Mr. Shuman's primary areas of practice are general litigation, ERISA and managed care litigation, labor and employment, and public utility matters. He is the Chair of the firm's ERISA & Managed Care Practice Group.

Representative Experience

• Representing various insurers and employee benefit plans before state and federal courts in ERISA and managed care matters, including claims for benefits, subrogation actions, and discrimination claims
• Defense of general litigation matters, including insurance matters, toxic tort, medical monitoring, medical malpractice, deliberate intention, employment arbitrations, commercial disputes and nuisance actions
• Representation of ICF/MR facilities in injury and fatality incidents
• Representation before West Virginia courts and federal courts on behalf of employers in labor and employment matters, including sexual harassment, termination of employment in breach of public policy and disability discrimination
• Representation before the West Virginia Public Service Commission, West Virginia courts and the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals on natural gas matters for industrial customers and siting certificate cases for energy development companies including wind power generation applicants
• Representation before the West Virginia Public Service Commission on water, sewer, cable and landfill matters
• Co-trial counsel in a complex tortious interference counterclaim resulting in a $1,132,028 judgment in favor of the defense
• Representing and advising hospitals and other health care entitites in regulatory and other matters, including Medicare/Medicaid disputes and HIPAA compliance

Education

• James Madison University, B.A., English, 1998
• West Virginia University, J.D., 2001
• St. Andrew's School, 1994

Admissions

• West Virginia State Bar
• West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals
• United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia
• United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

Affiliations

• American Bar Association
• Defense Research Institute; Life, Health & Disability Committee
• West Virginia Law Review, Executive Editor
• Leadership Charleston, Charleston Chamber of Commerce (2003)
• Chairman of the Board, The Willy Foundation, Inc.

Awards & Distinctions

• Listed by Super Lawyers/ West Virginia as a Rising Star in General Litigation, Employee Benefits/ ERISA and Utilities

Publications

• Coauthor, West Virginia Chapter, Misrepresentation in the Life, Health, and Disability Insurance Application Process: A National Survey (Joseph Hamilton ed., American Bar Association 2009)
• Coauthor, Employee Benefit Litigation: Getting Your Client from Point A to Point B, Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Client Strategies (Thompson/Aspatore 2008)
• Coauthor, "May a Prevailing Party Obtain ERISA Attorney's Fees in an Action Outside the Civil Enforcement Scheme," Life, Health and Disability News (Spring 2007)
• Removal of Consolidated Cases from State Court, ABA/YLD Litigation Committee Newsletter  (Summer 2004)
• Coauthor, Health Related Information and Employment Decisions: Is Your ERISA Plan Subject to Privacy Rights Under HIPAA, 23 Energy & Mineral Law Foundation ch. 1 (2003)
• Coauthor, Maladministration of Patient Care and ERISA's Complete Preemption Doctrine:  Recent Developments in the Fourth Circuit, 2003 W. Va. D.T.C., June 2003
• Escaping the Purposes of the ADA: The "Safe Harbor" Provision and Disability-Based Distinctions in Insurance Policies and Programs, 36 Gonz. L. Rev. 549 (2001)
• Common Law Tort Immunity for State Officials in West Virginia After the Parkulo v. Board of Probation Decision, 103 W. Va. L. Rev. 261 (2000)

Selected Cases

• Neely v. Zimmer, 2012 WL 3198557 (S.D.W.Va. Aug. 2, 2012)
• Dupell v. K. Hovnanian Companies, LLC, 2012 WL 1831484 (N.D. W.Va. May 18, 2012)
• Patrick v. Calgon Carbon Corp., 2010 WL 4629913 (S.D.W.Va. Nov. 8, 2010)
• Secure US, Inc. v. Security Alarm Financing Enterprises, Inc., 2010 WL 4641624 (S.D.W.Va. Nov. 4, 2010)
• Beachum v. Phillips, 2009 WL 3269047 (S.D.W.Va. Oct. 8, 2009)
• Mountain Communities for Responsible Energy v. Public Service Comm'n of W. Va., 222 W. Va. 481, 665 S.E.2d 315 (2008)
• Burch v. NedPower Mount Storm, LLC, 220 W. Va. 443, 647 S.E.2d 879 (2007)
• Summer v. Carelink Health Plans, Inc., 461 F. Supp. 2d 482 (S.D.W.Va. 2006)
• Kuthy v. Mansheim, 2004 WL 2757437 (4th Cir. Dec. 3, 2004)