West Virginia Code 25-1A-8 – Attorney fees
(a) In any action based upon prison conditions brought under any statute or Constitutional provision, if attorney fees are recoverable pursuant to any state statute, no attorney fees shall be awarded to a prisoner, except to the extent that:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 25-1A-8
- Civil action: means any action or appeal from an action filed by any current or former inmate or his or her personal representative with respect to conditions of confinement, including, but not limited to, petitions for extraordinary writs, civil actions under 42 U. See West Virginia Code 25-1A-1
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
(1) The fees were directly and reasonably incurred by an attorney in proving an actual violation of prisoner's rights protected by the Constitution or statute; and
(2) The amount of the fees is proportionately related to the court-ordered relief for the violation, or the fees were directly and reasonably incurred in enforcing the relief ordered for the violation.
(b) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a prisoner from entering into an agreement to pay an attorney fee in excess of the amount authorized in this section, if the fee is paid by the prisoner rather than by another party to a civil action.