Lee v. Saliga

In Lee v. Saliga, 179 W. Va. 762, 373 S.E.2d 345 (1988), the Court modified this general rule when addressing coverage available under a motor vehicle policy of insurance and adopted a modified modern "more significant relationship" test, which combines the principles set forth in Sections 6 and 193 of the Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws with our prior case law. The "more significant relationship" test adopted in Lee provides that "the provisions of a motor vehicle policy will ordinarily be construed according to the laws of the state where the policy was issued and the risk insured was principally located, unless another state has a more significant relationship to the transaction and the parties." (Syl. Pt. 2, Lee.) Though not presented with a public policy argument in Lee, the Court acknowledged a conflicts of law principle which permits a state to ignore the law of another state where that law is contrary to the state's own public policy. (Lee, 179 W. Va. at 770, 373 S.E.2d at 353, n. 19.)