9b. The court held that the cause of action arose in the county where the healthcare provider rendered or failed to render the allegedly willful, wanton, or reckless healthcare services, making venue proper in Monongalia County rather than Tucker County.

Holdings

1. A writ of prohibition may issue where the circuit court's venue ruling constitutes clear legal error and the petitioner lacks an adequate remedy by appeal or would suffer prejudice from litigating in an improper forum.
2. When venue is challenged under West Virginia Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(3), the plaintiff bears the burden of establishing proper venue in the county where the action is pending under West Virginia Code § 56-1-1.
3. For purposes of determining venue, a third-party medical negligence claim under West Virginia Code § 55-7B-9b arises only in the county where the healthcare provider rendered or failed to render healthcare services with the alleged willful, wanton, or reckless disregard of a foreseeable risk of harm to third persons.
4. The court's holding does not preclude application of the venue-giving defendant principle under West Virginia Code § 56-1-1 if the patient who committed the subsequent act is added as a properly joined defendant.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia should issue a writ of prohibition to review the circuit court's venue ruling.
2. Whether venue for a third-party medical negligence claim under West Virginia Code § 55-7B-9b arises in the county where the healthcare provider rendered or failed to render the allegedly wrongful healthcare services or in the county where the third party suffered the resulting harm.
3. Whether the common-law divisibility-of-elements venue principles applied in breach-of-contract and legal-malpractice cases permit venue in Tucker County based solely on the location of the third party's death.

Disposition

writ_granted