§47-27-3. Disclosure and limitations on practices.

(a) Prior to the commencement of a legal proceeding, and at any time during or following the conclusion of a legal proceeding, an attorney or a party to that legal proceeding has the right to an itemized statement of all rates and charges for all services that have been or will be provided by the court reporter or business, entity or firm providing or arranging for court reporting services to any party to the legal proceeding.

(b) A court reporter shall certify on the certification page of each transcript of a legal proceeding, the following: "I certify that the attached transcript meets the requirements set forth within article twenty-seven, chapter forty-seven of the West Virginia Code."

(c) Each transcript of a legal proceeding shall conform to the following minimum standards:

(1) No fewer than twenty-four typed lines on standard 8-1/2 by 11 inches pages.

(2) No fewer than nine characters to the typed inch.

(3) A full line of text shall be no less than fifty-six characters and/or spaces unless timestamping is used, in which case no fewer than forty-eight characters and/or spaces shall be used on a full line of text.

(4) Timestamping may only be printed on a transcript under any of the following circumstances: (A) When a deposition is videotaped; (B) when requested by counsel on the record; and (C) when a transcript will have not less than forty-eight characters per line.

(5) The page numbers, headers and footers do not count as a line of text. Line numbers and the spaces preceding text do not count as a character.

(6) Each question and answer to begin on a separate line.

(7) Each question and answer to begin no more than five spaces from the left-hand margin with no more than five spaces from the question and answer to the text.

(8) Carry-over question and answer lines to begin at the left-hand margin.

(9) Colloquy material to begin no more than fifteen spaces from the left-hand margin, with carryover colloquy to the left-hand margin. In colloquy, text shall begin no more than two spaces after the colon following speaker identification.

(10) Quoted material to begin no more than fifteen spaces from the left-hand margin, with carry-over lines to begin no more than ten spaces from the left-hand margin.

(11) Parentheticals and exhibit markings to begin no more than fifteen spaces from the left-hand margin, with carry-over lines to begin no more than fifteen spaces from the left-hand margin.

(d) The provisions of sections one, two or three of this article may not be waived or otherwise modified.