Terms Used In West Virginia Code > Chapter 7 > Article 14A - Deputy Sheriffs' Tort Liability

• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Professional liability insurance: means an insuring agreement wherein the insurer agrees, subject to policy agreements, exclusions, conditions and limits, to pay all sums which the insured deputy sheriff shall or may become legally obligated to pay as damages because of bodily injury (including death) or property damages sustained by others and caused by an occurrence and arising out of such deputy sheriff'. See West Virginia Code 7-14A-2
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• State: means a state of the United States, or the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See West Virginia Code 48-14-601
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.