July 9
Darryl Palmer vs. Berkeley County Board of Education
PA – Pro se; J – Wilkes
* The plaintiff claims the defendant’s employees caused him irreparable harm in allegedly attempting to collect money on behalf of Edwards Auction Service. He is seeking at least $1 million for damages, including jail time served and a “lasting scar” on his criminal record. The complaint does not provide specific dates or a clear indication of what Palmer was charged with or how it was connected to a check for the auction service.
Case number: Case number: 09-C-546

July 10
Nationwide Property & Casualty Insurance Co. vs. William Ernst
PA – Ryan Marsteller; J – Groh
* The plaintiff claims the defendant’s negligence caused a vehicle accident on Aug. 5, 2008, causing physical injury to the company’s insured customer as well as damage to the driverás vehicle. The plaintiff is seeking at least $53,641.71 in damages.
Case number: 09-C-547

Jefferson Asphalt Products Co. vs. Slonaker Paving LLC
PA – Kenneth Barton Jr.; J – Silver
* The plaintiff claims the defendant owes at least $83,307.16 after failing to pay for asphalt from January to August 2008.
Case number: 09-C-548

July 13
City Hospital Inc. vs. Lynda Lee Dehaven
PA – Christopher Moore; J – Groh
* The hospital claims the defendant owes $32,643.34 plus interest for a total of at least $37,222.63 for medical services provided to her in 2007.
Case number: 09-C-550

City Hospital Inc. vs. Nicole Lynn Domer
PA – Christopher Moore; J – Silver
* The hospital claims the defendant owes $26,272.90 plus interest for a total of at least $31,081.09 for medical services provided to her in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Case number: 09-C-551

July 20
Gregory Geary vs. Jeffrey Wayne Warr and Hill-Rom Co. Inc.
PA – Pro se; J – Wilkes
* The plaintiff claims Warr’s negligence caused a vehicle accident on Aug. 11, 2007, when the defendant was driving a truck on behalf of the Hill-Rom Co. Geary claims the defendant ran him off the road and then swerved into Geary’s car, causing the plaintiff serious injures. He is seeking compensatory damages of $229,455 and punitive damages of $1,100,000.
Case number: 09-C-582

July 24
Carl Douglas Redmond vs. Earl Lester Brining
PA – Paul Taylor; J – Groh
* The plaintiff claims Brining’s negligence caused a vehicle accident on July 29, 2007, when the defendant attempted to make a U-turn and drove into the path of the plaintiff’s motorcycle. Redmond suffered serious injuries and is seeking at least $100,000.
Case number: 09-C-592

July 27
Bruce W. Sperow and Ruth E. Sperow vs. Long Archer’s Rock I LLC
PA – Laura Faircloth; J – Wilkes
* The plaintiffs claim the defendant has defaulted on the terms of a promissory note from April 28, 2005, and now owe at least $234,000 plus interest.
Case number: 09-C-597

July 28
City Hospital Inc. vs. Christopher M. Miller
PA – Christopher Moore; J – Wilkes
* The hospital claims Miller owes $24,228.61 plus interest for a total of at least $27,643.25 for medical services and supplies provided to him in 2007.
Case number: 09-C-603

July 29
Jefferson Security Bank vs. Scott E. Arnold
PA – Timothy Helman; J – Silver
* The bank claims Arnold defaulted on the terms of a $450,000 promissory note agreement from Aug. 29, 2008, and he now owes at least $268,402.18.
Case number: 09-C-605

Aug. 10
Keleigh J. Payne vs. Joseph Bowers dba Bowers Mobility
PA – Harry Waddell; J – Wilkes
* The plaintiff claims the defendant unlawfully terminated her employment when she refused to comply with his repeated sexual advances, and she claims he also made multiple inappropriate comments, grabbed her buttocks and told her she would get a raise if she slept with him. She is seeking an undetermined amount of relief.
Case number: 09-C-645

Aug. 17
Michelle Showers vs. Craig J. Timoney Inc. dba Burger King
PA – Christopher Prezioso; J – Wilkes
* The plaintiff claims the defendant’s Hedgesville restaurant was negligent and failed to serve her sanitary food on Sept. 22, 2007, when she became extremely ill from salmonella after eating a Burger King meal. She is seeking and an undetermined amount of relief.
Case number: 09-C-666

MARTINSBURG — A man has filed suit against the Berkeley County Board of Education, alleging he deserves $1 million after he says the school board damaged his character by filing legal proceedings against him after he allegedly failed to pay for vehicles at an auction.

Darryl Palmer claims a police report was filed against him by school board member Jacqueline Long, who stated to Trooper Walker a check was given to the Berkeley County Board of Education.

Although it is not entirely clear why Long filed the police report, Palmer’s complaint filed July 9 in Berkeley Circuit Court does say Palmer received a demand letter from Terry Forrest, who is an employee with Berkeley County School’s department of transportation, to pay for a vehicle.

Palmer contends he received the vehicle from Edwards Auction Service and paid the auctioneer directly, and because of this, the school board should never have gotten involved.

“This check was third party check given directly to Edwards Auction Service,” the complaint says. “This man is the one that conducted the auction, gave out numbers and collected the money. This check in question should have been made payable to Edwards Auction Service, then reissued a check back to Berkeley County Board of Education, thus making him the one that should have filed charges against me.”

In his complaint, Palmer admits he did put a stop payment on the vehicles he received at the auction because they were damaged.

In addition to the $1 million, Palmer is seeking “the cost of legal fees incurred, jail time served, fines imposed due to the conviction along with a lasting scar on my criminal record, next would be not being able to have weapons or a federal job, along with numerous other factors.”

Palmer will be representing himself.

Berkeley Circuit Court case number: 09-C-546

Aug. 20
Thompson Distribution Partners LLC vs. Long Archer’s Rock LLC and Chesapeake Potomac Realty LLC
PA – Aaron Amore; J – Groh
* The plaintiff claims the defendants breached an underground gas supply line agreement from June 2005 and April 10, 2007, for the Long Archer’s Rock subdivision. The plaintiff is seeking $18 million in damages.
Case number: 09-C-682

Innerspace Floor to Ceiling vs. TLS Builders
PA – Christopher Moore; J – Silver
* The plaintiff claims the defendant breached a contract from May 4, 2007, and now owes at least $65,181.55 plus interest.
Case number: 09-C-683

Aug. 21
84 Lumber Co. vs. TLS Builders LLC and Thomas Shade
PA – Paul Atkins; J – Groh
* The plaintiff claims the defendants owe at least $104,447.01 plus interest on a past-due account.
Case number: 09-C-688

Branch Banking & Trust Bankcard Corp. Inc. vs. Abiola Subair and Taiwo A. Adebayo
PA – Christopher Moore; J – Groh
* The plaintiff claims the defendants still owe at least $28,083.81 plus interest in accordance with a contract and security agreement from May 27, 2007, after their security, a motor vehicle, was repossessed and sold.
Case number: 09-C-691

Aug. 24
84 Lumber Co. vs. Todd Blickenstaff
PA – Paul Atkins; J – Groh
* The plaintiff claims Blickenstaff owes at least $30,510.40 plus interest on a past-due account.
Case number: 09-C-694

MARTINSBURG -– A Virginia man is blaming two Bunker Hill corporations and their managers for an accident in which he was involved after drinking alcoholic beverages at their establishments.

In the lawsuit he filed July 28 in Berkeley Circuit Court, Kodey Presgraves alleges defendant Henry E. Worcester III, manager of defendant Vixens; defendant William T. Goff Jr., manager of defendant Underground; and Casey McGee, manager of Vixens and the Underground, never should have let him leave their establishments on Oct. 12, 2007.
Presgraves went to the Underground, where he ate and drank several alcoholic beverages, the suit states.

During his stay at the Underground, Presgraves got up and attempted to use the restroom. Once inside the Underground’s bathroom facilities, Presgraves placed his hand on top of a cultured marble vanity located next to the urinal, the complaint says.

Little did Presgraves know that the marble top of the vanity had been broken, leaving an extremely sharp edge exposed, he says.

“Kodey was unaware of the dangerous condition that the broken cultured marble top represented, and, in the condition of the restroom, could not, using reasonable senses of perception, determine that the cultured marble top presented an unusual danger,” the suit states.

“Kodey’s right wrist was cut deeply by the sharp edge presented by the cultured marble top.”

Presgraves left the restroom to find an employee for help, but before the employee provided Presgraves any assistance, Presgraves was forced to clean his blood from the sink, according to the complaint.

The employee then gave Presgraves paper towels and escorted him upstairs to Vixens, where McGee was managing at the time, the complaint says.

After examining Pregraves’s wound, McGee told Presgraves he would have to leave the premises and go to a hospital, according to the complaint. Before directing Presgraves to leave, though, McGee handed Presgraves a fresh set of paper towels and provided him with a note saying that the Underground would accept responsibility for Presgraves’s medical care, the suit states.

“At the time Kodey was forced to leave Vixens and the Underground, he had consumed several alcoholic beverages, and was visibly intoxicated, and was further incapacitated, and in a state of shock, caused by a loss of blood,” the complaint says. “That no agent, servant and/or employee of the defendants attempted to determine whether Kodey could safely drive himself to a hospital, nor did they offer to drive him to a hospital, or call an ambulance to take him to the hospital.”

So, Kodey attempted to drive himself to the hospital, but got into an accident on the way, he claims.

“That, on the date, and at the time aforesaid, the agents, servants and employees of the defendants knew, or should have known that Kodey was not physically able to operate a motor vehicle safely, and still negligently and carelessly permitted Kodey to operate a motor vehicle,” the suit states.

In the four-count suit, Presgraves is seeking an unspecified judgment, plus pre- and post-judgment interest and other relief the court deems just. He is also seeking punitive damages from McGee, plus attorney’s fees and costs.

Michael Santa Barbara of Santa Barbara Law Offices in Martinsburg will be representing him.

Berkeley Circuit Court case number: 09-C-517

MARTINSBURG – A Hampshire County man is seeking more than $1 million after he says a truck driver ran him off the road and crashed into him while the driver was communicating with his employer.

Gregory Geary claims he was attempting to pass a truck Jeffery Wayne Warr was driving on Route 37 on Aug. 11, 2007, after he noticed Warr was in an “obviously impaired state.”

“The truck was traveling substantially slower than was typical for traffic on that road, and 10 mph below the posted speed limit, heading north in the right lane on an otherwise empty roadway, with the left directional indicator blinking,” the suit filed July 20 in Berkeley Circuit Court states. “Mr. Warr later admitted at the scene of the subsequent collision that he was distracted because he was communicating with his employer, Defendant Hill-Rom, and not paying attention to his driving.”

As Geary began to pass the truck Warr was driving, Warr suddenly swerved into the left lane and toward Geary’s car, according to the complaint.

In order to avoid an accident, Geary laid on his horn, swerved quickly into the median and slammed on his brakes, the complaint says. All the while, Warr said he was unaware that Geary had swerved into the median because he was talking with his employer, the suit states.

While Geary was in the median, Warr suddenly attempted to make an illegal turn into a restricted emergency vehicle crossover, directly into Geary’s path, according to the complaint.

“To Mr. Geary’s horror, the Truck that had just run him off the highway now turned directly into the median as if to deliberately cause a highway speed crash,” the complaint says. “Mr. Geary believed that he was going to die.”

Geary’s Toyota Corolla and Warr’s truck collided in the paved crossover in the median divider, he claims.

“Mr. Warr was evidently attempting to change direction on a 65 mph four-lane divided highway by making an illegal U-turn through a restricted crossover in the median divider,” the suit states.

Geary was placed in a neck brace, removed from his car on a backboard and transported by ambulance to Winchester Medical Center, according to the complaint.

Because of the accident, Geary has endured extensive medical treatment and physical therapy and has sustained chronic pain and physical limitations.

In the five-count suit, Geary is seeking compensatory damages of $229,455 and punitive damages of $1.1 million, plus pre- and post-judgment interest, costs and other relief the court deems just.
Geary will be representing himself.

Berkeley Circuit Court case number: 09-C-582

Aug. 25
David K. Crone vs. RJCPTP LLC and Robert W. Pierce
PA – Kate Harding; J – Groh
* The plaintiff claims that the defendants, which own Foxcroft Village Apartments in Martinsburg, failed to take action after a qualified inspector discovered that the plaintiff’s apartment was “infested with toxic black mold,” which caused him migraine headaches, fatigue, joint pain and other health problems. He is seeking at least $100,000 and other relief.
Case number: 09-C-700

Naomi Spivak, executor of Howard Diamond’s estate; and Robert Abbott, administrator of Nancy Diamond’s estate; vs. Amvets Post 30 Inc.
PA – Lawrence Schultz; J – Wilkes
* The plaintiffs claim the fatal accident on Interstate 81 on Aug. 14, 2008, which killed the Diamonds, was a result of the defendant’s negligence. The driver of the vehicle who caused the head-on collision, Troy S. Bean, had been at the defendant’s bar and became visibly intoxicated prior to the accident. The plaintiffs claim the defendant’s employees “acted recklessly, with gross and wanton disregard for the safety of others.” They are seeking an amount of relief to be determined.
Case number: 09-C-702

Aug. 28
Quarles Petroleum Inc. vs. R.G. Harris Transportation Inc., and David Harris
PA – Nelson Michael; J – Silver
* The plaintiff claims the defendants owe $36,837.53 plus fees for a total of at least $49,116.58 after defaulting on the terms of a fuel credit agreement from September 2004.
Case number: 09-C-707

MARTINSBURG -– A Berkeley County woman claims she was terminated from her job after she refused her boss’s repeated sexual advances toward her.

Keleigh J. Payne claims she worked from July 18, 2008, through May 7 for Joseph Bowers, doing business as Bowers Mobility.

While working for Bowers, Payne claims she was repeatedly subjected to offensive harassment.

Bowers would repeatedly make comments about Payne’s breasts and buttocks, harassed her to reserve a single hotel room for both him and her at several different business conferences, then became angry when she refused to share a room and asked Payne to go into the break room to have oral sex with him, according to the complaint filed Aug. 10 in Berkeley Circuit Court.

In addition, Bowers grabbed Payne’s buttocks, stuck a power drill in between her legs and turned it on and commented on her undergarments, the suit states.

Finally, Bowers was guilty of “telling Plaintiff that Defendant would give Plaintiff a raise if Plaintiff slept with Defendant,” the complaint says.

Because Payne refused Bowers’s advances, she says she was terminated on May 7. After she was fired, Payne was not timely paid all wages required by the West Virginia Wage Payment and Collection Act, the suit states.

Because of her termination, Payne says she has suffered humiliation, embarrassment, loss of dignity, mental and emotional distress and lost earnings.

Payne is seeking general damages, lost earnings, anticipated lost future earnings, liquidated damages, attorney’s fees, punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interest and costs.

Berkeley Circuit Court case number: 09-C-645

MARTINSBURG -– A woman claims she became extremely ill after eating a salmonella-contaminated burger at Burger King.

Michelle Showers filed a lawsuit Aug. 17 in Berkeley Circuit Court against Craig J. Timoney, doing business as Burger King.

According to the complaint, Showers had a meal consisting of beef and cheese when she ate at the Hedgesville Burger King on Sept. 22, 2007.
Within three to five hours after eating the meal, though, Showers became extremely sick, the suit states.

“At the same time and place abovesaid, the Defendant negligently allowed the bacteria salmonella to corrupt the food served at the restaurant,” the complaint says.

Because of her sickness, Showers incurred medical costs and sustained physical pain, suffering, mental anguish and distress, the suit states.

Showers is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, plus costs, attorney’s fees and other relief the court deems just.

Christopher J. Prezioso Luttrell and Prezioso in Martinsburg will be representing her.

Berkeley Circuit Court case number: 09-C-666

Sept. 4
Winchester Medical Center Inc. vs. Jean M. Brill
PA – Daniel Booth; J – Wilkes
* The hospital claims Brill owes at least $40,136.96 plus $1,223.89 in interest for medical services and supplies provided to her in 2009.
Case number: 09-C-735

Sept. 8
84 Lumber Co. vs. Steve A. Crites f/d/b/a Crites Construction
PA – Paul Atkins; J – Silver
* The plaintiff claims the defendant owes at least $77,710.30 plus interest on a past-due account for materials provided in 2007.
Case number: 09-C-737

Sept. 16
Daniel Jacob Schildt vs. Michelle Ann Obold
PA – W. Richard McCune; J – Wilkes
* The plaintiff claims he obtained a judgment against the defendant on May 10, 2006, for $102,417.70, in regard to “the value of Plaintiff’s improvements to Defendant’s land.” The amount remains outstanding, and the plaintiff is seeking that the defendant’s real estate property be sold to satisfy the judgment.
Case number: 09-C-768

Sept. 18
Summit Community Bank vs. Todd Blinkenstaff, John W. Jenkins Jr. and Arthur M. Dodson III
PA – Tracey Rohrbaugh; J – Silver
* The plaintiff claims that the defendants owe $153,159.82 plus interest after dafaulting on a promissory note from June 8, 2006, and after a real estate foreclosure sale.
Case number: 09-C-773

Sept. 21
Centra Bank Inc. vs. Jennifer J. Grafton-Gore
PA – Susan Snowden; J – Wilkes
* The plaintiff claims the defendant defaulted on the terms of a $2.3 million agreement from March 7, 2006. After a foreclosure sale and previous payments, the defendant still owes at least $916,023.93 plus interest.
Case number: 09-C-774

Sept. 23
Vezer Industrial Professionals Inc., formerly known as Vezer’s Precision Industrial Constructors International Inc. vs. Capitol Cement Corp., Essroc Cement Corp., NCNB National Bank of North Caroline, David Shepler, trustee, and George C. Leslie, trustee
PA – Eric Hulett; J – Silver
* The plaintiff claims the defendants Capitol Cement and Essroc Cement owe at least $16,236,002.07 after failing to make payments under the terms of an installation contract from July 27, 2007. The plaintiff is seeking that amount and enforcement of its mechanic’s lien against the defendants.
Case number: 09-C-782

September 24
S&R Enterprises LLC vs. Capitol Cement Corp., North Star Foundations Inc. and West Virginia State Tax Department
PA – Dale Buck; J – Wilkes
* The plaintiff claims it performed work on Capitol Cement property under the terms of a subcontract with the general contractor, Vezer’s Precision Industrial Constructors International Inc., and was not paid for materials or services. The plaintiff is seeking at least $1,888,250.67 and other relief.
Case number: 09-C-798

September 25
Traci Stone vs. Berkeley County Commission
PA – Paul Taylor; J – Groh
* The plaintiff claims she was injured and suffered great physical and emotional pain after her shoe got caught in a slip guard strip on a step, causing her to trip and fall down an entire flight of stairs on Sept. 28, 2007, while she was visiting a public county building. She is seeking an amount of relief to be determined.
Case number: 09-C-802

Sept. 28
Lisa Anthony vs. James Wesley Pauley
PA – Dale Buck; J – Wilkes
* The plaintiff claims the defendant accepted a $50,000 check from the plaintiff for the purchase of about 6 acres on Sept. 2, 2009, but the defendant has not delivered a deed or title to the plaintiff. Anthony claims the defendant made fraudulent statements in regard to the sale, and the plaintiff is seeking $50,000 and other relief.
Case number: 09-C-807

Sept. 30
Paul D. Weachter vs. Bertha M. Brown
PA – Andrew Frye; J – Groh
* The plaintiff claims Brown has defaulted on the terms of a promissory note from Jan. 28, 2006, and now owes at least $150,000.
Case number: 09-C-814

Dan Ryan Builders vs. Jennifer Barcinas-Miller
PA – Daniel Booth; J – Silver
* The plaintiff claims Barcinas-Miller was an independent contractor working on behalf of the company who received an advance for potential commission earnings in 2006. The plaintiff claims the amount of the advance exceeded the amount of the defendant’s actual commissions, and the defendant owes at least $26,997.80 plus interest.
Case number: 09-C-815

Oct. 2
Shannon Beard vs. Giant Food Stores LLC d/b/a Martin’s Food Market
PA – Barry Beck; J – Silver
* The plaintiff claims she was struck in the head by a light fixture that fell on top of her on June 5, 2008, while she was shopping in the defendant’s grocery store in Martinsburg. She claims the defendant’s negligence caused her serious injuries, pain and suffering, and she is seeking an amount of relief to be determined.
Case number: 09-C-818

Oct. 5
Citibank South Dakota NA vs. Lisa A. Reid
PA – Robert Stennett; J – Wilkes
* The plaintiff claims Reid owes at least $32,897.73 plus interest in accordance with a past-due account.
Case number: 09-C-819

Oct. 8
Winchester Medical Center Inc. vs. Franklin Leonard
PA – Christopher McCarthy; J – Groh
* The hospital claims Leonard owes at least $28,216.60 plus $1,211.76 for medical services provided in 2008.
Case number: 09-C-832

Debbie Lockley, personal representative of the estate of Lakisha Michelle Lockley, vs. Bonnie I. Faircloth, personal representative of the estate of Casey Noel Bennett; and Ronald and Laura Bailey
PA – Paul Taylor; J – Groh
* The plaintiff claims the defendants are responsible for the wrongful death of Lockley on Nov. 18, 2007, when she was a passenger in a vehicle that belonged to the Baileys that was being driven by Bennett. Lockley claims Bennett lost control of the vehicle after traveling at an excessive speed on Interstate 81 in Berkeley County, and both women were ejected from the vehicle and killed. The plaintiff seeks an amount of relief to be determined.
Case number: 09-C-835

Oct. 9
City Hospital Inc. vs. Jason Lynn Domer
PA – Christopher Moore; J – Groh
* The hospital claims the defendant owes $32,334.71 plus interest, for a total of at least $38,756.34 for medical services provided in 2006 and 2007.
Case number: 09-C-838

Winchester Medical Center Inc. vs. Judy Bayer
PA – Daniel Booth; J – Silver
* The hospital claims Bayer owes at least $37,970.22 plus $4,016.02 in interest for medical services provided to her in 2007.
Case number: 09-C-842

Oct. 13
Branch Banking and Trust Co. vs. James G. Palm
PA – Kathy Santa Barbara; J – Wilkes
* The bank claims the defendant still owes at least $72,826.80 plus interest in accordance with a promissory note agreement from April 30, 2007, after the security, real estate property, was foreclosed upon.
Case number: 09-C-852

Oct. 14
Branch Banking & Trust Co. of Virginia vs. Thomas Hunley
PA – Christopher Moore; J – Groh
* The plaintiff claims the defendant owes at least $50,357.78 plus interest under the terms of an agreement from Dec. 22, 2006.
Case number: 09-C-862

Oct. 19
Citibank South Dakota NA vs. Melissa Cullop
PA – Steven Mulrooney; J – Wilkes
* The plaintiff claims the defendant owes at least $25,723.88 plus interest for an overdue account.
Case number: 09-C-870

Thomas Walton, as administrator of the estate of George Walton, vs. Branch Banking & Trust Co. and Susan Watts
PA – Pater Pentony; J – Groh
* The plaintiff claims the defendant, Watts, wrongfully obtained the late George Walton’s ATM card issued by BB&T and fraudulently used his bank funds for her own use when he was a resident of Martinsburg’s Veterans Affairs Medical Center in September 2007. After he passed away Dec. 6, 2007, his estate discovered the fraud and notified the bank, and the plaintiff claims the bank has breached its duties and failed to reimburse the plaintiff the stolen funds. The plaintiff is seeking an undetermined amount of relief from the defendants.
Case number: 09-C-877

Oct. 20
Jefferson Security Bank vs. Tri-State Moving LLC
PA – Timothy Helman; J – Silver
* The plaintiff claims the defendant owes at least $260,616.10 in accordance with agreements from Jan. 25, 2006, and Jan. 8, 2007.
Case number: 09-C-878

The state of West Virginia, ex rel. Pamela Jean Games Neely, Berkeley County prosecutor, vs. Andrew Talbott, Rose Gray and David L. Brown
PA – Pamela Jean Games Neely; J – Groh
* The petitioner is seeking a permanent injunction to shut down the defendants’ Web site to prevent its fraudulent operation and acceptance of monetary donations. Games Neely claims Talbott and Brown developed a fraudulent Web site — www.k-n-adonationscenter.org — to solicit donations for the less fortunate, and Brown’s company provided Internet hosting for the site.
Case number: 09-C-880

Oct. 22
Branch Banking and Trust Co. vs. Mohammad Ali Rafigh
PA – Charles Bagley III; J – Silver
* The plaintiff claims the defendant owes at least $118,164.10 plus interest in accordance with a promissory note from April 12, 2004.
Case number: 09-C-887

Holly Donaldson vs. Sheryl Emerick, Boyd Wood, Grace Householder, Paul Wood, Donald C. Wood, Mary Jane Wood, Patricia Alger, John Wood and Rhonda Hensley
PA – Kenneth Barton; J – Wilkes
* The plaintiff claims that when she purchased her property in Berkeley County, she was unaware that human remains are buried on the site underneath a former dumping ground. She claims some of the defendants have entered her property without her permission to view the burial ground area of their ancestors, and she is seeking that the remains be reinterred.
Case number: 09-C-888

Oct. 26
Paul L. Smoot vs. Karen L. Plauger
PA – David Furrer; J – Groh
* The plaintiff claims the defendant was negligent and caused an accident on Jan. 25, 2008, after she failed to stop and rear-ended the plaintiff’s vehicle. The plaintiff suffered injuries and medical expenses and is seeking at least $250,000.
Case number: 09-C-895

Citibank South Dakota NA vs. Ronda M. Hayes
PA – Edna Coulter; J – Silver
* The plaintiff claims Hayes owes at least $25,747.20 plus interest in accordance with the terms of a past due account.
Case number: 09-C-902

MARTINSBURG — The State of West Virginia is seeking to shut down a Web site to prevent its fraudulent continual operation and the acceptance of donations from third-person parties based on this fraud.

The State wants a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction and permanent injunction against Andrew Talbott, who is doing business as K & A Donations Center; Rose Gray; and David L. Brown, who is doing business as Web.com Group, Inc.

The Web site in question is www.k-n-adonationscenter.org and is owned by Talbott and Gray, according to a complaint filed Oct. 20 in Berkeley Circuit Court. Brown provided internet hosting for the Web site.

Berkeley County Prosecutor Pamela Jean Games Neely claims that the address listed on the Web site to send donations to is actually Talbott and Gray’s residence.

The Web site was developed sometime prior to September 2009 and Cpl. J. Walker of the West Virginia State Police was assigned to investigate fraudulent checks passed by both Gray and Talbott.

Walker found four checks during his investigation, according to the suit. One of the checks was blank and the other three were uttered. All checks were written on accounts claiming to be K & A Donations Center, Inc. and drawn on the Bank of West Virginia. According to the suit, there is no bank known by this name.

The State is suing for the court to issue an immediate temporary restraining order and preliminary injunctive relief to cease and desist the continual operation and shut down the Web site and its solicitations, and that a permanent injunction be issued at a final hearing. Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Richard D. Stephens is representing the State.

Berkeley Circuit Court case number: 09-C-880