In the case of Miller v. Warren ((182 W.Va 560, 390
S.E.2d 207 (1990), the Millers were staying in Warren's motel when there was a
fire. They were injured. There were no smoke alarms, but the local fire code
did not require smoke alarms. Miller argued that he complied with the law, so
he couldn't be held negligent. However, the Appellate Court found that,
while failure to comply with a regulation is prima facie evidence of negligence,
compliance with a regulation is competent evidence of due care, but not
conclusive evidence of due care. If Warren knew that there was a risk
of fire, and a reasonable person would have installed smoke alarms, then Warren
can be found negligent even though he met the requirements of the
regulation.