The Beall Team was honored to have Magistrate Vicki D'Angelo and Magistrate Lisa Fraley from the Jefferson County Magistrate Court as our guest speakers for the first Investor Lunch of 2025!
Vicki is an area native who has served as a Jefferson County Magistrate for over two decades! Lisa worked as Vicki’s assistant in Magistrate court for many years and just recently was elected to be a judge herself.
It was a privilege to have them share their lunch break with us as we asked them various questions about their years of experience, particularly with regard to landlord and tenant cases in Jefferson county. Here are a few of our key takeaways.
One of the first questions asked was, “What is the most frequent type of case you see when dealing with landlords and tenants?” If you guessed, unpaid rent, you would be correct. Vicki and Lisa then walked us through what the eviction process looks like from the perspective of their office. Check out the relevant West Virginia Code (e.g. Sec 55-3A-1 et. seq), but the simple version is this:
- Physically walk into the Jefferson County Magistrate Court and talk to the assistant at the desk (assuming the rental property is in Jefferson County) 110 N George St., Charles Town, WV 25414.
- The most frequent course of action is filing for Wrongful Occupation. (E.g. non-payment of rent, damage to property, or breach of warranty of leasehold covenant). Here’s the link to that form. Pro Tip: If you sign the form at the Magistrate’s office, they will notarize it for you!
- You’ll get a court date set (set for no later than 10 days in the future).
- A notice will need to be served on the tenants by someone who is not a party to the conflict (so it can’t be you, the landlord, or your property manager, etc.). (See WV Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 4(c), Service of Process). Pro Tip: The Jefferson County Sheriff's office will serve a tenant for a fee ($30 as of March 2025).
- You show up on the court date and make your case!
- The Magistrate court judge makes their ruling and you go from there. Pro Tip: The Court Orders typically have an expiration of 20 days. So if the problem isn’t resolved by then, you’ll need to start over with a new Wrongful Occupation filing.
Another question we asked was, “What types of cases do tenants tend to ‘win?’” Answer: cases in which they pay their rent. If the tenant pays delinquent rent, that automatically dismisses the case (see WV Code Sec 37-6-23). The other instance in which a tenant would frequently “win” is when the landlord simply fails to produce clear documentation and records. For example, they fail to bring a signed lease agreement and rent payment records. In the specific example of Wrongful Occupation, the petitioner (usually the landlord), must prove:
1. That they are the owner (or agent of the owner)
2. That the respondent (tenant) has been properly served
3. That at the time of filing, the tenant was in wrongful possession of the unit for one of three reasons:
A. Failure to pay rent
B. Breach of lease
C. Damage to the property
Note: Cases regarding violations of Fair Housing Law etc. are generally dealt with in higher level State or Federal court, not the County Magistrate court.
Other fun topics discussed included squatters, what if a tenant claims they don’t have to pay rent because you haven’t fixed something, and what to do if your tenant gets sent to jail! It was an amazing time with great discussions between the Magistrates and our other attendees (many of whom were landlords or property managers). Thank you to everyone who attended, and a special thank you to our speakers, Magistrates Vicki D'Angelo and Lisa Fraley.
If you are a local business owner, investor, entrepreneur etc. and are interested in learning more about the investor lunches the Beall Team hosts, shoot us a message!
As resident realtors and area experts, we’re constantly looking for ways to further our own knowledge and to bring value to our friends, clients, and partners. We pride ourselves on being professionals who serve professionals. So how can we help you achieve your real estate goals?
