Virginia Lawyers Weekly articles from April 2009

Virginia Lawyers Weekly archives from April 2009

Rate-a-doc: online services prompt some to use privacy agreements.
April 6, 2009... Byline: Peter Vieth Some doctors are raising eyebrows by trying to control what patients say about them in online rating services. The rapidly growing Internet rating services are themselves eye-opening. They offer a unique forum for...

Cri de coeur from a former Virginia editor.
April 6, 2009... Byline: Deborah Elkins A former ink-stained wretch who went on to become a judge still has a soft spot for old-school newspapers. It's widely known that J. Harvie Wilkinson III, of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, once served as...

Chesterfield court vacancy - again.(Virginia)
April 6, 2009... Byline: Alan Cooper Chesterfield legislators are looking for a new candidate to fill the circuit court vacancy created by the elevation of Judge Cleo E. Powell to the Virginia Court of Appeals. The General Assembly elected John V....

Virginia Bar Assn. professionalism principles debuted.
April 6, 2009... Byline: Alan Cooper The birthday of a famous Virginia lawyer gives the Virginia bar a new occasion to embrace professionalism. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has designated Monday, April 13, Lawyer Professionalism Day, when the Virginia Bar...

Freedom of Information Act covers Virginia judicial salaries, council says.
April 6, 2009... Byline: Peter Vieth The administrative office of the Virginia court system is subject to the state's Freedom of Information Act, according to a recent opinion from an open government advisory panel. The opinion from the Freedom of...

Last gasp for breath test machine in Virginia?
April 6, 2009... Byline: Peter Vieth The Intoxilyzer 5000, the widely used but aging breath alcohol sensing machine being phased out by Virginia authorities, is still drawing fire from DUI defense lawyers, including the attorney for a congressman fighting...

Virginia State Bar proposes opinion on lawyers accepting credit cards.
April 6, 2009... Byline: Alan Cooper Lawyers who accept credit cards and want to pass the transaction fees through to clients must disclose those fees or risk running afoul of federal truth-in-lending regulations, according to a proposed opinion from the...

Virginia State Bar survey: many think colleagues don't know about lawyers help program.
April 13, 2009... Byline: Alan Cooper The results of a just-completed Virginia State Bar survey about substance abuse present a paradox. Respondents don't think their colleagues know much about the Lawyers Helping Lawyers program and question whether...

Virginia buyer had 'constructive notice' of lot's protected status.
April 13, 2009... Byline: Deborah Elkins A home buyer who ended up in default and upside-down on her mortgage is seeking relief from the real estate agent who allegedly failed to tell her the lot she bought had environmental restrictions. The buyer lost...

Fluvanna County man's case grew into $256M class action.
April 13, 2009... Byline: Alan Cooper Two Charlottesville attorneys representing a former Fluvanna County resident have won a $256 million class action judgment against credit repair organizations and the two brothers who ran them. Collecting the...

Asbestos defendants strike back over screenings: Charlottesville lawyer among those sued.
April 13, 2009... Byline: Peter Vieth Companies often targeted by plaintiffs in asbestos litigation are fighting back against lawyers and others who used now-discredited mass screenings to identify thousands of lung disease claimants. A Virginia lawyer is...

Easy target? Economic slump prompts jump in malpractice claims.(Virginia)
April 13, 2009... Byline: Peter Vieth The economic downturn has brought reports of a jump in legal malpractice claims, but - at least so far - it's not a universal trend. The increase in claims seems to be hitting larger firms that are involved in business...

Fairfax County Circuit Court: Fairfax County Redevelopment & Housing Authority.(Virginia)
April 13, 2009... Byline: Deborah Elkins Real Estate - Repurchase Right - Housing Authority Suit A county housing authority may sue to enforce a covenant regarding its right to repurchase certain residential property it made available to income-eligible...

Spotsylvania County Circuit Court jury awards $7.5M to widower for failure to diagnose.(Virginia)
April 13, 2009... Byline: Alan Cooper A Spotsylvania County Circuit Court jury has returned a $7.5 million verdict for the widower of a registered nurse who died from breast cancer. The nurse, Eleanor Browder, went to her family practitioner, Donna J....

Virginia Lawyers in the News: April 20, 2009.
April 20, 2009... Byline: Sarah Rodriguez New Associations Two attorneys have joined the law firm of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice: Matthew E. Ross in the Washington office and Lesley Whitcomb Fierst in the Tyson's Corner office. Mark E. Warmbier...

Fairfax County judge rules defense can't get info from 'certifying expert'.(Virginia)
April 20, 2009... Byline: Peter Vieth Under a Virginia law designed to block frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits, a doctor's lawyer does not get access to the initial review by the plaintiff's certifying expert, even if the same expert plans to testify...

Virginia school officials to get 'rule of law' program on Law Day.
April 20, 2009... Byline: Peter Vieth Local school leaders from around the state will get a heads up on the Virginia Bar Association's Rule of Law teaching project on May 1. Superintendents of the state's public school divisions are invited to Richmond...

Jury awards $420K to divorce client for support error.(Virginia)
April 20, 2009... Byline: Alan Cooper A Newport News jury has awarded $420,000 to a woman whose divorce lawyer failed to preserve her right to seek spousal support from her husband of 38 years. Newport News attorney Amy M.P. VanFossen represented Nancy...

Franklin lawyer admits theft of $4M.(Virginia)
April 20, 2009... Byline: Alan Cooper A Franklin attorney who practiced law for more than 50 years has surrendered his license after admitting that he took more than $4 million from an estate for which he was the executor. The admission came last month...

Baugh quits disciplinary committee, says Va. State Bar doesn't pursue prosecutors.(capital defender David P. Baugh)
April 20, 2009... Byline: Alan Cooper David P. Baugh, the capital defender for the central region of the state, has resigned from the Virginia State Bar's Third District Disciplinary Committee because of what he perceives as the bar's failure to pursue...

Slicing a smaller pie: harder times meet divorce practice in Virginia.
April 20, 2009... Byline: Peter Vieth Are Virginians putting aside plans for divorce because of hard times? The answer may depend on where you live. Divorce lawyers tell us the collapse of real estate values in Northern Virginia has had a real impact on...

Verdicts & Settlements April 16, 2009: Dislodged manhole cover flips car, causes woman's death.
April 20, 2009... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly When a woman on her way to work in a residential area in Richmond ran across a manhole, the lid and riser ring tilted on edge under her car, lodged between the road and transmission of her car, flipped her...

Verdicts & Settlements April 20, 2009: Defective lift gate blamed for disabling leg injuries.
April 20, 2009... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly $700,000 Settlement This products liability action arose out of a workplace accident on Feb. 3, 2004. Phillip Reynolds was working for the Hollins Group setting up trade shows at a convention in...

Verdicts & Settlements April 20, 2009: Guatemalan children awarded damages in crash fatal to two.
April 20, 2009... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly The case involved a motor vehicle accident that occurred at night. The two decedents were passengers in a van that collided with a bus, which had been temporarily stopped on the shoulder of Interstate 66. In...

Verdicts & Settlements April 20, 2009: Lack of diligence alleged in purchase of dwelling.
April 20, 2009... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Plaintiff claimed that the defendant breached a real estate purchase agreement to buy the property that defendant was leasing from plaintiff. The purchase agreement was conditioned on defendant obtaining...

4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals: Wells Fargo Financial Acceptance v. Price.
April 20, 2009... Byline: Deborah Elkins Bankruptcy - Car Loan - 'Hanging Paragraph' - Ch. 13 A district court erred in holding that Wells Fargo Financial Acceptance, a creditor on a consumer car loan, had a purchase money security interest for the part...

4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals: Wahi v. Charleston Area Medical Center Inc.
April 20, 2009... Byline: Deborah Elkins Employment - Hospital Staff Privileges - Immunity - HCQIA A cardiothoracic surgeon loses his legal challenge to suspension of his medical privileges by defendant Charleston Area Medical Center Inc., which has...

4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals: U.S. ex rel. DRC Inc. v. Custer Battles LLC.
April 20, 2009... Byline: Deborah Elkins AppealsContract - Government Contract - False Claims Act - Iraq War In this qui tam action alleging fraud by contractors with the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq for such services as exchanging all Iraqi...

U.S. District Court, Eastern District: Garrett v. Gulf Stream Coach Inc.
April 20, 2009... Byline: Deborah Elkins Civil Procedure - Products Liability - RV - Forum Selection Clause A Richmond U.S. District Court orders transfer of plaintiff's suit alleging defects in a motor home sold by defendant Gulf Stream Coach Inc. to...

U.S. District Court, Eastern District: Reid v. "The Wailers".
April 20, 2009... Byline: Deborah Elkins Civil Procedure - Removal - Diversity Jurisdiction A Norfolk U.S. District Court remands to state court this action by plaintiff LLC against The Wailers musical group and their Norfolk-based LLC, a second...

Commentary: search engines besides Google? Who knew?
April 27, 2009... Byline: Sarah Rodriguez There's a big case coming up tomorrow. But you misplaced your expert's number. You need directions to a courthouse several counties away. And a colleague mentioned something about a similar case. You need to do some...

Virginia State Bar seeks input on Legal Ethics Opinions on Web sites, covert tactics.
April 27, 2009... Byline: Alan Cooper The Virginia State Bar's Standing Committee on Legal Ethics is seeking comment on proposed opinions on participation by attorneys in third-party Web sites and on covert tactics to investigate unauthorized practice of...

4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says plagiarism-checking site can countersue student.
April 27, 2009... Byline: Deborah Elkins Students who sued an online plagiarism-check tool had the tables turned when the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the students had no claim for copyright infringement, but the online defendant could sue one of...

Aunt, uncle are granted custody of 13-year-old: Supreme Court of Virginia upholds ruling.
April 27, 2009... Byline: Alan Cooper Jacob Florio's father and his maternal aunt and uncle have been engaged in legal trench warfare over the 13-year-old boy's custody for seven years. A decisive battle in that war ended April 17 when the Supreme Court...

Supreme Court of Virginia won't hear appeal of case against critical blogger.
April 27, 2009... Byline: Peter Vieth The Supreme Court of Virginia has rejected an appeal by a Christiansburg developer who lost a $10-million lawsuit filed against a critical blogger. The decision was welcomed by free speech advocates who took up the...

Friday, May 1, is Law Day: observances to be held across Virginia.
April 27, 2009... Byline: Alan Cooper Law Day observances on Friday will include a gala in Roanoke, appearances by a congressman and a former senator in Richmond, an open house at the childhood home of civil rights pioneer Oliver W. Hill in Roanoke and the...

Commentary: presenting 'Virginia's Largest Law Firms' for 2009.
April 27, 2009... Byline: Paul Fletcher In this issue, Virginia Lawyers Weekly presents its annual survey of Virginia's Largest Law Firms. The survey is contained in a magazine-style insert. As in years past, the survey provides a ranking of the top...

Supreme Court of Virginia says city can't tax work done out of town.
April 27, 2009... Byline: Peter Vieth The long arm of the local tax collector in Virginia does not extend to a contractor's business at its out of town offices, the Supreme Court of Virginia held this month in the first appellate case interpreting a 1996...

Beach music? City's noise ordinance is struck by Supreme Court of Virginia.
April 27, 2009... Byline: Alan Cooper The Supreme Court of Virginia has struck the noise ordinance in Virginia Beach as unconstitutional in a closely watched case involving a club on the Oceanfront. The Peppermint Beach Club, a nightspot that features a...

4th Circuit: American Arms International v. Herbert, Director ATF.(firearms dealer's license)
April 27, 2009... Byline: Deborah Elkins Administrative - Gun Control Act - Firearms Dealer - License Revocation On substantial evidence that a gun dealer willfully committed hundreds of violations of federal firearms regulations, after a history of...