Burks v. Wymer

McHUGH, Justice:

Appellant, Mrs. Thomas Burks, appeals from a March 7, 1979 order of the Circuit Court of Kanawha County denying appellant’s motion to proceed by class action. 1 This appeal presents the novel issue of whether mass tort class actions can be maintained under W.Va.R.Civ.P. 23. Federal and state courts have recognized that certain tort actions may be properly maintained as class actions, and have developed factors for trial judges to consider in evaluating such proposed actions. We agree that certain tort actions may be maintained as class actions. Our task in this opinion is to…