West Virginia Code 33-34-4 – Confidentiality of certain proceedings and records
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law and except as set forth in this section, proceedings, hearings, notices, correspondence, reports, records and other information in the possession of the commissioner relating to the supervision of any insurer shall not be subject to disclosure as provided in article one, chapter twenty-nine-b of this code, shall not be subject to subpoena and shall not be subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in any private civil action, except as provided by this section. However, the commissioner is authorized to use the documents, materials or other information in the furtherance of any regulatory or legal action brought as part of the commissioner's official duties.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 33-34-4
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- 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.
- 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
- Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
- Testify: Answer questions in court.
(b) The personnel of the offices of the Insurance Commissioner shall have access to these proceedings, hearings, notices, correspondence, reports, records or information as permitted by the commissioner. Neither the commissioner nor any person who received documents, materials or other information while acting under the authority of the commissioner shall be permitted or required to testify in any private civil action concerning any such documents, materials or information.
(c) The commissioner may share the notices, correspondence, reports, records or information with other state, federal and international regulatory agencies, with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and its affiliates and subsidiaries, and with state, federal and international law enforcement authorities, if the commissioner determines that the disclosure is necessary or proper for the enforcement of the laws of this or another state of the United States, and provided that the recipient agrees to maintain the confidentiality of the documents, material or other information. No waiver of any applicable privilege or claim of confidentiality shall occur as a result of the sharing of documents, materials or other information pursuant to this subsection.
(d) The commissioner may open the proceedings or hearings or make public the notices, correspondence, reports, records or other information if the commissioner deems that it is in the best interest of the public, the insurer, its insureds, creditors or the general public.
(e) This section does not apply to hearings, notices, correspondence, reports, records or other information obtained upon the appointment of a receiver for the insurer by a court of competent jurisdiction.