Farber v. Dale

BROTHERTON, Justice.

This case is before the Court on the following certified question from the Circuit Court of Braxton County:

Is a defendant entitled to absolute immunity in a civil action in which he has been sued for libel based upon his testimony before the West Virginia State Bar Legal Ethics Committee?

On December 17, 1985, the defendant, Walter J. Dale, was a member of the West Virginia Health Care Cost Review Authority (HCCRA), an administrative agency of the State of West Virginia, which was conducting a public hearing in Elkins, West Virginia, to determine whether Memorial General…