MORGANTOWN — The same day Daleen Berry could have been held in contempt for failing to comply with a ruling from Monongalia County Circuit Court Chief Judge Susan Tucker, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia said it plans to review the case.
The Court issued an order on Oct. 9 granting Berry’s request for a writ of prohibition blocking Tucker’s ruling in a lawsuit tied to the estate of Berry’s late husband, Kinsey “Butch” Culp, Jr.
Tucker’s order gave Berry until noon on Oct. 9 to sign documentation or face contempt charges. Berry previously said she would go to jail before signing as she believes the ruling was based on fraud.
“I am very pleased and I think it shows that there’s something seriously wrong with this case,” Berry said of the Supreme Court’s decision to review the case. “It really has been egregious throughout.”
According to Berry, she can show through forensic accounting that her husband’s name was forged on about $600,000 in checks written on a business account for expenses unrelated to the business, Richard Self Storage. She said at least three of those checks were written after her husband’s April 17, 2017 death.
Central to the issue is Culp’s business partner, Wesley N. Wolfe, whom Berry accused of misappropriation of funds along with his attorneys in this matter, Paul Cranston and Robert Louis Shuman.
Mediation in the case resulted in the Culp estate owing Wolfe $1,300. Berry said accounting records show Wolfe actually owes the estate about $1.3 million.
As the executrix of the estate, Berry said she would not sign off on Tucker’s order as it would make her a party to fraud and violate her fiduciary duty to protect her late husband’s estate for beneficiaries — herself and three grandchildren — and creditors, including WVU Hospitals, Clear Mountain Bank and Morgan Funeral Home.
If upheld, the circuit court ruling will also force Berry out of the townhouse she shared with her late husband as it would go over to Wolfe due to an arrangement between Wolfe and Culp.
Berry listed Wolfe, Wolfe Landscapes Plus, LLC and Tucker as respondents in her Supreme Court petition. It also listed Lea Walker, Wolfe’s sister, who was hired as a bookkeeper for the storage business.
The Court ordered Wolfe, Walker and Wolfe Landscapes Plus to respond by Nov. 8. As for Tucker, the Court said “the presiding judicial officer is a nominal party and is not directed to file a response in this matter.”
Berry, an author, is representing herself and the estate due to financial hardships she says were caused by Wolfe’s actions.
She said there is also a reluctance from attorneys in Morgantown and the surrounding area to get involved because of Tucker, whom she accuses of bias and abuse of the judicial process.
“There’s something wrong here. When you speak to attorneys and their first question is ‘Who’s the judge,’ I think that tells you something is wrong,” Berry said. “Nobody wants to get involved legally. I am outgunned and outnumbered. I don’t have the legal resources that they do.”
According to the Supreme Court order, once responses are filed, the parties will be notified in writing of any decision.
