State Attorney General Moves To Combine School Vaccine Lawsuits

Two lawsuits, that take opposing sides of the school vaccine debate, may be combined based on a motion from Attorney General JB McCuskey. 

McCuskey filed the motion earlier this week in Raleigh County, the location of one of the suits, asking the courts to combine that suit with another. 

The logic is that “identical issues, facts and legal arguments will be presented throughout both cases, and consolidation is necessary to promote judicial efficiency, avoid duplicative litigation and ensure orderly disposition of all issues.”

The lawsuits, Guzman in Raleigh County and Hess in Kanawha County, ask the courts to decide if Gov. Patrick Morrisey can override state school vaccine law with an executive order. 

One side is based on religious liberty and the other on the welfare of immunocompromised children. 

In January, just after his inauguration, Morrisey issued an executive order allowing religious and philosophical exemptions to the state’s school vaccination policy. The West Virginia Legislature attempted to codify those exemptions, but that failed in the House of Delegates over fears of the return of polio and during the measles outbreak in Texas. 

The Guzman suit seeks to force the state Board of Education to allow religious exemptions to the policy, something it has so far refused to do. The Hess suit seeks to undo the executive order based on the health of immunocompromised children. 

McCuskey asked the court to issue a decision on this matter on an expedited basis.

“The Kanawha County Circuit Court will be required to act promptly on the motion,” he said.” But as explained, a real risk of conflicting decisions on the same subject matter exists should the motion be heard there. Time sensitivity is paramount — delay could be the difference between an orderly back to school process and utter chaos.”