Alert: Protect Your Rights as Property Owners! NO to Intermediate Court

Creating an Intermediate Court delays justice for Property Owners

Once again, lawmakers are considering a bill to create an Intermediate Court of Appeals. West Virginia is one of 10 states without an active intermediate court because our caseloads do NOT justify the expense. Why would we expand state government when appeals have dropped 80% in the last 20 years? This bill would allow Industry to appeal your property rights case not once but TWICE. Appeals now take up to a year and adding another level of course can double that time. We support property owners getting justice.

This creates an advantage for well-financed defendants like those corporations, while putting you at a disadvantage. The corporations can afford the higher costs and delays. Most West Virginians can’t.

Our state could do SO many positive things with the $6-10 million that a new court system would cost. We could spend that money on roads, or our children, or plugging abandoned wells! We shouldn’t be wasting millions to help corporate special interests and industry at the expense of West Virginia taxpayers. We support keeping the court system as it is, and spending our revenue on more important 

Click here to send a letter to your representatives or Contact your House Judiciary members and urge them to REJECT SB275 Intermediate Court of Appeals!