West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Upholds Ruling in Case Against Bank Defendants

On November 16, 2018, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals upheld a ruling that Freedom Bancshares, Inc. and Freedom Bank, Inc. were entitled to summary judgment.  The plaintiff had sought to recover from the bank defendants for injuries he received from a head-on collision involving one of the bank defendants’ board members who was driving to a board meeting. The Supreme Court of Appeals agreed with the bank defendants, represented by Jeffrey M. Wakefield and Jason L. Holliday, that the bank director’s travel to the board meeting was a routine commute to work that fell within the commonly-known “going and coming” rule.  Under the rule, the director’s travel to and from the board meetings fell outside of the scope of his employment, meaning the bank defendants could not be liable for the accident.

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