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Insomnia sucks. Well, for the most part it does but lying awake and contemplating life and all its nuances does have its advantages. Last night, as I turned off the TV, hell bent on not allowing myself to watch yet another consecutive episode of Duck Dynasty, I thought about my life. I've been doing that a lot lately. Things I'd change. Things I would do differently. Things I'm so thankful for. As I lay there, I thought about the things I wish I could tell my younger self and things that I hope that I can teach my own children. I made a list. And for those who know me, they know that when I have important stuff to say it often comes out as a list (just so you don't miss anything, ya know?) So here it is. My advice to the younger me and the real-life younger me's that I've been entrusted to raise as good, kind, productive human beings. Drum roll please... 1. Don't be Fake. Be your genuine self. It wasn't until I meandered my way out of my 20s and was well into my 30s until I fully realized that I needed to stop pretending to be something I was not. I didn't need to impress anyone and who I was, as a person, was just fine. My job, my house, my income did not define who I was and the people who would love me, would love me regardless of all of these things. The acceptance that not everyone is going to like you and that you can't be all things to all people is frankly liberating. 2. Practice self and situational awareness. Along with being true to yourself comes knowing your own capabilities and your shortcomings. Self-awareness is a gift that comes when you know yourself well enough to make accurate decisions based upon what is. Situational awareness will allow you to frame your behavior contextually. From relationships to business ventures, there is no aspect of your life in which this will not be useful. 3. Surround yourself with people smarter than you. My mentor, friend and now colleague Rob Vandine told me this very early in my career. His advice not only allows others to shine, but provides you exposure to ideas and thoughts that come from the collaboration of great minds. A rising tide lifts all boats...so having people around you that are smarter will not make you look inferior, it will make everyone perform better. Recognize intelligence and realize that it takes way more than a piece of paper to make someone smart. 4. Give a sh*t. Care. Really allow yourself to have empathy for others and care enough to make a difference. Explore feelings from a point of view other than your own. And don't underestimate the value of a good, appropriately placed hug. 5. Be honest. It really is the best policy. Being honest is not always easy, but it is always right. Lying hurts and the truth will always emerge. Honesty is a fundamental principle that is the foundation for effective relationships in every aspect of life. Honesty will allow you to make decisions based upon a foundation of truth versus quicksand of lies. 6. Listen. There is no coincidence that listen and silent have the same letters. Listening is a gift that you give other people. It is more than hearing, it is processing in a way that allows understanding. Listen. And you will learn more and your interactions will be so much more meaningful. 7. Be accountable. When you screw up, own it. When you promise something, deliver. When you say something, mean it. 8. Don't be so serious. Be silly. Or Weird. Or do something random. Play pranks and have fun. Life is way too short to be serious all the time. Play loud music. Go to the movies as much as humanly possible. Laugh. A lot. 9. Have a good handshake. Seriously. Don't be wimpy. I can't tell you how many times I've been praised for having a good handshake. So, man, woman, child or otherwise, shake hands like you mean it. Oh, and while you're at it look people in the eye. It makes a difference. 10. Use your manners. Make please and thank you part of your everyday conversation. Hold the door for someone. Write a thank you note. Not an email, an honest to goodness thank you on paper with a pen. Mail it. Yes, with a stamp. 11. Give without expectation. If you can help someone do it. Give to others without the expectation that you will get anything in return. Be generous with what you have. Always. 12. Be kind. People will always, always remember how you made them feel. Just be nice. Sometimes be nice anonymously just to do it...you don't always need acknowledgement to make someone's day brighter. 13. Under promise and over deliver. Many times people make the mistake of doing the opposite; they promise exceptional things and then fall short. Be realistic, set expectations and then blow their mind. 14. Be extraordinary. Good enough is no longer good enough. Don't be okay with the status quo. Push yourself beyond your boundaries and your comfort zone. Find something you are good at and then become great. Everyone has something. Find it and use it to become part of who you are. If you are going to be a widget maker, be the best damn widget maker this world has ever seen. 15. Pick your battles. Not every argument is worth winning. Decide which hill you want to die on and don't engage in disputes that at the end of the day, in a week, a month or five years just won't be worth it. Oh, and fight fair. Don't bring up garbage that doesn't matter. 16. Trust your gut. Your instincts are probably right. Don't try and talk yourself out of what you likely already know. 17. Show respect. To those older, those younger, those wiser, those struggling, those winning and losing. Show respect. Period. 18. Never pass up an opportunity to learn something new. Be a lifelong student and you will have some of the best conversations of your life. Learn from books, learn from others, learn from experiences, learn from Wikipedia. It doesn't matter. Just never stop learning. 19. Sometimes life sucks. It's true. And it's going to kick you in the gut more than once. Reality isn't always pretty or what you want. But with every challenge comes a lesson and when you look back on the hard times, each is simply a season moving you forward to another chapter in your life. Understand that when life stinks a) there are people that have it worse than you do and b) things will get better. They always do. Like Winston Churchill said, if you are going through hell, keep going. You'll come out on the other side. I promise. 20. Seek out the positive. Maybe it's 20 years in public relations and sales, or maybe it is just how I'm wired but there is tremendous benefit of putting a positive spin on your life. There is always something to look forward to, to focus on, to bring you to the light at the end of the tunnel. And if you can't see it, ask someone else. Sometimes when you are at your lowest point it is difficult to see the blessings that are right in front of your face. And when you finally do see them, count them...and all of a sudden things just seem to suck just a little bit less. 21. Forgive. Forgiveness is a gift that you give not only the person who fell short but also to yourself. Harboring anger is not healthy and the greatest achievement is forgiving and accepting an apology that you may never hear. And, when the time comes, forgive yourself for falling short of your own expectations. 22. Take a stand. For something. Anything. Be passionate and defend what you believe in. With that being said, don't shove your beliefs onto others. There is certainly a way to have firm beliefs without flaunting your opinions and shoving them down people's throats. Respect that others may take just as hard of a stand on the opposite side. Different opinions. It's what makes this world interesting. 23. Appreciate true friends. In the world of hundreds of virtual friendships that manifest themselves online, be thankful for the true friends that really have your back. The ones you can call at 3 am. The ones that will listen to your problems over and over and over and act as if they are hearing them for the first time. The ones who give you advice you probably should take but won't. If you have one you are lucky...a handful? You are incredibly blessed. 24. Dream big. It is absolutely never too late to chase a dream. So many amazing people are stifled by their own insecurities. What if I fail? What if it doesn't work? What if....Forget what if and just do it. Will it be more difficult? Maybe. Will it be worth it? Absolutely. 25. Consider what marriage means. In a time when more than 50% end in divorce, sincerely consider what you are signing up for. Marriage is hard freaking work. Consider that when you have children that they, too, will be impacted by your decisions. They will look at your actions as a framework for their own future relationships. Take your vows seriously and nurture your relationship with your spouse. And if you don't marry your best friend...don't get married. Oh, and if you can't stay faithful, stay single. Your spouse isn't a car that you trade in when it gets old or you get bored or annoyed. 26. Practice saying no. Sometimes it is ok to say no. You can decline an invitation without being rude, pass up a job because it wasn't a good fit, say no when someone asks for something that you can't realistically provide. It is perfectly okay to say no. 27. Have adventures. When you get unique opportunities take them. Go to places you've never been and do things you've never done before. Be spontaneous. You will never, ever regret these types of experiences. 28. Be fearless. Don't protect yourself from sadness because by doing so you may just end up missing out on tremendous happiness. Live with tremendous courage even when you are scared. More often than not the reward is worth the risk you take. 29. Share with others the things you think are extraordinary about who they are. Compliment others...about their talents, their personality, their resilience, heck, compliment them on their choice of perfume or how their jeans make their butt look good. It doesn't matter...when you think a compliment, say it. It means more than you know. 30. Love without condition. The greatest love you can give anyone is that of unconditional acceptance of who they are. Love with all of your heart, without reservation and never pass up the opportunity to tell someone how much they mean to you. Life is fleeting. Figure out what selfless love really means and offer that to another.

Pappy rarely left the Wheeling area. Other than when he was in the army, he only traveled outside of the Wheeling area to visit my aunt and cousins in Arizona or pick them up from the Pittsburgh airport when they would come to visit. During one of his last visits to Arizona, they took a brief trip to Las Vegas and, while there, visited Caesars Palace which had live camels on display that day. To put it mildly, the live camels amazed him. Well, the following Christmas my mother found a four-foot tall stuffed camel at a local hobby shop while Christmas shopping. That camel was my grandfather's Christmas gift that year and became my grandfather's favorite gift ever not only because of its meaning to his heritage, but because of the joy he experienced playing with his grandchildren and that silly camel. My cousins, Krista and Kellie, now each the mother of two, were little and named the camel Carmen. We have no idea where they came up with that name, but Pappy was not going to change it. I can remember the joy on his face while they dressed her up and played with her. We lost my grandfather to lung cancer a few years after Carmen joined our family. She went to live with my cousins after his death, eventually retiring to my aunt's attic once the kids lost interest in her. One thing was for certain though, she was never going to leave our family. I was supposed to take custody of her while I was living in Charleston, but she never made the trip. She recently came out of her retirement home to help my aunt celebrate "hump day" at her office. Instead of going back to her former-retirement home, Carmen came to live with me and is currently keeping me company in my office and reminding me of what Christmas really means. Christmas is not about shopping and parties and gifts. Christmas is about family and memories of times past and beloved family members lost. While I think of Pappy daily and miss him more than anyone could imagine, Christmas-time brings special memories. I only spent one Christmas away from my grandfather while he was on earth. That year, my  grandparents decided to spend Christmas with my cousins, Travis and Chad, in Arizona and I was, to put it mildly, devastated. On Christmas Eve my mom told me I could call my grandfather to get his special salad dressing recipe while she ran an errand. She was gone for about two hours. Imagine her surprise when she got a long-distance phone bill for the entire time she was out when the call shouldn't have taken longer than 5 minutes. If I couldn't be with Pappy, I was going to talk to him as long as I could. I will also never forget my first attempt to bake Christmas cookies on my own. My snickerdoodles came out hard as a rock and were virtually inedible. Pappy, however, ate every single one because I had made them. Pappy also had a way of sneaking away after Christmas Eve dinner to help make Santa's job that night a little easier. Pappy would do anything in his power for his grandchildren and loved them more than words can express. I was the most fortunate of my cousins because of the length of time I had with Pappy and the amount of time we spent together. Because he had just retired, he became my primary after-school caregiver when I started school. We lost Pappy the November after my high school graduation. My youngest cousin was not even an idea at the time and his sister was only six-months old. I hate the fact that half of my cousins have only vague, if any, memories of him but I know without a doubt that he is bursting with pride watching them from heaven. My mother and I talk often about what he would have thought of his grandchildren's accomplishments and activities. That first-generation American who worked as a laborer the majority of his life has nine grandchildren, all of whom have graduated (or will soon graduate) from college, several with post-graduate degrees. He already has eight great-grandchildren who, if early signs are any indication, will  far exceed the accomplishments of the earlier generation. His legacy lives on in his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren all of whom, whether they know it or not, mimic him in their ideals, values and actions. Carmen, the Christmas Camel, is a symbol of my grandfather, his strength, his integrity and his legacy. She reminds us of what is important - family, honesty, integrity, hard work and valuing the simple things in life. I feel honored to have been entrusted with her care and will make sure she is around for the Joseph family's future generations so they can know Michael Nimon Joseph. While she will eventually go home with me, she is hanging out at Bordas & Bordas for a little while reminding me of my grandfather and the values he held dear and reminding all of us of the values we should strive to implement daily. (Plus, she's looking forward to the perfect opportunity to help Bordas & Bordas celebrate "hump day.")

For years West Virginia has embraced two contradictory concepts. On one hand, West Virginia law has always given special status and protection to those who are invited onto someone else's property. In fact, a property owner has a legal duty to maintain his property in a reasonably safe condition for the protection of any invitees. On the other hand, West Virginia also adopted the open-and-obvious defense. Basically, this meant that a property owner had an absolute defense in any case where an invitee suffered injury from a danger that was obvious or reasonably discoverable. Naturally, insurance companies took advantage of this defense, arguing that practically any danger or defect on the property was discoverable and refusing to pay claims on that basis. Consider the case of Walter Hersh. After visiting a Martinsburg shopping plaza, Mr. Hersh descended a set of stairs leading to the parking lot. It was undisputed that a Martinsburg city ordinance required the stairs to have a handrail. It was also undisputed that the required handrail was missing. As a result, Mr. Hersh fell and suffered injuries. Did the insurance company pay for Mr. Hersh's injuries? After all, everyone agreed that the stairs violated a safety ordinance. You can probably guess what happened. The insurance company refused to pay and, instead, insisted that the missing handrail was an open and obvious danger. That's bad enough, but the trial court agreed and dismissed Mr. Hersh's personal injury case. Mr. Hersh appealed and, thankfully, the West Virginia Supreme Court put an end to this kind of foolishness. Hersh vs. E-T Enterprises, LP, No. 12-0106 (W.Va. Nov. 12, 2013). The Court formally abolished the open-and-obvious defense. No longer can an insurance company simply point to a hazard, claim that it's obvious, and stubbornly refuse to pay. Some have claimed that abolishing the open-and-obvious defense givens invitees a free pass. Everyone has a duty to protect themselves from harm, they say. Abolishing this defense means that invitees have no accountability for their own negligence. But this simply isn't true. Like every state, West Virginia recognizes a duty of self-protection. The Court didn't abolish that duty. Instead, the Court recognized that it was up to the jury to determine if an invitee negligently failed to protect himself and, if so, to apportion the negligence of all of the parties involved under our state's comparative negligence law. That's the right outcome, and the attorneys from Bordas & Bordas were proud to file an amicus brief on behalf of the West Virginia Association for Justice in this case. Absolute defenses have no place in West Virginia's negligence law. It's the job of the jury--common folks like you and me--to weigh the negligence of everyone involved and to return a verdict that's fair and just under the circumstances.

While oil and natural gas operations reaching and producing from the Marcellus and Utica Shales may be relatively new, oil and gas operations have been conducted in the Ohio Valley for many generations. Our grandparents and great-grandparents often signed leases for the oil and gas underlying their property many years ago. What do those old leases mean to you today, now that you and your generation owns the property? As you can imagine, those old oil and gas leases provided monetary terms that are much less than the monies being paid under newer deep well oil and gas leases. They typically provided for 12.5% royalty payments as opposed to the 18-20+% royalty rates that many are producers are agreeing to pay today. Those old leases typically reached only shallow sandstone deposits because the technology simply did not exist to reach the deeper shale plays. How has the horizontal drilling revolution affected your rights under those old shallow well leases? What are your rights with regard to those old leases? Is production still occurring from those old wells? What should you do if an oil and gas operator approaches you about signing a ratification or amended agreement? These are all issues of concern that you should be aware of. An oil and gas lease typically has a primary term (usually some set period of months or years) followed by a secondary term (which could last for many decades). If a well is drilled and gas is produced during the primary term of a lease, the lease will generally extend into the secondary term so long as gas production and/or other appropriate operations might continue. Important questions with regard to shallow oil and gas wells drilled under old leases include whether such wells have continued to produce over the years and how much of the property that you own is held by that production. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources have several tools to help us to identify the history of oil and gas wells including historical production numbers. We can review the history of particular wells and see if, indeed, there has been continuous production from wells such that the secondary term of an old oil and gas lease might remain in effect. If there have been periods of non-production, arguments can be made that the lease is no longer valid and you, as the landowner, may be entitled to a cancellation of the lease and the right to go out and re-lease your property to another producer. It is also possible that while production and royalty payments may have continued, certain portions of your property should nonetheless be partially released from old ineffective leases. For example, if you have 100 acres of property subject to an older oil and gas lease and there is only one producing well on the property, does that one producing well hold the entire 100 acres? Despite what the oil and gas operator might be telling you, it may not. The laws of most states read into oil and gas leases certain obligations on the part of the producer. Those obligations become a part of your oil and gas lease because the ultimate goal of such leases is to protect the production interest of both the producer and the royalty holder. A lessor under an oil and gas lease typically has an implied obligation/covenant to reasonably develop the property. That essentially means that the oil and gas producer has a duty to do what is reasonable to ensure that the royalty interests are maximized. In many circumstances, one shallow well on 100 acres is not sufficient to reasonably develop the entire 100 acre tract. It is much more likely that only 20-40 acres are effectively being drained and produced. In those cases, additional wells would serve to ensure the full and complete production of the 100 acre tract. If the oil and gas producer has not reasonably attempted to develop the remaining acreage, it could be determined that the acreage beyond the one well that was drilled is no longer subject to the lease. While the acreage associated with the producing well would still be subject to the old lease, the remaining property would be free. Many people who have properties subject to old shallow well oil and gas leases have been approached over the last few years by companies seeking to have them execute Ratification and/or Amendment documents. Companies owing or buying those old leases want to expand their production from the existing shallow wells into the deeper shale plays where the money is currently being made. Because the technology associated with deep horizontal drilling is still relatively new, the majority of the old shallow well leases did not address an important issue necessary for horizontal drilling units. Old shallow well leases rarely had pooling or unitization language in them. Marcellus and Utica wells are much bigger than the old shallow wells. They can effectively drain potentially a thousand plus acres of land from one well pad. Without the right to pool your oil and gas acreage with the surrounding acreage, it makes it difficult and probably cost prohibitive to reach the deeper shale gas. If you have an old oil and gas well on your property, don't just trust the gas company when it tells you that it still holds the property. You may be entitled to negotiate a new lease for substantially higher upfront money and better royalty rates as well. Even if the land is partially held by an older oil and gas lease, you might have a significant amount of bargaining power to better your terms and gain more protection for your property. Bordas & Bordas is actively involved in this oil and gas related work and we look forward to working with those people who want to fully investigate their potential oil and gas rights. This article is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Use of and access to this website or any of the links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship between Bordas & Bordas and the user or browser.

Around this time of year, you see commercials, signs and billboards that say "Keep Christ in Christmas." After all, the whole reason for the season is Jesus, the Son of God, coming to earth to save the sinner - each of us - from our sins, offering the only way of salvation, and giving the greatest love story ever told. The reason He came was His love for you and me. Unfortunately, Christmas has become so unbelievably commercialized that most of our society has forgotten this. Stores now compete to offer the best Black Friday sales on Thursday and Christmas trees are on display in August beside backpacks and back-to-school specials. Is this really how far we have strayed from the purpose of this time of celebration? Take time this Christmas season, and all year round, to stop and remember why we celebrate. We celebrate Jesus Christ, the Creator of the universe and the Author of salvation, leaving all the glories of Heaven to come and save us from an eternity without Him. He came so that He could die for our sins at Calvary and offer eternal salvation for those who are willing to receive it. He came because He loves you and me. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. -Romans 8:38-39 (NIV)

As the year approaches an end, I think back on some of the lawyers from other firms who I have had an opportunity to work with in a co-counsel capacity. It is always very humbling when another firm asks you to work with it to represent their client. This year was particularly special though as I think about some of the great relationships and friendships that I have formed over the past year or two. I fondly recall being in mediations with the father-son duo of Rod and Scott Windom from Ritchie County representing individuals who had lost a loved one as a result of an industrial explosion and another man who had been badly injured.As I have been in many mediations with my own Dad over the years, I enjoyed seeing another father-son team in a similar role. This year saw the conclusion of a mass tort case that I worked on with the Skinner Firm from Charles Town.I will treasure the friendship that I have formed with Andrew Skinner and Laura Davis and admire the quality work that they perform on behalf of their clients. We were able to obtain significant justice for dozens of homeowners who had been fraudulently mistreated by a national home builder. I have been blessed to have the opportunity to work on numerous occasions with Ben Salango from Charleston in representing policy holders who inappropriately had insurance benefits withheld.Ben is one of the brightest young legal minds in the state and a genuinely good guy. We have been able to stand up to these insurance companies together and obtain significant recoveries for our clients. Speaking of Charleston, I have had the opportunity to work with Brooks West on several occasions. Brooks continues to fight hard for his clients and is incredibly creative as a lawyer. I am confident that our new relationship will continue to grow and look forward to working on cases with him. I have had the chance to work with Dorwin Wolfe from Elkins.Dorwin has been a friend of our firm for a number of years.He is immensely talented and has worked and trained closely with Gerry Spence, one of our nation's greatest trial lawyers. I was even fortunate enough to receive a call from an extremely good college and law school friend, Too Keller, from Indianapolis about working on a case involving a defective door that badly injured a woman at a hotel. Too has his own firm now and is one of the best people I have met in my lifetime. I know that his firm will continue to grow and his career will continue to flourish. These relationships are all special in their own ways. But, they all have something in common. They allow me the opportunity to work with some great people. Although they each may have their own reasons for approaching me to work with them, they have all allowed me to work with bright individuals to achieve justice for our clients. I have learned a great deal from each of them and I believe that I am a better lawyer in some way because of each of these relationships. So, as the year winds down, I take this opportunity to say thanks to them. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to work with you. Thank you for fighting for our clients with me. But, most of all, thank you for your friendship.It is truly valued.

Surely by now most, if not all, of us finally understand the dangers of social media. Not long ago Bordas & Bordas attorney Michelle Marinacci wrote an informative blog about how employers have used Facebook posts to justify employee firings. More and more stories keep popping up which showing poor social media decision making. A Facebook photograph recently cost one Virginia attorney his job, hundreds of thousands of dollars and his law license. The picture, however, was not of the attorney, it was of one of his clients. The client was the surviving husband of a woman who was killed in a tragic automobile accident involving a truck owned and operated by a concrete company. Following his wife's death, the man retained an attorney and presented a personal injury and wrongful death lawsuit. Sometime after his wife's death, and during the pendency of the lawsuit, the man was photographed at a party wearing a shirt bearing the phrase "I Love Hot Moms!" Of course, the picture was posted to Facebook. An attorney working for the concrete company was ultimately able to view the man's Facebook page when the man himself sent a message to the attorney. Not surprisingly, the attorney then followed up with formal discovery requests to be provided with copies of information and posts from the man's Facebook page. To prove that bad decisions are not limited to clients, the attorney representing the family of the deceased woman immediately advised his staff to have their client "clean up" his Facebook page to avoid such evidence from showing up at trial. The client subsequently erased several pictures from his page.-- article about the case Not surprisingly, the attorney and his client's actions were later uncovered and the photographs were provided to the defense. The attorney did not reveal that he had affirmatively asked the client to clean up his page until after a jury verdict had already been issued. The man had been awarded $6.2 million dollars for the loss of his wife. The trial judge ruled that amount to be excessive under the circumstances and reduced that award to $2.1 million, but an appeals court later restored the full verdict. Once the true nature of the attorney's actions came to light, and additional discovery was conducted, the trial court found it necessary to fine the attorney and his client $722,000 in attorney's fees. The attorney has now resigned from his law firm and ultimately faced state bar disciplinary proceedings. Recently it was announced that the attorney has agreed to a five year suspension for "violating professional rules that govern candor toward the tribunal, fairness to opposing party ad counsel, and misconduct." The Plaintiff made a poor decision when he wore the t-shirt and when he posted the picture to Facebook. I don't know that man and I can't imagine the stress of losing my wife. I can only imagine that his actions relate back to the tremendous stress and sorrow surrounding his loss. While the defendants would likely have used the photographs to argue that he must not have been that torn up about the loss of his wife, his attorney could have, and should have, demonstrated how the loss of his wife turned the man's life upside down and influenced him to do things he never would have done if his wife were still with him. Attorneys are professionals. As with any profession we are supposed to hold ourselves to higher standards and we take oath accordingly. The attorney here made a bad decision. A bad decision that has cost him his profession and a significant amount of money. Attorneys have to have the courage and the fortitude to stand up and do the right thing at all times. The attorneys at Bordas & Bordas pride themselves on standing up and doing the right thing. We are frequently called on to represent individuals who have lost loved ones in tragic and preventable accidents. Our job is not just to investigate the case and get the best possible result for the loved ones left behind, we firmly believe it is our job to help grieving families through all the difficult decisions they will face and to help them move forward with their lives as best they can.

You can imagine all of the preparations that would have to be made if the President visited your hometown. Naturally, the President would require the best accommodations including a plush hotel, food, and all of the amenities. Transportation would have to be provided. Security would obviously be a major concern. So would crowd control. Why? Because where the President goes, so does his entourage, the press and, of course, thousands upon thousands of onlookers. But the situation was very different 2,000 years ago. In a tiny Near Eastern village an even greater dignitary arrived for a visit--God's own son, Jesus. But he didn't come with all of the trappings of wealth and prestige. Far from it. Instead of a five-star hotel room, he came to a cold, drafty stable. Instead of a bed, he was given a feeding trough. Instead of blankets, he was kept warm with strips of cloth. Was he greeted by throngs of admirers and onlookers? Not exactly. Even though he was the King of Kings, he didn't draw a crowd. There was no press or paparazzi. Wealthy and powerful men didn't line the streets to shake his hand or bend his ear. In fact, the only visitors he had were shepherds from the fields outside of the village--ordinary men who were given an extraordinary opportunity to see the newborn king with their own eyes. It's fitting that Jesus came as he did. What message would it send if the Savior had been born in a palace or in a fine, rich home? Jesus came to offer hope and salvation to everyone. Think of it. Rich or poor, nobleman or commoner. The coming of the King of Kings broke through all of these barriers. In the coming weeks you'll probably see countless nativities. Don't just pass them by. Stop and look at the surroundings--the stable, the manger, the shepherds peering intently at the newborn baby boy. And as you look, remember that he chose to come to such a humble place as proof that his love can reach anyone, anywhere, anytime! From all of us at Bordas & Bordas, have a blessed and joy-filled Christmas season!

Catch this week's edition of the regionally beloved Bordas & Bordas Legal Review. Jamie Bordas and guest Chris Regan discuss important cases on worker safety decided by West Virginia's Supreme Court of Appeals this last term. Find out if the "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" defense worked out for one employer and whether or not employers can blame their own employees for on-the-job injuries, even where the employer knew that the employee had been subjected to an unsafe condition. You can view the Bordas & Bordas Legal Review locally on Comcast Channel 14 or also online, both streaming and in the archive. The current episode is embedded within this post. Pick up this episode through the WLUTV archives, and be sure to check the WLUTV schedule for other B&BLR show times and programming.

Over a year ago Bordas & Bordas, PLLC brought you information about the massive safety concerns surrounding exploding gas cans and how the manufactures of those gas cans could take a simple and inexpensive step to avoid catastrophic injury to their consumers. This story is now making national news. NBC News Investigations has prepared an investigative article about this issue. The story aired on the TODAY SHOW on December 4, 2013. The story highlighted that after significant testing and inquiries, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a statement calling on the consumer gas can industry to incorporate flame-arrester technology into gasoline containers. For your ease and enjoyment, we have republished attorney Jeremy McGraw's previous article on the topic below: Nearly all of us are familiar with red portable gas cans. We keep them in our garages and outbuildings and use them to fuel our lawn mowers, generators, and other small engine tools and equipment around our homes and at work. These portable gas cans are relatively cheap and can be picked up at about any store. Many of these cans, however, pose a danger that can simply be prevented. Exploding gas cans have killed and injured many people over the years. In 2008 Dan Rather conducted a lengthy investigation into exploding gas cans and his entire report is viewable on You Tube. As one might expect, civil litigation has followed. Through investigation, discovery, and government and independent research studies, it has been determined that the inclusion of a "flame arrestor" on gas cans greatly reduces the chance of any gas can ignition. These arrestors largely prevent open flames from entering into a gas can through the pour spout and igniting the vapors and fluid in the can. One might expect these flame arrestors to be expensive complex units, but the truth of the matter is that a simple piece of metal mesh is all that is needed to reduce the risk of these types of explosions. The cost of producing and including such flame arrestors is in reality less than one dollar. In 2011, Dan Rather returned to his 2008 investigation with an update. Unfortunately, even after additional research and publicity on the issue manufactures have continued to exclude the inexpensive arrestors on their products. One major producer of gas cans, Blitz USA, has been the subject of several cases involving the explosion of gas cans without flame arrestors. In those cases it has been shown that Blitz USA simply decided to avoid the extra cost of installing the cheap flame arrestors to keep its costs down and increase profit. Not surprisingly, the big business interest groups have latched onto the Blitz USA cases to push their tort reform agenda. Sadly, chasing the almighty dollar takes priority over the hideous burns, scarring, deaths and other personal injuries that result from not including this simple safety feature. For more information about the big business tort reform agenda and the lengths that these special interests have gone to in order to limit the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens check out the very informative documentary "Hot Coffee." The Blitz USA cases stand as simply another example of large companies choosing profits over people. Bordas & Bordas, PLLC has consistently taken on large companies that have chosen profits over people. Our verdicts and settlements in such cases stand as a testament to those injured people who have decided to stand up for the rights of all Americans. The more people who join together to beat back the corporate malefactors who refuse to do the right thing and implement safety features to protect the public, the better off we'll all be.

We've probably all heard Sergeant Shultz from Hogan's Heroes bellow out emphatically: "I see nothing!" In McComas vs. AFC Industries, LLC, No. 12-0548 (W.Va. October 17, 2013), the employer attempted to invent a Sergeant Shultz-type defense in deliberate intent cases. Thankfully, the West Virginia Supreme Court rejected this attempt to avoid an employer's duty to conduct mandatory safety inspections. The plaintiff, David McComas, was a welder by trade. His employer, AFC Industries, was a company that built railroad cars. McComas, joined by two other welders, were assigned to a part of AFC's plant that had been out of operation and all electrical power had been shut off. When McComas attempted to restart the power at an electrical box, an arc blast occurred. McComas was thrown to the floor, and despite wearing all of the required safety equipment including hat, goggles and gloves, he suffered severe burns to 25% of his body. It turns out that the electrical box had been installed over 50 years before this tragic incident and, incredibly, that AFC had never inspected it. McComas sued AFC for deliberate intent. Ordinarily, employers can't sue for workplace injuries but, instead, can only recover workers compensation benefits. Where, however, the employer acts with deliberate intent, the employee can sue and recover all of the damages he sustained. To recover for deliberate intent, an employee must prove, among other things, that the employer had actual knowledge of an unsafe working condition. AFC claimed that because it had never inspected the electrical box, it was like Sergeant Shultz: it knew nothing. Therefore, it couldn't be liable for deliberate intent. Not surprisingly, the West Virginia Supreme Court rejected this argument out of hand. In fact, the Court pointed out that there was a specific safety standard requiring electrical boxes to be inspected every three to six months, if energized, and every three to six years, if deenergized. Ironically, AFC's own expert conceded this safety standard applied to the electrical box in question. But AFC stubbornly insisted that it had never looked inside the box and, therefore, couldn't possibly have had knowledge of any defects. The Court's response couldn't have been stated in stronger terms. "he Legislature did not intend to allow employers to shirk responsibilities imposed by  specific statutes, rules, regulations or standards by turning a blind eye to work place hazards. Willful ignorance...is no defense..." The Court then summarized this principle in a new syllabus point: "When a safety statute, rule or regulation, or a commonly accepted and well-known safety standard within the industry or business, imposes a specifically identifiable duty to inspect upon the employer, and the inspection would have revealed the specific unsafe working condition, the employer may be found to have had actual knowledge of the specific unsafe working condition within the meaning of this State's deliberate intent statute, W.Va. Code, 23-4-2(d)(2)(ii)(B) ." This is an important win for workplace safety. Employers do not get a free pass because they deliberately ignore mandatory safety inspections. To hold otherwise would render these inspections pointless and, even worse, place the lives of thousands of working West Virginians in jeopardy. Sergeant Shultz was never meant to be taken seriously. Neither was AFC's argument that it could avoid its safety responsibilities without any legal consequences. The Court got it right--and it should continue to zealously protect the rights and safety of our workers.

There is not a day that goes by that I don't hear a story in our office about telephone calls we receive by people in need. Many of the people who call don't really have a case that will be filed in a court of law, but rather have an issue that is bothering them that needs to be listened to, addressed and have suggestions offered for resolution. There have been numerous times over the course of my practice of law that people on the other end of the phone have thanked me simply for taking the time to listen. It still surprises me, even today, when I am thanked simply for listening. One would hope that most would listen even if they are not able to act on the problem that is being presented. Nonetheless, that doesn't seem to be the case. There are oftentimes things I would much rather be doing than listening to a person talk about a problem that I know will be a case that we will not be able to take. As a lawyer, I have a duty as a brother of lawyers to listen so that the public receives a good impression of me and lawyers in general. If for no other reason, I would encourage other lawyers to take the time to accept phone calls and listen even though you know from the first few seconds of the conversation that the caller is describing to you a case you will not be able to take, still pay respect to the individual by listening to the problems they are presenting you. I have found this listening thing to be a lifelong quest. Certainly, I have had my wife tell me a number of times that she said something when I simply must not have been listening. That is a problem I've been working on since the day we got married. I am still not as good as I would like to be but I am much better than I was as a young husband. Listening can be an art form and is something I believe we ought to aspire to develop simply because it is the right thing to do. Listening can, at times, bring big monetary rewards. I have had three major examples of cases that paid big dividends in which I simply listened and asked questions when no one else would. The first was a gentleman by the name of Dale Riggle who, along with his wife, Millie, came into my office in Elm Grove before my wife graduated from law school. Dale wanted a will. As I talked to him further, I determined he had a social security issue that needed resolved. In talking and listening further, I learned that Dale had been exposed to and injured by chemicals at the Allied chemical plant in Marshall County, West Virginia. I took Dale on as a client and ultimately tried his case and recovered one of the largest toxic tort verdicts in the history of the state. It was followed up by a bad faith case against the defendant's insurer and I was able to receive a substantial fee as a result of my representation of the Riggle family. Although Dale recently passed away, I continue to count Millie as a good friend of mine. The next case was the case of Marylu Marook. Marylu was a woman who was being sued by what was formerly known as Bank One, at the time one of the largest banking corporations in the United States. This case started about the time Linda graduated from law school in 1985. I was not the first lawyer with whom Marylu discussed her issue. As a matter of fact, she told me she had talked with twelve other lawyers, all with offices in Ohio, before she decided she would contact me, the only West Virginia lawyer with whom she spoke. She told me that I was the only one who would listen to her. In listening to the story about how she came to be sued for over to $200,000.00, I became incensed by the conduct of the bank. I continued to listen to Marylu tell her story for about an hour and a half. I asked some questions but mostly listened. I agreed to undertake Marylu's defense on a pro bono basis but told her that I thought we should file a counter-claim, and I would charge my regular fee for the counter-claim. I had no idea at that time as to what my chances might be with respect to the counter-claim and had never represented a single client in a lender liability case. The bank was represented by a Jackson Kelly attorney who was one of its top litigators at the time. It was a very daunting task for me, at that point in my career, to take on Bank One and the Jackson Kelly litigator, for the most part, for free. Nonetheless, Marylu had convinced me that the bank's case had no merit and she was greatly wronged. The bank made no offer to settle the case until the day the case was set to go to trial. As we were walking in the courtroom, the bank's corporate lawyer offered $50,000.00 to settle the case. By that time, I had advanced more than double that in expenses, most of which went to the experts I retained and for the numerous depositions that were taken of all the witnesses in the case. This was the last twelve-person jury to which I presented a case, as the rules in West Virginia changed and cases are now presented to a six-person jury. The twelve-person jury, I was later told by the foreman, had arrived at their decision within a half an hour. However, they respected and liked the defense lawyer and did not want to embarrass him by coming back with a verdict in half an hour. The verdict they first decided on was $10 million. The foreman told me that they later reduced that to $2.5 million because they felt the West Virginia Supreme Court would set that aside as being too generous. The foreman also told me that while the jury was out for two hours they spent the time telling each other about themselves in order to pass the time. This case, likewise, paid big dividends inasmuch as I earned a substantial fee for the counter-claim that I filed on Marylu's behalf. The third example of listening was the most recent lender liability case that Jason Causey and I tried in Ohio County. It was on behalf of the Browns, a mother and daughter who were about to be kicked out of their home because of what had transpired during their dealings with Quicken Loans. Many of you who are reading this blog may be aware of the Quicken Loans case. It has been in and out of the news for the past couple years due to the substantial verdict that was recovered by me and Jason on behalf of the Browns and which later was argued in the West Virginia Supreme Court. After remand to the Circuit Court, the trial court verdict in the millions was actually increased. That multi-million dollar verdict came about after I listened to Monique Brown sobbing in my waiting room telling her story to our receptionist as to how she was going to have to move out of her house. She went on to tell me that her mother was going to let the bank take the home. I called Monique into the office, listened to her story and told her I would help. The point I am trying to make is that it is not only morally correct to take the time to listen, but it also can pay big rewards. The obvious reward is a better relationship with your spouse, children, parents, office staff and others. It can also bring about monetary rewards as shown in this blog. The results in a legal case depend on a variety of factors, many of which are unique to each case. Prior results by this firm or any other do not guarantee future results. Case results presented here are illustrations of the type of work done by Bordas & Bordas and not a guarantee that any prospective case will yield any particular amount.