Christopher James Regan

Chris Regan's practice focuses on complex litigation, trial work and appeal. Chris has obtained substantial jury verdicts, including multi-million dollar results, in cases of workplace injury, insurance bad faith, trucking wrecks, negligence, wrongful death, medical malpractice, nursing home abuse and professional negligence. Several of his jury trials have resulted in awards of punitive damages against the defendants.

Chris also maintains a significant appellate practice, handling cases in the Supreme Court of the United States of America, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of Ohio, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania as well as the appellate courts of Ohio. Chris is also involved in the firm's toxic tort, class action and consumer fraud practice areas, including cases like Citifinancial v. Lightner and Robinson v. Columbian Chemicals. A path-breaking class action appeal, in Citifinancial v. Lightner, argued by Chris in 2008, paved the way for state court consumers to use their own state courts for class action counterclaims when they are sued by debt collectors.

Notable verdicts in Chris' cases cases include Timmons v. American Electric Power, (2011, approximately $7,000, plus attorney's fees), McLaughlin v. Ohio Power Company, (2011, $5,710,, plus attorney's fees), Karpacs v. Murthy (2008, $4,000,) and Boggs v. Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital (2006, $6,545,), all tried with Geoff Brown, as well as Meredith v. Heartland of Clarksburg (2002, $50,000,), tried with Jim Bordas. The Boggs award was later increased by approximately $1,400, through an award of litigation sanctions against Camden-Clark Hospital. In 2009, in Brooke County West Virginia, Chris, Geoff Brown and Jamie Bordas selected a jury in the case of Haught v. Weirton Medical Center, and following jury selection, Weirton Medical Center elected to confess judgment in open court for $2,060, rather than face trial. Crystal Rogerson and David Haught, the clients in that case, later received the Advocate for Justice Award for their determination to obtain a public settlement from the hospital.

Chris has also argued frequently before the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals in cases such as State ex rel. Richmond American Homes v. Sanders, State ex rel. Allstate v. Madden, Boggs v. Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital and State ex rel. Erie Property and Casualty Co. v. Mazzone. Chris has also authored amicus curiae briefs for the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals on behalf of consumer protection organizations in Riggs v. WVU Hospital, Brown v. Genesis Health Care and MacDonald v. City Hospital. The Brown case, decided in 2011, allowed victims of nursing home abuse to retain their jury trial rights in the face of industry attempts to force victims into secret arbitration. The WVAJ was favorably cited in the opinion of the Court.

One of Chris' cases involving much more than any monetary award was resolved in 2004: Mary Jo Stefanakis v. Office of Personnel Management resulted in an order that the federal government reconsider its decision to deny a life-saving allogeneic bone marrow transplant to a Pittsburgh woman. Chris represented Mrs. Stefanakis and her husband at the preliminary injunction hearing that resulted in a Good Friday decision by the Judge that her insurance company should pay or appear in court again to show why it shouldn't. Mrs. Stefanakis, who had been given six months to live without the transplant, subsequently received a successful transplant and lived four more years with her husband, children and grandchildren.

Chris has also been selected to speak at the popular West Virginia Bar Association's "Litigation" seminar, held annually in Davis, West Virginia and asked to speak at the WVAJ's biannual seminars and other continuing legal education conferences. Chris currently serves on the Board of Directors of the West Virginia Association for Justice, and as a Regional Chair of that organization, as Co-Chair of the amicus curiae committee and the brief bank committee.