The common law of England, so far as it is not repugnant to the principles of the Constitution of this state, shall continue in force within the same, except in those respects wherein it was altered by the general assembly of Virginia before June 20, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, or has been, or shall be, altered by the Legislature of this state
W. Va. Code § 2-1-1
Common law
Applied in 10 court decisions — leading case Thomas v. BOARD OF ED., COUNTY OF McDOWELL (1981)
Most recently applied in State of West Virginia v. Orville M. Hutton (June 2015)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: West Virginia Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain West Virginia statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.