KW Economics prepares economic damages analyses for commercial contract dispute cases venued in West Virginia: the components the loss claim consists of, the records that drive them, and a present value built to West Virginia's damages rules and venues. Plaintiff and defense.
A commercial contract damages claim measures the profits a business lost, or the costs it incurred, because the other party did not perform, as the difference between the performed-contract path and what the business actually earned or could have earned by mitigating. Read the full commercial contract dispute analysis guide.
West Virginia trial judges act as gatekeepers for expert testimony in civil cases and ask whether the economist is qualified, whether the method is reliable and accepted in the profession, and whether it was applied reliably to the facts. A damages report meets that inquiry by stating its assumptions and naming the data behind each one.
Highest court: Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. Federal venues: N.D.W. Va., S.D.W. Va. Court system: courtswv.gov.
West Virginia reduces a negligence-based award by the plaintiff's share of fault and bars recovery once that share exceeds the combined fault of the defendants. Prejudgment interest is available on past special damages and on a liquidated sum, but not on future damages, so the report separates past from future amounts as of a fixed date. Economic damages are not subject to a general statutory limit outside specific statutory claims, and the limits in medical professional liability claims reach noneconomic damages.
The same four steps apply to a commercial contract dispute case venued in West Virginia; the damages framework above decides which components enter the total.
Commercial Contract Dispute cases venued in West Virginia are heard in the Circuit Court (General jurisdiction; one in each of 55 counties; all civil and criminal matters). Final appeals run to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Courts for the Northern District of West Virginia and Southern District of West Virginia.
West Virginia reduces a negligence-based award by the plaintiff's share of fault and bars recovery once that share exceeds the combined fault of the defendants. Prejudgment interest is available on past special damages and on a liquidated sum, but not on future damages, so the report separates past from future amounts as of a fixed date. Economic damages are not subject to a general statutory limit outside specific statutory claims, and the limits in medical professional liability claims reach noneconomic damages. West Virginia trial judges act as gatekeepers for expert testimony in civil cases and ask whether the economist is qualified, whether the method is reliable and accepted in the profession, and whether it was applied reliably to the facts. A damages report meets that inquiry by stating its assumptions and naming the data behind each one.
Request a consultation on commercial contract dispute cases in West Virginia or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.