Virginia Lawyers Weekly articles from April 2006

Virginia Lawyers Weekly archives from April 2006

Advisory committee recommends changes in Virginia's rules of appellate procedure.
April 3, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper Filing pleadings with the Supreme Court of Virginia and the Court of Appeals through Federal Express, UPS and other commercial carriers or through certified or registered mail. Limits on the use of statements of...

Walter S. Felton to head Virginia Court of Appeals.
April 3, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Walter S. Felton Jr., a judge of the Virginia Court of Appeals since September 2002, has been elected chief judge of the court. Felton succeeded Johanna L. Fitzpatrick, who retired from the court...

Virginia Court of Appeals rules late pay penalty applies to comp attorney's fee.
April 3, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper An order to pay an attorney's fee from accrued workers' compensation benefits must be met with the same dispatch as an order directing payment to the worker, the Virginia Court of Appeals ruled last week. The...

U.S. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 3, 2006.(Cantor v. Cohen)(domestic relations and visitation rights case)(U.S. v. Singleton)(searches and seizures case)(U.S. v. Stitt)(habeas corpus case)
April 3, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Sentencing - Drug Quantity Three defendants have their drug conspiracy convictions affirmed, despite their claims of numerous errors by the trial judge in handling witnesses, and the...

U.S. District Court VA Eastern Case Summaries: April 3, 2006.(CareFirst of Maryland Inc. v. First Care PC)(trademark infringement case)(DiFelice v. US Airways Inc)(breach of fiduciary duty case)(U.S. v. Angle)(searches and seizures case)
April 3, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Sanctions Under Rule 11 - Trademark Infringement In this trademark infringement case by a Maryland HMO, CareFirst of Maryland Inc., against a Chesapeake group of family doctors...

Virginia Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 3, 2006.(Divorce property distribution case)(McKinnon v. McKinnon)(searches and seizures case)(White v. Commonwealth)(workers' compensation case)(Roman v. Ondeo Degremont Inc)
April 3, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Cocaine Possession - Intent To Distribute There was sufficient evidence to find defendant possessed cocaine in the form of residue found on scales found on the premises, but the...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: April 3, 2006.(wrongful death and medical malpractice insurance case)(Southern Insurance Co. of Va. v. Somerville)(negligence case )(Young v. Food Lion Store No. 622 )
April 3, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Insurance Wrongful Death - Intentional Acts - Alleged Poisoning Because Virginia's wrongful death statute does not allow for any damages that are covered by an insurance policy at issue in this...

Verdicts & Settlements April 3, 2006: Nurse prevails in case over placement of feeding tube.(John J. Spittle, Administrator of the Estate of Esther K. Spittle v. Nursefinders, Inc)(medical malpractice case)(Case overview)
April 3, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff's decedent, an 80-year-old female, presented at the emergency room at a local hospital with complaints of a broken right wrist but was subsequently admitted for a variety of conditions...

Verdicts & Settlements April 3, 2006: Plaintiff recovers med-mal cap amount in settlement.(Sergeant v. John Doe Internist, John Doe Urologist, John Doe Infectious Disease Doctor and John Doe Hospital )(medical malpractice case)(Case overview)
April 3, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff is a 26-year-old married mother of two young children. She had a history of methicillin resistant staph aureus (MRSA) infections which manifested itself by skin outbreaks of auruncles and...

Verdicts & Settlements April 3, 2006: Allstate offered $5,900 for wreck; jury award $25K to woman.(West v. Farrell)(traffic accident and personal injury case)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff was traveling on Chestnut Avenue at 35 mph when the defendant, traveling in the opposite direction, crossed the center line and struck the plaintiff's vehicle head on. The plaintiff sought...

Virginia Lawyers in the News: April 10, 2006.(Warren Teller joins Spinella Owings & Shaia)(Michael Sklaire and Laura Zinanni joins Williams Mullen)(Benjamin P. Heidt and Thomas J. Moran joins WallacePledger PLLC)
April 10, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Warren Teller has joined the Richmond law firm of Spinella Owings & Shaia. He practices in the firm's real estate group, as well as representing small business and entertainment clients. Prior to...

Lawyers in the News.(M. Scott Bucci, Mark D. Dix, and Lauren M. Ebersole joins Morris & Morris PC)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The Richmond law firm of Morris & Morris PC has named three lawyers as partners. They are: * M Scott Bucci * Mark D. Dix * Lauren M. Ebersole. The firm has named D. Cameron Beck Jr....

Chabalewski is tapped as new Virginia State Bar Counsel.(George W. Chabalewski)
April 10, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper A search committee of the Virginia State Bar has selected Senior Assistant Attorney General George W. Chabalewski to succeed Barbara Ann Williams as head of the Virginia State Bar's disciplinary system. Chabalewski...

Schwartz becomes Virginia Trial Lawyers Assn. president.(Association)(Gerald A. Schwartz)
April 10, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper Not just every lawyer draws an analogy between organic chemistry and automobile insurance law. But then not every lawyer has a degree in pharmacy and 11 years of experience as a patent examiner analyzing new drugs...

Virginia Trial Lawyers Assn. taps new leaders.(Association)(new appointments)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff In addition to the election of Alexandria lawyer Gerald A. Schwartz as president, the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association tapped other new officers and governors at its annual convention at The Homestead...

Virginia State Bar holds elections for seats on council.(W. Richard Hairfield, Helen E. Phillips, Joseph E. Wolfe are new appointments)
April 10, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper Five circuits have more candidates than seats available on the Virginia State Bar Council. Attorneys in Norfolk, Richmond, Alexandria, Arlington and Fairfax will elect their council representatives by returning a...

Virginia Court of Appeals stays away from Confrontation Clause.
April 10, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper The Virginia Court of Appeals found a way around substantial Confrontation Clause issues last week in affirming the convictions of two defendants. One case, Luginbyhl v. Commonwealth (VLW 006-7-115), had been...

Virginia Lawyers Weekly Obituaries: April 10, 2006.(Conard Blount "Matt" Mattox III and Lucian W. Hiner)(Obituary)
April 10, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Conard B. "Matt" Mattox Richmond lawyer Conard Blount "Matt" Mattox III died March 18. He was 57. A partner with the law firm of McCandlish Holton, Mr. Mattox earned his undergraduate and law...

U.S. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 10, 2006.
April 10, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Jurisdiction - Stating Federal Claim - Securities Fraud A Presbyterian minister whose church sought to fund his retirement by engaging a trustee firm to set up a trust for the...

U.S. District Court VA Eastern Case Summaries: April 10, 2006.
April 10, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Commercial Surety - Individual Indemnity - Good Faith Covenant In this lawsuit seeking enforcement of a written general agreement of indemnity against defendants in their individual capacities,...

U.S. District Court VA Western Case Summaries: April 10, 2006.
April 10, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment ERISA - Long- Term Disability - Failure To Exhaust A former insurance agent who is receiving disability benefits under an employer's ERISA plan cannot sue the former employer for...

Virginia Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 10, 2006.
April 10, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Pretrial Photo Lineup - Target Store - Molestation Where defendant allegedly followed and then touched the buttocks of a 13-year-old girl in a Target store, and then several weeks...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: April 10, 2006.
April 10, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Creditor's Rights TILA - Lottery Winnings Where a woman who won $1,000 a month for life in a 1996 Virginia lottery used her lottery income to secure a 1998 loan from defendant with an annual...

Verdicts & Settlements April 10, 2006: Verdict of $1.2M won for late cancer diagnosis.(Goe v. Archibald H. Green, D.O., and Falls Church Medical Center)(medical malpractice case)(Case overview)
April 10, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Dr. Archibald Green was the plaintiff's primary care physician beginning in 1998. On Oct. 23, 2002, the plaintiff underwent a routine physical at the Falls Church Medical Center where Dr. Green worked....

Verdicts & Settlements April 10, 2006: Doctors prevail in death case of 11-year-old.(Estate of Jennifer Eagleton v. Pediatric Gastroenterology, P.C. and Commonwealth Radiology, P.C. )(medical malpractice and wrongful death case)
April 10, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff's decedent was an 11-year-old girl who had been admitted to the hospital by her pediatrician for evaluation and treatment of fevers of unknown origin. After a week in the hospital,...

Supporting staff key to building law firm dream team.(human resource management)
April 17, 2006... Byline: Nora Lockwood Tooher (This article originally appeared in Lawyers Weekly USA, another Dolan Media publication). Lawyers put a lot of time and effort into marketing, technology and other areas of their practice, but often give...

Commentary: It's probably time to clean up your company's HR.(human resource)
April 17, 2006... Byline: Eileen M. Levitt (This article originally appeared in The Daily Record, Baltimore, MD., another Dolan Media publication). I recently cleaned out my closet and discovered an outfit that I last wore to my 10-year reunion. Let's...

Letter to the Editor.
April 17, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Lawyer objects to mandatory liability coverage Dear Editor: Once again the issue of mandatory liability insurance for lawyers has raised its ugly head from the (un)dead like Dracula. ...

Shenandoah County Circuit Court rules insurance co. is worth more for equitable distrubution.(Aimonetti v. Aimonetti )
April 17, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper Shenandoah County Circuit Judge Dennis Lee Hupp has ruled that an independent insurance agency is worth 3.5 times its adjusted net annual revenue for equitable distribution purposes. In the same divorce case,...

4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules law firm can be sued for Fair Debt violation.(Karen Wilson v. Draper & Goldberg and L. Darren Goldberg )(Case overview)
April 17, 2006... Byline: Caryn Tamber Lawyers who initiate foreclosures are not immune from liability when they violate federal debt collection laws, a divided panel of 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has held. In 2003, Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corp....

U.S. Supreme Court OKs unpublished opinions.
April 17, 2006... Byline: Paul Fletcher The United State Supreme Court last Wednesday approved the use of unpublished opinions in all circuits in the nation. By adopting a new Rule of Appellate Procedure, the high court will make available to lawyers a...

Justice A. Christian Compton dies at age 76.(Obituary)
April 17, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff A. Christian Compton, a justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia for 25 years, died April 9 after a brief illness. Justice Compton, 76, continued to sit as a senior justice after he retired in 2000...

U.S. Court Of Appeals Case Summaries: April 17, 2006.
April 17, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Release - Domain Name - Breach Of Agreement A California company named 1099 Pro, which markets computer software that generates forms related to compliance with IRS Code Sect....

U.S. District Court VA Eastern Case Summaries: April 17, 2006.
April 17, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Personal Jurisidiction - Long- Arm Statute A Rocky Mount manufacturer of Addressograph[R] 2000 Series imprinters, for use in the healthcare industry, can sue a South Carolina...

U.S. District Court VA Western Case Summaries: April 17, 2006.
April 17, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Appearance Bond - Surety's Duty - Defendant's Sister Although the government contends that defendant's sister, the surety on his appearance bond, knew that any violation of his bond...

Virginia Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 17, 2006.
April 17, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Environmental - Water Quality Permit In this appeal by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation of the State Water Control Board's dismissal of the Foundation's challenge to issuance of a...

VA Circuit Court Case Summaries: April 17, 2006.(Virginia)(Commonwealth v. Wallace)(motion in limine case)(Tsui v. Shieh )(domestic relations and equal distribution of marital property case)
April 17, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Other Acts - Motion In Limine - Murder Prosecution Prior to defendant's trial for premeditated murder, the trial court denies defendant's motion in limine seeking to exclude evidence...

Verdicts & Settlements April 17, 2006: Knee injury results in plaintiff's verdict.(Sanabria v. Clark)(automobile accident - personal injury case)(Case overview)
April 17, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff This personal injury case involved a rear-end collision of a moderate size lawn care truck driven by the plaintiff with a small compact vehicle which ran under the rear of the truck while the truck was...

Verdicts & Settlements April 17, 2006): Defense wins claim by pedestrian.(Childress v. Moore)(personal injuries case)(Brief article)
April 17, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Defendant was proceeding through an intersection on a green light in Christiansburg when plaintiff stepped into his path and was struck. Plaintiff later died from unrelated causes. Type of Action:...

Verdicts & Settlements April 17, 2006: Heart patient settles failure-to-diagnose claim.(medical malpractice case )
April 17, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff was a 55-year-old male with a strong family history of coronary artery disease and significant risk factors for coronary artery disease. His father had his first myocardial infarction at...

Verdicts & Settlements April 17, 2006: Northampton jury finds for defense in perforation case.(medical malpractice case)(Case overview)
April 17, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The patient was a 71-year-old woman who had swallowed some large pieces of chicken 24 hours before she presented on Oct. 31, 2004, to the emergency department of Shore Memorial Hospital in Nassawsdox...

Virginia students at the College of William & Mary are proud of Jon Stewart host of "The Daily Show".
April 24, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The folks at the College of William & Mary are proud of Jon Stewart, a member of the class of 1984 and the hip host of "The Daily Show." Go down to Williamsburg for a session with the admissions...

Virginia law firms announce personnel changes.
April 24, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Spotts Fain has elected two new shareholders and directors: Timothy G. Moore focuses his practice on creditors' rights, commercial and business litigation, with an emphasis on the representation of...

Virginia law firm honors Robert H Patterson Jr.
April 24, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Robert H. Patterson Jr. spoke briefly to an adoring gathering of McGuireWoods attorneys, staff and friends earlier this month just after a portrait of him had been unveiled at the firm's Richmond...

Virginia Court of Appeals rules a computer hard drive's legality depends on its reasonableness.
April 24, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper The legality of the search of a computer hard drive depends on its reasonableness, not on whether the search was conducted in the most technically advanced manner, the Virginia Court of Appeals has ruled. And a...

Virginia House Rules Committee fails to endorse the reformatting of the Virginia Code.
April 24, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper There will be no 2007 Code of Virginia. The Virginia Code Commis-sion acknowledged as much last week in the wake of the failure of the House Rules Committee to endorse the project in this year's General Assembly....

Virginia annual survey announces a tie for first place for largest law firm.
April 24, 2006... Byline: Paul Fletcher For the first time since 1991, there is a tie for first place in the annual survey of "Virginia's Largest Law Firms." Hunton & Williams LLP and McGuireWoods LLP, the two biggest firms in the commonwealth, each...

Virginia judge awards car dealership $100K tax refund.
April 24, 2006... Byline: Deborah Elkins Just days beyond the April tax deadline, score one for the taxpayer. A Norfolk federal district judge has awarded a Hampton Roads car dealership a refund of a $100,000 penalty assessed by the Internal Revenue...

U.S. Court Of Appeals case summaries: April 24, 2006.
April 24, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Title IX - Female Soccer Player - Sexual Harassment A female soccer player at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill loses on summary judgment her Title IX and Sect. 1983...

U.S. District Court case summaries: April 24, 2006.
April 24, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Consumer Protection Fair Credit - Unauthorized Credit Reports According to a recommendation by a magistrate judge, an auto finance company, which has not appeared to defend against the charges,...

U.S. District Court case summaries: April 24, 2006.
April 24, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Sanctions - Auto Accident - Back Injury - Dismissal Of Suit A p.i. plaintiff who is suing a tractor-trailer driver for injuries allegedly arising from a collision has her suit...

Virginia court of appeals case summaries: April 24, 2006.
April 24, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Grand Larceny - Valuation - Inventory Scanner Reports - Business Records At the trial of a defendant charged with the theft of over-the-counter medications from a drugstore, the court...

Virginia circuit court case summaries: April 24, 2006.(Brief article)
April 24, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Domestic Relations Gift - Real Estate - Unmarried Partners A circuit judge will allow a respondent's cross-bill to go forward in this suit in which the respondent seeks to rescind a deed that...

Verdicts & settlements April 24, 2006: doctor prevails in claim over death of diabetic woman.(Case overview)
April 24, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Caroline Dagner, age 52 and retired, was an insulin-dependent diabetic since the mid 1980s. On the afternoon of Sept. 22, 2000, while alone in her apartment in Blackstone, she took her afternoon...

Verdicts & settlements April 24, 2006: Virginia jury awards $1M to pedestrian struck by van.
April 24, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff, age 36 and a student at VCU, was struck in the pedestrian crosswalk on VCU's campus, at the intersection of Harrison Street and Cary Street. The plaintiff was crossing from the south...

Verdicts & settlements April 24, 2006: Virginia jury awards$125K to Navy crewman for car wreck.
April 24, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff On a sunny day in November 2001, the plaintiff was driving his Harley-Davidson motorcycle in a residential area with his sister on the rear, when the uninsured defendant traveling in the opposite...

Verdicts & Settlements (April 24, 2006) $125K awarded to Navy crewman for car wreck.
April 24, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff On a sunny day in November 2001, the plaintiff was driving his Harley-Davidson motorcycle in a residential area with his sister on the rear, when the uninsured defendant traveling in the opposite...