How to Search Civil Dockets
Two portals do most of the work. Use WVPASS for public Circuit Court civil documents, and MCRSearch for Magistrate civil case information. The Circuit Clerk keeps the Circuit records. That office also holds any Family Court cases filed in Pleasants County. The Magistrate Court Clerk holds small claims, other lower-value civil cases, and unlawful-entry or wrongful-occupation files. Before searching, gather the party name and the exact case number if you have it. Add a rough filing date and the type of claim. Which court you pick matters far more than where a party lives. WVPASS is free to register and free to search Circuit records. Downloading a document carries a small charge, though. MCRSearch costs nothing, needs no account, and returns case details without document images.
- Classify the case as Magistrate, Circuit, or Family Court material.
- Open WVPASS for Circuit records or MCRSearch for Magistrate case information.
- Search the available party or case identifier and narrow the result to Pleasants County.
- Compare the caption, filing date, judge, case type, filings, settings, and status.
- Ask Millie Farnsworth or Pam Cox for a missing document, plain copy, or certified judgment.
The County Records Portal Is Not a Pleasants Civil Docket
The county's “Search Public Records” route serves a different master. It points to courthouse property and land information, so it cannot replace WVPASS, MCRSearch, or the court clerks when you need a Pleasants County civil docket. A deed, probate record, or county-commission paper belongs with County Clerk Jody Davis, not with the Circuit or Magistrate civil docket custodians.
Common wrong turn: property-record results do not show civil pleadings, service, motions, settings, or a court judgment.
Want the complaint, the answer, a scheduling order, a judgment, or an appeal record? Begin with the court named on the paper. That habit alone keeps a searcher from mistaking a separate county database for proof that no civil case exists.
What a Civil Docket Shows
Think of the civil docket as a chronological register. It identifies a case. It marks when each pleading, notice, motion, hearing, order, or judgment entered the record. The entry itself is not the paperwork. A document link or a clerk copy supplies the text behind it. Not every portal fills in every field. A named document does not guarantee its image is public online.
| Case Number | The unique court identifier; an official Pleasants Circuit example is CC-37-2018-C-2. |
|---|---|
| Caption and Parties | The formal case style naming the parties, which can include a business entity. |
| Filings and Service | Complaint or petition, summons, return of service, answer, and later papers. |
| Motions and Settings | Requests for action and notices or orders giving a date, time, judge, and hearing purpose. |
| Judgment or Order | The court's direction or result; obtain the signed document when exact terms matter. |
The Pleasants Civil Dollar Ranges Overlap
The two civil courts split by money and by subject. West Virginia Code §50-2-1 gives Magistrate Court jurisdiction over claims of $20,000 or less. The same statute covers unlawful entry and detainer or wrongful occupation when title is not disputed. Circuit Court sits above it. That court handles matters at law above $7,500. It also takes equity, title questions, extraordinary writs, and anything else the law assigns to it.
| Issue | Starting court | Pleasants access |
|---|---|---|
| Civil claim not more than $20,000 | Magistrate Court may have jurisdiction | MCRSearch and Pam Cox |
| Matter above $7,500, equity, or title issue | Circuit Court may have jurisdiction | WVPASS and Millie Farnsworth |
| Divorce, custody, or support | Third Family Court Circuit | Circuit Clerk for Pleasants-filed material |
Notice the overlap between $7,500 and $20,000. What controls is the nature and procedural posture of the claim, so a dollar figure alone never picks the court, and this summary is not legal advice. For an already-filed case, read the caption on the papers or simply ask which clerk holds the file.
Types of Civil Cases on the Docket
Civil filings spread across several courts and custodians. Circuit Court carries the general civil matters, equity and title cases, extraordinary writs, and appeals within its authority. Magistrate Court takes the limited-jurisdiction claims and the specified possession matters. Family Court handles domestic relations. Probate administration stays with the County Clerk, so it never touches a civil court docket.
- Contract, debt, tort, and other claims filed within the proper court's jurisdiction.
- Small claims and civil matters within the Magistrate Court ceiling.
- Unlawful entry, detainer, or wrongful occupation where title is not disputed.
- Equity, title-related disputes, extraordinary writs, and Circuit civil appeals.
- Divorce, custody, support, and allocation matters in the Third Family Court Circuit.
Case type also shapes public access. Family and protective files can hold sensitive material, and the clerks do not treat them like an ordinary public contract case.
A Pleasants Civil Order Works as a Field Guide
One official Pleasants scheduling order, from case CC-37-2018-C-2, shows how much detail hides behind a single docket entry. It names the Circuit Court of Pleasants County, the caption, the assigned judge, the order type, and a hearing set for Friday, November 15, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. Buried in it are Microsoft Teams directions, a telephone conference ID, an in-person option, clerk service instructions, and an e-file reference code. The order also demanded a written motion to continue within three business days of entry. That deadline is not universal. It binds only that signed order, not every civil case. The lesson is simple. A “scheduling order” label in WVPASS is just a pointer, so open the paper or get it from the clerk before counting on the setting or the attendance terms.
Settings and Hearings on Civil Dockets
Pleasants County posts no standalone daily civil calendar that you can search on your own. A setting may still show up in a few places. WVPASS activity, a Magistrate result, the clerk's file, or a notice signed by the judge can each carry the date. Trust the court's own notice over anything else. General terms of Circuit Court begin on set Mondays in January, May, and September. Those are term dates, not dates for your case.
A civil setting on the docket can serve many purposes. It might be a scheduling conference, a motion hearing, a status event, a trial, or a post-judgment step. Read the entry closely for the date, time, judge, and purpose. Check the location or remote method too, plus any deadline to ask for a continuance. If the date is unclear, call the clerk. Do the same if it seems to have moved. The full process is laid out on the Pleasants County court calendar.
Judgment Does Not End Every Pleasants Civil Entry
A Pleasants County civil docket usually tells a long story. It may open with a complaint or petition. Then come a summons, a return of service, and an answer. Motion practice often follows. After that come a scheduling notice or order. A hearing may follow, then a continuance and a settlement notice. Finally comes judgment. Even then, the docket is not finished. An appeal or removal can appear later. So can an abstract, an execution, or another enforcement paper filed with the clerk.
One warning matters here. Case status and the amount still due are two different facts, so read them separately. The clerk charges $5 for a Circuit abstract of judgment under West Virginia Code §59-1-11. That fee covers a separate service from obtaining the signed judgment itself. When the exact result matters, ask for the named order or judgment and state whether a plain or certified copy is required. Under the clerk manual, certification means checking the copy against the original, then stamping, signing, sealing, and issuing a receipt.
Pleasants Civil Copies Come From Two Clerk Counters
Two clerk counters hold Pleasants County civil records. Millie Farnsworth, the Pleasants County Circuit Clerk, keeps Circuit Court and Pleasants-filed Family Court material in Room 201 of the Pleasants County Courthouse, 301 Court Lane, St. Marys, WV 26170. Her office answers at 304-684-3513. Pam Cox handles Magistrate civil files in Room B-6 and can be reached at 304-684-7197.
| Request | Published amount | Where to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit plain copy or paper leaving office | $1 per page | Circuit Clerk, Room 201 |
| Magistrate photocopy | $0.25 per page | Magistrate Clerk, Room B-6 |
| Magistrate fax | $2 per transmitted page | Magistrate Court Clerk |
| Certified copy | Separate total not published | Confirm with the custodian before payment |
Put your copy request in writing. It should name the court, the case number, the caption, the exact document, the date range, the number of copies, the copy type, your delivery address, and your contact details. Circuit requests can go by fax to 304-684-3514 or by email to millie.farnsworth@courtswv.gov. Magistrate requests use fax 304-684-3882. If online docket search falls short, you can still inspect a file at the counter, use a courthouse terminal, identify files by phone, or rely on mail, fax, email, or a specific FOIA request.
Public Access to Civil Dockets
West Virginia law leans toward open civil court records. Inspection and copying are the norm. Still, a statute, a rule, or a court order can limit access. Trial Court Rule 10.03 lets a judge restrict a civil file. The order must state the nature, duration, and reason for the limit. Family, juvenile, abuse and neglect, and domestic-violence materials may carry special protection. So may medical, educational, mental-health, and other sensitive records.
Key Rules:
West Virginia Code §51-4-2 provides public inspection and copying unless access is expressly limited.
Trial Court Rules 10.03, 10.04, and 15A.26 address civil limits, inspection, electronic form, and nonsealed e-filed Circuit material.
West Virginia FOIA §29B-1-3 permits a specific oral or written request and requires production, an inspection response, or written denial within the statutory period.
A missing WVPASS document proves nothing. It does not show that no filing exists or that the case ended. Ask the clerk whether the document is sealed, older than portal coverage, temporarily unavailable, or open only to a party or counsel, since the clerk cannot lift a judicial access order.