Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024
Section 191-1-6 - Domestic Violence Legal Services Fund6.1. Fund allocation. The Board annually allocates the Domestic Violence Legal Services Fund for distribution by the Department. Any change in the amount allocated shall be approved by the Board, based on the Board's determination of need and a review of financial status by the Department.
6.2. Expenditures and Fees. 6.2.a. Expenditures from the fund shall be limited to attorneys employed or contracted by licensed domestic violence programs, or employed or contracted by West Virginia's federally designated legal services program, its successor organization or other nonprofit organization as determined by the department, that establish a collaborative relationship with a licensed domestic violence program, to provide civil legal services to victims of domestic violence.6.2.b. Any court of this state may order a nonprevailing party to pay an amount equivalent to the reasonable attorney's fee to which the prevailing litigant would be entitled into the Domestic Violence Legal Services Fund, established in subsection (a) of this section, if the following circumstances occur:6.2.b.1. A prevailing litigant is entitled by statute or common law to a reasonable attorney's fee, and6.2.b.2. The prevailing litigant's legal counsel informs the court that no fee will be requested.