By Matt Harvey, WV News
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Supreme Court, divided 3-2, on Monday gave proponents of the West Virginia Paycheck Protection Act a legal victory and handed unions a defeat.
Justice Beth Walker authored the opinion that nixed Kanawha Circuit Judge Tera Selango’s earlier ruling granting a preliminary injunction to put the law on hold. Voting with Walker were Chief Justice Evan Jenkins and Justice Tim Armstead. Justices Bill Wooton and John Hutchison were in the minority.
“A preliminary injunction is a powerful remedy that should issue only after a court has carefully considered the parties’ arguments, evidence, and relevant authorities,” Walker wrote.
“Our review of the circuit court’s order preliminarily enjoining the new law from taking effect reveals that it is a product of less than careful consideration. We conclude that the likelihood of Respondents’ success on the merits of their claims — that the new law violates their constitutional rights — is far less than the circuit court believed it to be,” Walker wrote…