Virginia Lawyers Weekly articles from April 2008

Virginia Lawyers Weekly archives from April 2008

Virginia Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 7, 2008.
April 7, 2008... Byline: VALW Staff Criminal Murder - Witness Immunity - Procedural Bar A defendant who moved at trial to dismiss second-degree murder and firearm charges against him on the ground that the prosecution had gained an unfair advantage in...

Verdicts & Settlements April 7, 2008: Motorcyclist suffers severe injuries in crash with police.
April 7, 2008... Byline: VALW Staff The plaintiffs, husband and wife, were returning home from work on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle on a two-lane primary highway with the north and southbound lanes separated by painted road stripes. The defendant, a county...

'Hostile' anti-Muslim claim can go to jury.
April 7, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins A rental company must defend at trial a Muslim employee's Title VII claim of a hostile environment from coworkers calling him a terrorist, a towel head and a Taliban in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. In EEOC v....

Instructor's role key in Virginia aviation case.
April 7, 2008... Byline: Peter Vieth A Shenandoah County jury last month returned a $250,000 verdict for a student pilot injured in a plane crash - even though the plaintiff was a licensed pilot flying his own plane at the time of the crash. In one of the...

Douglass is new law dean at University of Richmond.(John G. Douglass)
April 7, 2008... Byline: Alan Cooper John G. Douglass, acting dean at the University of Richmond law school since July 1, has been named dean of the school. Douglass took the interim position after former dean Rodney A. Smolla left for the Washington and...

Virginia's magistrate system is upgraded, pay is not.
April 7, 2008... Byline: Alan Cooper The General Assembly approved this year the structure for a system that should result in better trained and managed magistrates. That structure represents a substantial financial commitment, especially in a year with a...

U.S. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 7, 2008.
April 7, 2008... Byline: VALW Staff Civil Rights Va. FOIA - Prisoner Request - Hepatitis Protocol The Virginia Department of Corrections did not violate the civil rights of a Virginia inmate who has hepatitis C when it denied his request under the...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: April 7, 2008.
April 7, 2008... Byline: VALW Staff Civil Rights First Amendment - ABC Regs - Alcohol Ads - College Newspapers Regulations of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Board that restrict advertising of alcohol in college newspapers, 3 VAC 5-20-40(A)...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: April 7, 2007.
April 7, 2008... Byline: VALW Staff Civil Rights Teacher Suspension - Emotional Distress - Mental Health Evaluation A kindergarten teacher who was suspended from her duties pending a mental or psychiatric evaluation has failed to state a claim for...

Thanks for not suing, Feinberg tells Virginia Trial Lawyers Assn.(Kenneth Feinberg)(Virginia Trial Lawyers Association)
April 7, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Plaintiff's lawyers routinely get slammed for filing lawsuits, lots of lawsuits. Kenneth Feinberg wants to congratulate personal injury lawyers for not filing suit. Feinberg served as special master for distribution...

Virginia Supreme Court Justice Agee offers advice to appeals counsel.(Steven Agee)
April 7, 2008... Byline: Peter Vieth If you've heard it once, you've heard it a hundred times. From law professors, colleagues and appellate judges, the admonishment on brief writing is the same - keep it short and concise. Few advisors, however,...

Charlottesville youth advocate urges reforms.(Andy Block)
April 7, 2008... Byline: Peter Vieth Andy Block of Charlottesville thinks that too many children accused of crime are getting caught up in the adult justice system. Block - a much-honored child advocate - offered "modest proposals" for reforms at the...

Verdicts & Settlements April 14, 2008: Patient alleges broken rib caused by chiropractor.
April 14, 2008... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Defense Verdict Plaintiff alleged that a chiropractor fractured his rib during the first series of manual adjustments of his thoracic spine, yet continued with additional adjustments, despite...

More appointed lawyers in Virginia seeking waivers, question remains if efforts will be enough.
April 14, 2008... Byline: Alan Cooper The money is there for the asking, and more court-appointed criminal defense attorneys are asking. But are they asking soon enough to maintain credibility with the General Assembly? After complaining for decades about...

Virginia Beach debtor's revoked discharge reversed.(Allison Marie Jordan)
April 14, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins A Virginia Beach debtor, whose bankruptcy discharge was revoked when she refinanced her home days after the discharge, regained her discharge when her case went to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Allison Marie...

Andrew M. Sacks is new leader of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Assn.(Association)
April 14, 2008... Byline: Alan Cooper Andrew M. Sacks, the new president of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, wants a more expansive definition. That's hardly surprising because Sacks is one of a small minority of attorneys to be recognized as a top...

U.S. District judge in Alexandria enjoins new 'easier' patent application rules.(James C. Cacheris)
April 14, 2008... Byline: Alan Cooper The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office tried to reduce the workload of its examiners by enacting rules intended to limit repetitive filings. However, U.S. District Judge James C. Cacheris in Alexandria ruled earlier this...

The late Frank Dunham is first recipient of Va. Trial Lawyers Assn.'s The Hill award.(Virginia Trial Lawyers Association)
April 14, 2008... Byline: Paul Fletcher & Alan Cooper The Virginia Trial Lawyers Association has renamed its "Courageous Advocate" Award for civil rights icon Oliver W. Hill Sr., The Hill award was presented posthumously to Frank W. Dunham Jr. at the VTLA...

Battle is on over Episcopal Church property in Virginia.
April 14, 2008... Byline: Peter Vieth A Fairfax County Circuit judge has set the stage for what promises to be a hard-fought court battle over title to property occupied by 11 breakaway Episcopal Church congregations in Virginia. In an 83-page opinion,...

Virginia Lawyers in the News: April 14, 2008.(Virginia Trial Lawyers Association)
April 14, 2008... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Lacy receives service award from VTLA Retired Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth B. Lacy received the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association's 2008 Distinguished Service Award at its recent annual...

U.S. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 14, 2008.
April 14, 2008... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff U.S. Court of Appeals Bankruptcy Discharge Revocation - Ch. 7 - Willful Refusal A bankruptcy court miscalculated the level of "intransigence" a Chapter 7 debtor must show to lose her discharge...

Verdicts & Settlements April 14, 2008: Pilot contends instructor was negligent in Cessna 172 crash.
April 14, 2008... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff $250,000 Verdict This action arose out of the crash of Cessna 172 in Shenandoah County on Sept. 18, 2002. The crash occurred during the return flight from Hagerstown, Md., to Shenandoah. The...

Verdicts & Settlements April 14, 2008: Driver suffers broken neck in Augusta collision.
April 14, 2008... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff $375,000 Settlement Plaintiff and defendant were involved in a head-on collision on Dec. 28, 2005, in Augusta County. Defendant denied liability. When defendant refused to comply with the court's...

Verdicts & Settlements April 14, 2008: Army pharmacy gives wrong dose of coumadin.
April 14, 2008... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff $1,050,000 Settlement On Jan. 21, 2006, plaintiff, an active 80-year-old retired naval officer, had a routine prescription for 2 mg Coumadin refilled at DeWitt Army Community Hospital Family Health...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: April 14, 2008.
April 14, 2008... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff U.S. District Court EASTERN DISTRICT Intellectual Property PTO Rule Change - Patent Exams - TRO Plaintiff SmithKline Beecham Corp., the largest pharmaceutical company in the world, wins...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: April 14, 2008.
April 14, 2008... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Va. Circuit Court Contract Mechanic's Lien - 'Lot' - Apportionment Although the circuit court agrees that the "parcels" as well as "lots" of a subdivision should have been included in...

Test.
April 18, 2008... Byline: Tim Spencer Ignore me

U.S. District Court - Eastern District: Lamers v. Organizational Strategies Inc.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Contract - Stock Option Distributions - Limitations A former vice president who was promised stock options if the company, Organizational Strategies Inc., won a government contract, but who was repeatedly put off...

U.S. District Court - Western District: Bryant v. Yorktowne Cabinetry Inc.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Employment Discrimination - Failure To Promote - Termination - Falsified Records A female line worker at a cabinetry manufacturer who claims she suffered sex discrimination when she was not promoted to line...

U.S. District Court - Western District: King v. McMillan.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Employment Discrimination - Sexual Harassment - Sheriff - Title VII - Remittitur A Roanoke federal district judge orders a hearing on remittitur in this sexual harassment case in which a jury awarded a former...

Virginia Supreme Court: Bostic v. About Women Ob/Gyn PC.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Medical Malpractice - Medical Literature - No Foundation In a med-mal suit to decide whether a baby's Erb's Palsy was caused by a nurse's negligence or the natural maternal propulsive forces of labor, the trial...

Virginia Supreme Court: Commonwealth of Va., Office of Comptroller v. Barker.(Virginia)
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Administrative - Police Officer Death - Line Of Duty Benefits - Presumption The widow of a Pittsylvania County deputy sheriff who died from a heart attack while driving his police vehicle on the job has not...

Virginia Supreme Court: McNally v. Rey.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Attorneys - Sanctions - Bankruptcy Filing - Eve Of Trial A trial court erred in imposing sanctions on an attorney whose corporate client filed a bankruptcy petition on the eve of a trial to defend a contract...

Virginia Supreme Court: Jay v. Commonwealth.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Civil Procedure - Appeals - Rule 5A:20 In these two consolidated criminal appeals, the Supreme Court holds that the Court of Appeals has erred in its application of Rule 5A:20(e) to dismiss a petition for appeal...

Virginia Supreme Court: McCain v. Commonwealth.(Case overview)
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Search & Seizure - Traffic Stop - Passenger Pat-Down Although a police officer several months ago conducted a controlled cocaine purchase from a house visited by defendant, a passenger in a car stopped for a...

Virginia Supreme Court: Jennings v. Kay Jennings Family LP.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Partnerships - Derivative Action - Standing - Adverse Interest In a dispute among siblings in a family limited partnership with varying partnership interests in a Springfield Toyota dealership, the brother who...

Virginia Supreme Court: Wright v. Minnicks.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Negligence - Wrongful Death - Solace Damages - Marital Discord In a wrongful death action filed by the estate of a man killed in a motorcycle accident, the trial court erred in setting aside a jury verdict that...

Virginia Supreme Court: Young v. Commonwealth.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Criminal - Prescription Drug Possession - Nature & Character A woman stopped in a "high-crime, high-drug area" for failure to stop at an intersection, who consented to a search of her vehicle, cannot be convicted...

Virginia Supreme Court: Buhrman v. Commonwealth.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Search & Seizure - Probable Cause - Hand-Rolled Cigarette A police officer in a convenience store in a "high-drug" area did not have probable cause to seize defendant, based on the officer's observation that...

Virginia Supreme Court: Virginia v. Commonwealth.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Search & Seizure - Protective Sweep - Suicide Threat - Barricaded Home Police who had defendant under surveillance after his live-in girlfriend reported he had been drinking and threatened suicide did not have...

Snell v. Commonwealth.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Search & Seizure - Folded Dollar Bill - Probable Cause Police did not have probable cause to investigate the folded-up dollar bill in a juvenile defendant's wallet, and the trial court did not err in denying...

Virginia Supreme Court: Prince Seating Corp. v. Rabideau.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Civil Procedure - Default Judgment - Appellate Record A circuit court's default judgment awarding plaintiff Edward Rabideau $1.45 million in damages against defendant Prince Seating Corporation, a New York...

Virginia Court of Appeals: Marvin v. Marvin.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Domestic Relations - Bankruptcy Discharge - Attorney's Fees A husband's debt of attorney's fees to wife in her proceeding against husband for violations of a court visitation order cannot be discharged in...

Virginia Court of Appeals: The Laurels of Bon Air v. Medical Facilities of America LIV LP.(Case overview)
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Administrative - Nursing Home Beds Transfer - Standing - 'Good Cause' Assuming appellant nursing homes have standing to challenge the constitutionality of "the Relocation Act," 2005 Va. Acts ch. 99, the Court of...

Virginia Court of Appeals: Wright v. Commonwealth.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Criminal - Indictment Nolle Prosequi - 'Good Cause' - Preliminary Hearing Avoidance A trial court should have dismissed the direct indictment of a defendant who previously was arrested on a warrant for DUI and...

Virginia Court of Appeals: Tsai v. Commonwealth.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Criminal - Protective Order Violation - Proof of Notice A wife's misdemeanor conviction for violation of a protective order by knocking on husband's door and sitting in her car in his driveway, after she was...

Virginia Court of Appeals: Wright v. Hamilton-Wright.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Domestic Relations - Equitable Distribution - Hybrid Marital Home A divorce court did not err in classifying as hybrid property the marital home, which husband had owned prior to the parties' 1997 marriage but...

Virginia Court of Appeals: Stacy v. Stacy.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Domestic Relations - Husband's Mortgage Payments - Wife's Cohabitation Although the parties' agreement stated that husband's continued mortgage payments would be "in the nature of support" for wife and would not...

Va. Circuit Court: Commonwealth v. Mercurio.(Virginia Circuit Court)
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Criminal - Stalking - Defendant's Repeat Appearances A defendant who was unknown to a woman but who was observed several times in the street in front of her home, pacing, hiding and rapidly departing when police...

Va. Circuit Court: Augmentation Inc. v. Atoka Chase Assoc. Inc.(Virginia)
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Real Estate - Homeowners Association - Attorney's Fees A homeowner who prevailed in an action against a homeowners association governed by the Property Owners' Association Act, Va. Code s.s. 55-508 to -516.2, may...

Va. Circuit Court: County of Loudoun v. Rothenberg.(Virginia)
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Criminal - Public Drunkenness - Local Ordinance A defendant charged with public drunkenness in violation of a local Loudoun County Ordinance, Section 654.03, cannot be convicted of public intoxication in...

Va. Circuit Court: Graham v. Cook.(Virginia)(Brief article)
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Medical Malpractice - Consolidation - Reconsideration A circuit court declines to reconsider its earlier decision denying plaintiff's motion to consolidate his two medical malpractice actions against two...

Va. Circuit Court: American Fire Equipment Inc. v. Widewater Volunteer Fire & Rescue Servs.(Virginia)
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Contract - Volunteer Fire Company - Pumper Purchase A county's denial of a volunteer fire company's request to purchase a fire truck on credit, directive to return the fire truck the company ordered without...

Va. Circuit Court: Singleton v. Suplizio.(Virginia)
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins A circuit court denies defendant's motion to vacate a default judgment against him based on faulty service of process, in that the case and summons originally were styled against "Paul E. Suplizio," defendant's...

Va. Circuit Court: Commonwealth v. Andrews.(Virginia)
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins A defendant wanted for multiple capital murders in Virginia who was apprehended by police in the Bronx, New York, after the vehicle in which defendant was a passenger was stopped for turning right through a red light...

Virginia Lawyers in the News: April 28, 2008.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Sarah Rodriguez W. Edward Riley IV and Mitchell M. Wells have formed the law firm of Riley & Wells. They will practice in the areas of criminal and traffic defense as well as personal injury. The firm is located at 2201 Libbie...

Newport News birth-injury case nets $1.55M verdict.(Brief article)(Case overview)
April 28, 2008... Byline: Peter Vieth A Newport News jury returned a $1.55 million verdict in a birth-injury case this month in which the evidence included a home movie of the delivery, according to lawyers for the plaintiff. The April 18 verdict against a...

What if the jury gives $0 for solace in death case?
April 28, 2008... Byline: Alan Cooper Christa Wright testified that she and her husband had a close relationship and had no intention of separating when Anthony Edward Wright was killed in a motorcycle wreck in Frederick County in July 2004. Two juries...

Supreme Court of Virginia says limited partner can't file derivative suit for partnership.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Alan Cooper A family dispute over a Toyota dealership in Northern Virginia has produced the first appellate ruling in the state over the standing of a limited partner to file a derivative action on behalf of the partnership. ...

Presenting 2008's survey of Virginia's 'Largest Law Firms'.(Brief article)
April 28, 2008... Byline: Sarah Rodriguez Virginia Lawyers Weekly is pleased to present the 2008 survey of "Virginia's Largest Law Firms" in this issue. The survey ranks the 75 largest firms in the commonwealth, based on the number of Virginia-licensed...

Virginia Republicans weigh choices for Attorney General race.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Peter Vieth The resignation by the federal prosecutor in Roanoke this month heralds a clash over who will carry the banner as the Republican nominee for Attorney General in 2009. Meeting reporters with his beaming family at his...

Virginia's General Assembly reconvenes, taps judges.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Alan Cooper The General Assembly finally filled 22 out of about 30 judicial vacancies late Wednesday night but left it to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine or circuit judges to fill seats in Hampton, Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Roanoke. ...

Supreme Court of Virginia says expert must back treatise.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Peter Vieth A live witness must lay a solid foundation before articles in medical journals may be admitted as "holy writ" in a civil trial, according to an opinion this month from the Supreme Court of Virginia. The court's...

Lawyer needn't give notice before filing bankruptcy, Supreme Court of Virginia rules.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Alan Cooper The Supreme Court of Virginia could have reversed the sanction against a lawyer who avoided a trial with a last-minute bankruptcy filing based on its finding that there was no factual basis for the trial court's...

Verdicts & Settlements April 28, 2008: Coverage at issue in crash of Medicare van.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Thelma Hargrove, a 65-year-old woman who had had both legs amputated above the knee because of diabetes, suffered multiple fractures to her right shoulder and arm, among other injuries, in a traffic accident...

Verdicts & Settlements April 28, 2008: Cop breaks suspect's arm during arrest at bar.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly The plaintiff called 911 after witnessing what he thought was an assault in a bar on Jan. 1, 2006. The defendant police officer arrived and refused to talk to the plaintiff or his friend. After speaking to...

Verdicts & Settlements April 28, 2008: Rock thrown by playmate damages 7-year-old's eye.(Brief article)
April 28, 2008... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly $300,000 Settlement Plaintiff, a 7-year-old boy, was playing with several other children by a creek near his home in Colonial Heights. Defendant, a 13-year-old boy, threw a rock that struck plaintiff in...

U.S. Court of Appeals: Jackson v. Johnson.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Criminal - Habeas Corpus - Ineffective Assistance - Comparative Worth Argument A Virginia death-row defendant convicted of the brutal capital murder after a sexual assault of his 79-year-old neighbor is not...

U.S. Court of Appeals: U.S. v. Martin.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Criminal - Arson - Convenience Store Owner A convenience store owner's claim that the government did not prove she caused the fire that burned her store fails because of strong circumstantial evidence of the...

U.S. Court of Appeals: Green v. City of Raleigh.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Civil Rights - Free Speech - Picketing On Public Ways - Prior Notice A plaintiff whose group was asked by police if it had notified the City of Raleigh of its intent to picket a particular activity - in this...

U.S. Court of Appeals: U.S. v. Reid.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Criminal - Drug Conspiracy - Drug Trafficking Murder The 4th Circuit affirms a defendant's convictions for conspiracy to distribute cocaine base and murder through use of a firearm in the course of a drug...

U.S. Court of Appeals: DIRECTV Inc. v. Rawlins.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Commercial - Satellite TV Piracy - Wiretap Act - Statutory Damages Contrary to the argument of plaintiff satellite TV company, who won a default judgment against a man who illegally obtained services by using a...

U.S. Court of Appeals: U.S. v. Boynes.(Brief article)
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Criminal - Jury Trial Waiver - Cocaine Conspiracy The 4th Circuit denies rehearing en banc in this case, in which the panel held that although defendant did not personally sign the motion drafted and signed by...

U.S. District Court - Eastern District: Hunton & Williams LLP v. U.S. Dept. of Justice.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Intellectual Property - FOIA Request - BlackBerry Litigation The Hunton & Williams law firm is entitled to some of the documents it seeks from the Department of Justice under the Freedom of Information Act,...