West Virginia Code 14-2B-8 – Priorities of claims to moneys in escrow account
(a) The court, in ordering relief pursuant to this article, shall distribute the moneys in the escrow account and moneys which may later be payable under the contract, in the following priority:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 14-2B-8
- Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Court: means the circuit court of the county wherein the defendant is charged with or was prosecuted for the commission of the crime. See West Virginia Code 14-2B-3
- Crime: means any offense designated by the provisions of this code as a felony or misdemeanor. See West Virginia Code 14-2B-3
- Crime profits: means :
(1) Any property obtained through or income generated from the commission of a crime of which the defendant was convicted. See West Virginia Code 14-2B-3
- Crime victim: means the victim of the offense or the personal representative of a crime victim. See West Virginia Code 14-2B-3
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Defendant: means a person charged with a crime or convicted of a crime after trial, by entry of a plea of guilty or by entry of a plea of nolo contendere in any court in this state. See West Virginia Code 14-2B-3
- Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
- Judgment: includes decrees and orders for the payment of money, or the conveyance or delivery of land or personal property, or some interest therein, or any undertaking, bond or recognizance which has the legal effect of a judgment. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
- Prosecutor: means the prosecuting attorney of the county in which the defendant is charged with or was prosecuted for the commission of the crime. See West Virginia Code 14-2B-3
- 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
(1) Payments authorized by the court for the exclusive purpose of retaining legal representation at any stage of the criminal proceedings against such defendant;
(2) Reasonable attorneys fees and expenses incurred by the prosecutor in bringing the interpleader action;
(3) Civil judgments of the victims of the crime, judgments awarded to any crime victim pursuant to the interpleader action authorized by this article and subrogation claims of the crime victim's compensation fund;
(4) Unpaid criminal fines owed to the state by the defendant as a result of the defendant's conviction for any crime;
(5) Expenses incurred by any other instrumentality of the state or political subdivision thereof as a result of the commission of the crime, including, without limitation, any county or regional jail or penitentiary in which the defendant was incarcerated: Provided, That for the purposes of this subdivision, the term "instrumentality of the state or political subdivision thereof" shall not include the crime victim's compensation fund; and
(6) The defendant.
(b) No payment shall be made out of the escrow account where such payment would be in derogation of claims, either presented or pending, entitled to a higher priority under this subdivision. If insufficient moneys exist to pay all claims entitled to equal priority, the court shall equitably allot such moneys as are available among the several claimants. Notwithstanding any provision in this article to the contrary, when the court considers other civil judgments rendered against the defendant for any crime victim for the purposes of equitably allotting moneys, the court shall review such judgment and shall consider for allotment only that portion of the civil judgment which relates to the crime which produced the crime profits.
(c) Moneys in the escrow account shall not be subject to execution, levy, attachment or lien except in accordance with the priority of claims established in this subdivision.