H. B. 4220

         (By Delegates Staggers and Manchin )

         [Introduced January 17, 2014; referred to the

         Committee on the Judiciary.]

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §46A-6-111, relating to requiring all written agreements in which an individual waives his or her right to a jury trial on certain claims involving a death be a separate document from the remainder of the written agreement.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

    That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §46A-6-111, to read as follows:

ARTICLE 6. GENERAL CONSUMER PROTECTION.

§46A-6-111. Jury trial waiver to be a separate document.

    Every written agreement containing a waiver of a consumer’s right to a trial by jury on a claim involving a death that is entered into by a consumer for the purchase or lease of goods or services in consumer transactions, whether for the rental of space to be occupied for residential purposes or for the sale of goods or services for personal, family, household or agricultural purposes, must have as a separate and standalone document the waiver of the consumer’s right to a trial by jury.

    NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require all written agreements that contain a waiver of a consumer’s right to a trial by jury on a claim involving death to have the waiver form as a separate document from the rest of the written agreement.

    This section is new; therefore, it has been completely underscored.