Couple Sues West Virginia Lawyer, Claiming Lawsuit ‘Sham’

A southwest Virginia couple is suing a Charleston attorney and former state senator, contending he failed to file a lawsuit on their behalf despite assurances he had.

Ira Calvary and Mavis Horne of Tazewell County now say they can’t recover damages to their home caused by Hurricane Michelle in 2011.

The couple’s attorney says Jim Humphreys and others with his law firm assured the couple they were pursuing claims for them, but it was a “sham.” Humphreys was hired in 2002.

The complaint was filed in Kanawha County Circuit Court.

The Charleston Gazette says Humphreys did not return a phone message Thursday.

Humphreys is a former Democratic state senator who ran for Congress in 1999