Class Action Settlement Results In $190,000 to Benefit Literacy in the Ohio Valley
Posted Wednesday, January 10, 2002 by George Bamberger

The fight against illiteracy in our community received a huge boost today as the Moundsville law firm of Gold, Khourey & Turak presented the Literacy Volunteers of America - Marshall & Ohio Counties Chapter a check totalling $190,598.15.

The LVA-MOC was designated by the firm as the residuary beneficiary of a class action settlement. Class members were given the option of donating their share of their claim to the fight against illiteracy. In addition, under the terms of the settlement, unclaimed funds and the interest accrued on the settlement funds were earmarked for the fight against illiteracy.

"This contribution was made possible because the people of the Ohio Valley showed trust in our firm to provide them with fair and just representation," says attorney Don Kresen, lead attorney in the lawsuits. "We recognize that illiteracy is a problem in our community and our firm is excited to be able to assist the community in improving the reading and writing skills of those in need," adds Kresen.

A "problem" may be an understatement as there are an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 functionally illiterate adults in the Ohio Valley. Jason Rine, Executive Director of Literacy Volunteers of America - Marshall & Ohio Counties Chapter, explains "Functionally illiterate essentially means that they experience difficulty reading a newspaper, completing a job application, or helping their children with their homework." Rine adds, "Our office provides free, one-on-one, confidential tutoring services to help adults, and young adults, improve these skills."

Recent reports indicate that West Virginia ranks last in the percentage of adults who have high school diplomas. Less than 77% of adults, age 25 or older, have graduated from high school, so this donation is much needed to assist these individuals in getting the help they need. "It's not a secret that low graduation rates mean high adult illiteracy rates, which in turn leads to poor job skills," says Kresen. Kresen continues, "Our goal is to help as many members of our community as possible be a productive, functioning member of society and in order to accomplish this, they must possess the skills of reading and writing."

"Gold, Khourey & Turak should be commended for their support of our organization and for the benefit their support is providing for the good of the community," says LVA-MOC Vice-President Geneva Templin. "An endowment has been established with the donations for the purpose of assisting local organizations that share our interest."

Within the last year, more than $260,000 has been contributed to benefit literacy in the Ohio Valley. All monies donated have been the result of Gold, Khourey & Turak's success in helping thousands of seriously injured people recover compensation in a class action brought against The Health Plan of the Upper Ohio Valley, Inc. challenging its subrogation practices.

For more information on the Literacy Volunteers of America, please contact their office at (304) 233-1882, or the law offices of Gold, Khourey & Turak at (304) 845-9750.