SER Thornhill Group v. Charles E. King, Jr., Judge ( 2014 )

14-0059 – State of West Virginia ex rel. Thornhill Group, Inc. and Wally L. Thornhill v. Charles
E. King, Jr., Judge of the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, and George A. Roberts
FILED
June 6, 2014
released at 3:00 p.m.
RORY L. PERRY II, CLERK
SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS
OF WEST VIRGINIA
Justice Ketchum, concurring:
Our venue statute; W.Va. Code §56-1-1 mandates that a civil suit shall be brought
where the individual defendant resides, where a corporate defendant has a principal place of
business or where the cause of action arose. The statute prevents forum shopping.
I would overrule all our cases which indicate in a breach of contract suit that the
place of contract formation, breach and damages may be considered in determining venue.
These cases misconstrue the statute and may allow the plaintiff a choice of forums not allowed
by our venue statute.
I do agree with the result in this case.
Therefore, I concur.