G.k. Farley, Petitioner v. J.r. Buckalew

Summary

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia answered a certified question in the negative, holding that a member of the West Virginia Department of Public Safety may not appeal a transfer order directly to the Circuit Court of Kanawha County but must first exhaust administrative remedies before the department's board of appeals. Reading W.Va. Code § 15-2-20 [1977] together with § 15-2-6 [1984], the court found the provisions ambiguous because § 15-2-20 appears to permit appeal either to the board or directly to the circuit court, while § 15-2-6 allows circuit court review only after a board of appeals decision. Applying the rule that specific statutory provisions control over general ones when read together they create an ambiguity, the court held the more specific exhaustion procedure of § 15-2-6 governs, a construction consistent with legislative intent because a direct appeal route would render the administrative remedy lifeless.