Virginia Lawyers Weekly articles from April 2003

Virginia Lawyers Weekly archives from April 2003

Commentary: Notes from the Sniper Case.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The pre-trial jockeying in the case of sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo is intense, with each side fighting every step of the way. Even the subject of Malvo's diet provoked controversy, with his...

Johnston, Hoover Give Real-Life Stand-Up Routine.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Dawn Chase No CLE credits were awarded at the March 28 luncheon of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association's Criminal Law Section, but none of the lawyers and judges in attendance seemed to mind. The topic was "I Can't Believe...

Longtime lobbyist for Virginia Trial Lawyers Association moves on: Here's to Good Friends...
April 7, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The Virginia Trial Lawyers Association met at The Homestead in late March - you can read further coverage of the confab throughout this issue. But the well-attended (by nearly 500 members) event...

Peeping Charges in Staunton.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Step into the Wayback Machine and return to civil procedure class in law school. Some readers may remember a case from Louisiana that was supposed to illustrate diversity of jurisdiction or something...

Virginia Trial Lawyers Association Taps New Leaders.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The Virginia Trial Lawyers Association elected its new officers and directors for the coming year at its annual convention at The Homestead March 28 and 29. Roanoke attorney P. Brent Brown took...

Class-Action Suit Filed For The Insureds Of American National Lawyers Insurance Reciprocal.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Dawn Chase A Tennessee lawyer has filed a class action suit on behalf of an estimated 14,000 attorneys who bought their legal malpractice insurance from American National Lawyers Insurance Reciprocal. The suit, filed in federal...

Verdicts & Settlements April 7, 2003: Criminal.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of Action -- Criminal Type of Injuries -- Gunshot wound to the upper-left shoulder Name of Case -- Commonwealth v. Rhoads Charges -- Malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the...

Verdicts & Settlements April 7, 2003: Fall Through Floor In Manufactured Home - Amputation Of Leg.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of Action -- Negligence Other Useful Information -- On March 20, 2001, the plaintiff was standing in his manufactured home when his right foot and leg went through the floor under his own...

Verdicts & Settlements April 7, 2003: Woman Stabbed To Death By Husband.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of Action -- Tort / Negligence Other Useful Information -- The plaintiff died from significant stab wounds. Ultimately, the defendant pleaded guilty to the crime. However, he denied...

Verdicts & Settlements April 7, 2003: Death Of Prison Inmate.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of Action -- Civil rights Other Useful Information -- The plaintiff's decedent was an inmate at the Virginia Beach Correctional Center during the first four months of 2001. The defendants were...

Virginia's New Chief Justice Gives Tips On Appellate Practice.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Dawn Chase It was a homecoming of sorts when Virginia's new chief justice, Leroy Rountree Hassell Sr., spoke to members of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association at the group's annual convention at The Homestead on March 29. ...

U.S. District Court VA Western Case Summaries: April 7, 2003.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Attorneys - Sanctions Under Rule 11 - Hospital Employment In plaintiff physician's suits against two other physicians for the roles they allegedly played in a termination of...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: April 7, 2003.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Mandamus - Prosecutor Salary A circuit court issues a writ of mandamus directing a county board of supervisors to comply with statutory mandates for funding the commonwealth's...

Verdicts & Settlements April 7, 2003: Rear-End Collision Involving Unlicensed Driver.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of Action -- Negligence Other Useful Information -- The husband's minimal cervical strain and dental injury claim settled for $8,000, including $1,167 in lost wages as an attorney working for...

Husband Gets Joint Income Tax Refunds, Rules Virginia Court Of Appeals.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Deborah Elkins A husband who kept his North Carolina beach house as separate property under a couple's premarital agreement need not share all of a joint income tax refund that resulted from a hurricane loss to the house, the...

Virginia Trial Lawyers Association Service Award Is Given To Judge Cacheris.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Paul Fletcher The Virginia Trial Lawyers Association presented its Distinguished Service Award to Senior U.S. District Judge James C. Cacheris March 29 at the group's annual convention. He was nominated for the award, noted the...

New Virginia Trial Lawyers Association Chief Wants To Get Word Out.
April 7, 2003... Byline: John D. Tuerck Cutting through the clamor and getting a message out is always difficult, even when war isn't dominating the news. But as P. Brent Brown prepared for the VTLA presidency, he intended to make awareness of what his...

Unused Sick Time May Justify Work Refusal, Rules Court Of Appeals Of Virginia.
April 7, 2003... Byline: John D. Tuerck A workers' compensation claimant might have been justified in turning down a job because her acceptance of the job would have resulted in the loss of $14,000 in accrued leave, the Court of Appeals of Virginia has...

U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 7, 2003.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Schools - IDEA - Autistic Student - Lovaas Therapy - Military School Where the parents of an autistic student sued an army base school in North Carolina, which offered their son...

Art Mirrors Life.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Sort of. If you take a look at the funny papers (i.e., the daily comics), you'll see a familiar scenario in the sloooow-moving soap-opera strip, "Rex Morgan M.D." For those who don't bother, Rex is...

Virginia Lawyers in the News: April 7, 2003.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The Virginia Beach law firm of Norris & St. Clair P.C. has announced that S. Lawrence Dumville and Lorane G. Leavy have joined the firm. Dumville has practiced law in Hampton Roads for 25 years and...

U.S. District Court VA Eastern Case Summaries: April 7, 2003.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Judgment - Motion To Amend - Conspiracy Claim Although plaintiffs in this action under 42 U.S.C. Sect. 1983 contend the district court did not address plaintiffs' allegation of...

Virginia Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 7, 2003.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Murder - Carjacking - Firearm Use - Rebuttal Testimony At defendant's trial for carjacking and murder of a man who was a friend of defendant's estranged wife, the trial court did not...

Verdicts & Settlements April 7, 2003: Fiduciary Duty -- Death Benefit.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of Action -- Employment Other Useful Information -- The plaintiff's husband died two years after applying for a supplemental life insurance benefit under his employer's ERISA plan. Although he...

Plaintiff can't tap both UM, UIM policies, rules Fairfax Circuit judge.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Deborah Elkins A plaintiff injured in a multi-vehicle accident involving both un- and underinsured drivers may not collect under both the UM and UIM coverages in an auto liability policy, a Fairfax Circuit judge has ruled. The...

Virginia Legal Obituary: Roy W. Arthur.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Retired Wythe County Circuit Judge Roy William Arthur died April 4. He was 85. A native of Louisa County, Judge Arthur lived most of his life in Wytheville. He earned both his undergraduate...

U.S. District Court VA Western Case Summaries: April 14, 2003.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Arrest - Driving Without License - Immunity Where plaintiff is suing multiple law enforcement and state officials for alleged constitutional violations arising out of her arrest...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: April 14, 2003.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Traffic Offenses Reckless Driving - Certificate Of Calibration At defendant's trial for reckless driving, the trial court did not err in admitting into evidence the calibration certificate of...

Virginia Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 14, 2003.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Sentencing Modification - Plea Agreement Where defendant's plea agreement to petit larceny stated that there was no agreement about what kind of sentence defendant would receive, and...

Verdicts & Settlements April 14, 2003: Order Of Heparin Following Traumatic Spinal Tap -- Paralysis.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of Action -- Medical malpractice Other Useful Information -- The plaintiff presented at the emergency department at Memorial Hospital of Martinsville and Henry County with confusion,...

Verdicts & Settlements April 14, 2003: Husband Killed, Wife Injured In Collision.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of Action -- Negligence Other Useful Information -- The plaintiff, who was the defendant's wife, was a passenger in his vehicle. As the defendant was traveling on Route 460 in Sussex County,...

Virginia Legal Obituary: Robert M. White.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Richmond lawyer Robert M. White, a partner with the firm of Morris & Morris, died April 1. He was 69. Although he was born in Texas, Mr. White moved to Richmond at an early age and grew up the...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: April 14, 2003.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Dischargeability Of Debt - Divorce - Attorney's Fees A husband may not discharge in bankruptcy the $30,000 debt he owes wife as a monetary award under the parties' final divorce...

Verdicts & Settlements April 14, 2003: Motorist Drives Through Wall Of House.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of Action -- Negligence Other Useful Information -- The plaintiff was asleep in his house. The defendant's vehicle went through the plaintiff's bedroom wall, knocking the plaintiff and...

Commentary: Treat 'Scrivener' Assignments With Caution.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Emily Eichenhorn More and more, clients are coming to lawyers with "completed" deals, seeking only for the lawyer to translate the negotiated agreement to paper to seal the transaction. The risks presented by these "scrivener"...

Virginia Lawyers In The News: April 14, 2003.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The Virginia Fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers have inducted four new members: * Elaine C. Bredehoft, who practices in the firm of Charleson & Bredehoft in Reston; * John T....

Combat Personnel To Get A Tax Break.
April 14, 2003... Byline: John D. Tuerck Considering the date of this issue, here's a timely item. Combat service is stressful enough without having to worry about filing a tax return. To alleviate stress at tax time, the Internal Revenue Service...

Bobzien gets Virginia State Bar post.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Dawn Chase David P. Bobzien, the county attorney for Fairfax, will be the next president-elect of the Virginia State Bar. He will succeed Jeannie P. Dahnk as president, and serve for the 2004-2005 term. Bobzien will be the first...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: April 14, 2003.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Constitutional - Md. Liquor Pricing Regulations Where a large liquor retailer in Maryland is suing the state comptroller, complaining that certain Maryland regulations governing...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: April 14, 2003.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Child Molestation - Prior Bad Acts A defendant's conviction of two offenses of carnal knowledge of a child 14 years of age are affirmed, despite defendant's claim that the trial court...

Verdicts & Settlements April 14, 2003: Utility Truck Collides With Auto At Red Light.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of Action -- Negligence Other Useful Information -- The plaintiff, age 41 at the time, was stopped at a red light on Route 17 in Gloucester County on June 6, 2000, when a heavy...

Representing Service Personnel.
April 14, 2003... Byline: John D. Tuerck A Virginia National Guard soldier patrolling Norfolk International Airport has a lot in common with a colleague serving in a water-purification unit in Umm Qasr in Iraq: Both are away from their families and friends...

Rules have changed in Virginia on medical record requests.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Dawn Chase Attention personal-injury lawyers: The rules for subpoenaing medical records have changed, effective immediately. Under emergency legislation just signed into law by Gov. Mark Warner, litigants and others who...

Adulterous wife still is entitled to support, rules Court of Appeals of Virginia.
April 14, 2003... Byline: John D. Tuerck Although she admitted committing adultery, a wife nevertheless is entitled to an award of spousal support from her former husband, who had behaved boorishly over a long period of time, the Court of Appeals of...

University of Virginia Law Students Hear Back-To-Back Justices.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Paul Fletcher Law students at the University of Virginia got a double dose of the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month, when two justices - Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy and U.S. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist -...

Virginia Legal Obituary: A. Grey Staples Jr.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff A. Grey Staples Jr., a lawyer who spent his legal career in public service positions, died March 30 at his home in Fredericksburg. A native of Richmond, he earned his undergraduate degree from...

U.S. District Court VA Eastern Case Summaries: April 21, 2003.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Farm Equipment Dealership - Financing Agreement - Arbitration Where a farm equipment dealer is suing a manufacturer of products it distributes, claiming that the dealer's business has...

Verdicts & Settlements April 21, 2003: Arrest Follows Traffic Incident.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of Action -- Civil rights Other Useful Information -- This case arose from a traffic situation between the plaintiff, who was driving an 18-wheel tractor-trailer, and an unmarked police car....

Verdicts & Settlements April 21, 2003: Excessive Force - Inmate Claims Attack While Changing Cells.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of Action -- Tort / Negligence Other Useful Information -- An inmate at the local jail sued five deputies, claiming they brutally beat him while moving him from his cell block to another cell....

Virginia Lawyers In The News: April 21, 2003.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Woods, Rogers & Hazlegrove, P.L.C. has welcomed back Thomas T. Palmer, a former partner in the firm. Palmer will be combining his practice with that of the firm's existing health practice group....

Record Med-Mal Award Given In Fredericksburg.
April 21, 2003... Byline: John D. Tuerck In what is apparently the largest medical-malpractice verdict in state history, a Fredericksburg jury has awarded $6.5 million to a lawyer whose severely swollen spinal cord went undiagnosed by his doctor. Over...

Virginia Legal Obituary: Carle E. Davis.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Carle E. Davis, a retired tax lawyer who practiced with McGuireWoods LLP, died April 9. Mr. Davis, who was 83, retired in 1992 as a senior partner in the firm where he had practiced since 1953. ...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: April 21, 2003.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Black Lung Benefits - Request For Admissions Where a coal miner's former employer admitted to several of the requests for admission submitted by the miner, but the...

Sorry, Jimbo.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff James Monroe, America's fifth president and famous Fredericksburg lawyer, doesn't have a college named after him. He may not get one. There has been a lot of talk around F'burg to change the name...

Supreme Court of Virginia: Case Stayed Involving Reciprocal.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Dawn Chase The Supreme Court of Virginia has granted a 90-day stay of an appeal of a medical malpractice suit in which the defendant doctor was insured by Doctors Insurance Reciprocal. The court moved the deadline for the...

Hanover County Circuit Judge Overturns Arbitration For Not Hearing Evidence.
April 21, 2003... Byline: John D. Tuerck Where an arbitrator refused to hear a restaurant's evidence in a contract case, a Hanover County circuit judge has vacated the arbitrator's award and ordered a new arbitrator to hear the claim. The plaintiff...

Attorneys Liability Protection Society Gets Expected Downgrade From S&P.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Dawn Chase Standard & Poor's has downgraded Attorneys Liability Protection Society's rating a notch in response to the company's recent shoring up of reserves to support a higher-than-expected claims experience in some states, but...

Virginia Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 21, 2003.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Felon In Possession - 'Firearm' - Handgun A defendant's conviction for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm is affirmed despite his claim that the inoperable handgun he...

Verdicts & Settlements April 21, 2003: Failure To Diagone Myelitis Results In Record Award.
April 21, 2003... Byline: John D. Tuerck In what is apparently the largest medical-malpractice verdict in state history, a Fredericksburg jury has awarded $6.5 million to a lawyer whose severely swollen spinal cord went undiagnosed by his doctor. Over...

Verdicts & Settlements April 21, 2003: Teenager Injured When Motorist Fails To Yield To Right Of Way.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of Action -- Negligence Other Useful Information -- The plaintiff was a passenger in the defendant's car. Returning from a church function in Portsmouth, the defendant failed to yield the...

Stop the presses.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff In keeping with our tradition of giving you news you need to know: The City of Bedford has passed an ordinance banning urination and defecation in public. Really. The city council's action earlier...

Dog Gone.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff From the "What Were They Thinking?" File. Three Fairfax guys have taken up residence in the cross-bar hotel in Alexandria, facing felony charges. What did they do, you ask? They, um, they...

A hero, and a toast thereto.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff A note from the Iraqi War: Consider the reports of the man behind the uplifting rescue of U.S. Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch. A team of special forces extracted Lynch from an Iraqi hospital after her capture...

Virginia Legal Obituary: Lawrence E. Blanchard Jr.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Lawrence E. Blanchard Jr., a lawyer who practiced in Richmond before holding a number of corporate offices at Ethyl Corporation, died April 14. He was 82. A native of Lumberton, N.C., Mr. Blanchard...

Virginia Legal Obituary: Claude A. Turner Jr.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Northampton County lawyer Claude A. Turner Jr. died March 14. He was 83. Mr. Turner received his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia in 1942. He served as a lieutenant in the U.S...

SCC Asked For Help On ANLIR Stays.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Dawn Chase The Tenneessee insurance officials overseeing the receivership of American National Lawyers Insurance Reciprocal have been busy in both their state and in Virginia, seeking to stay legal proceedings against ANLIR and its...

Portsmouth Jury Awards Girl $2M For Lead-Paint Injuries.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Dawn Chase A Portsmouth jury has awarded $2 million to a girl who was exposed to lead paint at the apartment where she lived, in what is apparently the first lead-poisoning verdict ever in Virginia. In addition to setting a...

Virginia Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 28, 2003.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Recusal Of Judge - Former Prosecutor Where a circuit judge who served as prosecutor when a juvenile defendant originally was convicted on cocaine charges presided over the defendant's...

Verdicts & Settlements April 28, 2003: Surgery -- Arterial Transsection -- Nerve Damage.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of Action -- Medical malpractice Other Useful Information -- The first trial of this matter ended with a defense verdict. The Supreme Court of Virginia ordered a retrial after determining that...

Virginia Lawyers In The News: April 28, 2003.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia has elected Gordon F. Rainey Jr. to serve as the university's 37th rector. As rector, a position held by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison,...

'75 Largest Law Firms In Virginia' Survey Is Presented.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Paul Fletcher In this issue, Virginia Lawyers Weekly is pleased to present its 14th annual survey of the "Largest Law Firms in Virginia." In previous years, we highlighted the 50 largest firms in the commonwealth; this year, we...

Supreme Court Of Virginia: Punitives Are Struck In Hit-And-Run Accident.
April 28, 2003... Byline: John D. Tuerck The Supreme Court of Virginia has reversed a punitive damages award to a couple injured by a hit-and-run driver. By a 5-2 majority, the court found that the John Doe driver was not "egregious" enough to warrant...

Home Builder Can't Sue Stucco Manufacturer, Rules Supreme Court Of Virginia.
April 28, 2003... Byline: John D. Tuerck A home builder cannot maintain a suit to recover damages against the manufacturer of defective synthetic stucco installed in a Fairfax County home, the Supreme Court of Virginia has ruled. The builder had sued...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: April 28, 2003.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Negligence Multi- Vehicle Auto Accident - Insurance Coverage - A Fairfax circuit judges awards declaratory relief in this multi-vehicle auto accident involving an insolvent insurance company....

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: April 28, 2003.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Black Lung Benefits - Claim Settlement A black lung claimant's settlement of his decades-old claim properly was invalidated by the Benefits Review Board, as the Black Lung...

Fees Have Increased In Virginia For Service Of Process.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Notice: The cost of service of process by the Secretary of the Commonwealth and the Department of Vehicles has increased, effective May 1, from $19 to $28 per service. The fee increase was adopted...

Virginia Supreme Court Case Summaries: April 28, 2003.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Birth Injury Fund - Professional Corporation - Claim - Wrongful Death The Court of Appeals did not err in affirming a decision of the Workers' Compensation Commission that it...

Verdicts & Settlements April 28, 2003: Medical Malpractice.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of Action -- Medical malpractice Type of Injuries -- Paralysis of the dominant wrist, cervical and lumbar pain, and clinical depression Name of Case -- Confidential Court --...