West Virginia Code 62-1D-12 – Civil liability; defense to civil or criminal action
(a) Any person whose wire, oral or electronic communication is intercepted, disclosed, used or whose identity is disclosed in violation of this article shall have a civil cause of action against any person who so intercepts, discloses, or uses, or procures any other person to intercept, disclose, or use the communications, and shall be entitled to recover from any such person or persons:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 62-1D-12
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Electronic communication: means any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio, electro-magnetic, photoelectronic or photooptical system but does not include:
(1) The radio portion of a cordless telephone communication that is transmitted between the cordless telephone handset and the base unit. See West Virginia Code 62-1D-2
- Intercept: means the aural or other acquisition of the contents of any wire, electronic or oral communication through the use of any electronic, mechanical or other device. See West Virginia Code 62-1D-2
- Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
- Person: means any person, individual, partnership, association, joint stock company, trust or corporation and includes any police officer, employee or agent of this state or of a political subdivision thereof. See West Virginia Code 62-1D-2
- Wire communication: means any aural transfer made in whole or in part through the use of facilities for the transmission of communications by the aid of wire, cable or other like connection between the point of origin and the point of reception (including the use of the connection in a switching station) furnished or operated by any person engaged in providing or operating the facilities for the transmission of interstate or foreign communications or communications affecting interstate or foreign commerce and the term includes any electronic storage of the communication, but the term does not include the radio portion of a cordless telephone communication that is transmitted between the cordless telephone handset and the base unit. See West Virginia Code 62-1D-2
(1) Actual damages, but not less than $100 for each day of violation;
(2) Punitive damages, if found to be proper; and
(3) Reasonable attorney fees and reasonable costs of litigation incurred.
(b) A good faith reliance by a provider of electronic or wire communication services on a court order or legislative authorization constitutes a complete defense to any civil or criminal action brought under this article or any other law.