Patricia S. Reed, Comm. Div. of Motor Vehicles v. Pamela Haynes, 795 S.E.2d 518

Pamela Haynes had three DUI-related incidents: a West Virginia arrest in 2003 (revocation mailed to a WV address), an Ohio DUI in 2006, and a West Virginia DUI in 2012.
The 2003 WV revocation notice was mailed to Haynes’ former WV address and became final after the mailing was returned; Haynes later paid $45 and submitted proof of treatment in 2006 to obtain reinstatement.
In 2012 Haynes was arrested for DUI; the WV DMV enhanced her 2012 penalty based on the 2003 revocation (but not the 2006 Ohio conviction).
Haynes contested the enhancement, arguing she never received proper notice of the 2003 revocation and thus could not timely challenge it; administrative hearing affirmed the 2012 revocation.
Haynes obtained a writ of prohibition from the Circuit Court of Kanawha County excluding the 2003 offense from enhancement; the DMV appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.
The Supreme Court reversed, holding Haynes had actual notice of the 2003 revocation in 2006 (when she paid and sought reinstatement) but did not timely appeal within the 30‑day statutory period.

Issue	Haynes' Argument	DMV's Argument	Held
Whether the 2003 WV revocation may be used to enhance the 2012 penalty	2003 revocation notice mailed to wrong address; she lacked timely notice and thus could not contest it	Haynes had a duty to notify DMV of address changes and had actual notice in 2006 when she paid and submitted treatment proof	Court held the enhancement valid because Haynes had actual notice in 2006 and failed to timely appeal under W.Va. Code § 29A-5-4(b)
Whether the circuit court properly granted a writ of prohibition to exclude the 2003 offense	Writ should issue because lack of proper notice made prior revocation invalid for enhancement	Writ was improper because Haynes’ challenge to the 2003 revocation was time‑barred	Court reversed the circuit court’s writ; prohibition was improperly granted

Martin v. West Virginia Div. of Labor Contractor Licensing Bd., 199 W.Va. 613, 486 S.E.2d 782 (standard of appellate review for writ of prohibition is de novo)
State v. General Daniel Morgan Post No. 548, V.F.W., 144 W.Va. 137, 107 S.E.2d 353 (clear statutes must be applied, not construed)
State ex rel. Comm’r W. Va. Div. of Motor Vehicles v. Swope, 230 W.Va. 750, 742 S.E.2d 438 (30‑day deadline to file petition after receiving notice of final agency order)
State ex rel. Miller v. Reed, 203 W.Va. 673, 510 S.E.2d 507 (licensee must notify DMV of address change within 20 days)
Shell v. Bechtold, 175 W.Va. 792, 338 S.E.2d 393 (purpose of license revocation and treatment of out‑of‑state DUI convictions under the Driver License Compact)