Virginia Lawyers Weekly articles from February 2005

Virginia Lawyers Weekly archives from February 2005

Va. House bill would require uninsured lawyers to pay $1,500 fee.
February 7, 2005... Byline: Dara McLeod Attorneys engaged in private practice who are not covered by malpractice insurance would pay a $1,500 annual assessment to the Virginia State Bar's Clients' Protection Fund, under a bill passed by the House of Delegates...

Lie about former marriages won't bar wife's ED award, rules Va. Court of Appeals.
February 7, 2005... Byline: Paul Fletcher A new case from the Virginia Court of Appeals reads like something from the movies. It's the late 1990s, and the dot-com bubble is still rising. Hard-working computer guy meets a woman, one who is "solicitous...

U.S. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: February 7, 2005.
February 7, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Voluntary Dismissal - Savings Statute - Toxic Gas Exposure - W. Va. Law Poultry-plant workers who claim they suffered exposure to toxic gases in the work place, and who...

U.S. District Court VA Eastern Case Summaries: February 7, 2005.
February 7, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Ch. 11 Plan - Release Of Claims - Parol Evidence A bankruptcy court erred in admitting parol evidence to determine the parties' intent with respect to a general release of claims...

U.S. District Court VA Western Case Summaries: February 7, 2005.
February 7, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Dischargeability Of Debt - Ch. 7 - Embezzlement Although the bankruptcy court held $293,000 of debtor's debt to appellant creditors nondischargeable under 11 U.S.C. Sect....

Virginia Court of Appeals Case Summaries: February 7, 2005.
February 7, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative State Retirement Benefits - Grievance Procedure A circuit did not err in holding that petitioner, a former prison warden, could not appeal his grievances about retirement...

Bill to expand role of non-lawyers defeated in Va. House Courts of Justice Committee.(Virginia)
February 7, 2005... Byline: Dara McLeod A bill that would have expanded the role of non-lawyers in filing pleadings and motions in general district court has failed to make it out of the House Courts of Justice Committee. House Bill 1520, sponsored by...

Mediation increasingly used to settle construction disputes.
February 7, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson In the world of professional football, a disputed call is often cleared up with the use of instant replay. If only it were that simple in the world of construction. Take the competing interests of owners,...

Two long-time figures at Supreme Court of Virginia honored by bar association.
February 7, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Two long-time figures at the Supreme Court of Virginia were recognized for their service at the Virginia Bar Association meeting in Williamsburg last month. Robert N. Baldwin, executive secretary...

Virginia Lawyers in the News: February 7, 2005.
February 7, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Three associates have joined the Hampton Roads firm of Willcox & Savage. Eric D. Cook has joined the transportation/products liability section. A 2004 graduate of the College of William & Mary...

Daubert bill defeated in Va. House Courts of Justice Committee.(Virginia)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Lawyers who sought to scuttle a bill that grafted the federal Daubert amendments into the Virginia Code were successful last Monday. House Bill 2254, sponsored by Del. Robert Bell, R-Albemarle, drew...

Virginia Senate panel backs expansion of innocence claims.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff A Senate committee endorsed legislation last Monday to allow convicted felons who plead guilty to bring newly discovered, nonbiological evidence of actual innocence to the Virginia Court of Appeals....

Va. House Courts of Justice Committee votes to expand death penalty.(Virginia)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff A person who kills someone at the behest of a gang leader or to meet a requirement for gang membership would be eligible for the death penalty if legislation sent to the House of Delegates floor Monday...

Verdicts & Settlements: February 7, 2005: Ex-prison guard awarded $325K for collision.
February 7, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff After a rear-end collision with admitted liability, plaintiff claimed that she lost her job as a Virginia prison guard as a result of "soft-tissue" injury. Plaintiff called two physicians to testify on...

Verdicts & Settlements: February 7, 2005: Mediation yields $805,000 in personal injury accident.
February 7, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff was a passenger in a truck which was struck by defendant vehicle. Defendant claimed he had to swerve to avoid slow moving motorist and could not avoid collision. Plaintiff permanently injured...

Verdicts & Settlements: February 7, 2005: Strike sustained in sliding doors case.
February 7, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Constance Vowell, an elderly female, was at the Nelson Clinic at MCV and waiting for a ride while standing in the vestibule area between two sets of sliding, automatic doors. She claims that as she was...

Verdicts & Settlements: February 7, 2005: Former student awarded $40,000 for rear-end accident.
February 7, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff was a 17-year-old high school student when he was rear-ended by defendant's vehicle in January 2002. He had minor soft tissue injuries to neck, back, and bruise to his leg as well as...

Verdicts & Settlements: February 7, 2005: Fallen roofer case settles for $90,000.
February 7, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff was the member of a work crew installing a new Durolast roof on a large industrial building in Marion. The plaintiff stepped on a skylight, and fell 17 feet onto a concrete floor. Plaintiff...

Use of cell phone records in criminal trials on the rise.
February 14, 2005... Byline: Dara McLeod Cellular phone records are being used increasingly as key evidence in criminal cases to establish a suspect's movements, to prove or disprove a suspect's alibi, and to either shore up or destroy a witness' credibility,...

U.S. Court Of Appeals Case Summaries: Feb. 14, 2005.
February 14, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Tax Sale - Redemption Right - Adequate Notice A district court erred in granting summary judgment setting aside a tax sale of real estate on the ground that the taxpayer had not...

U.S. District Court VA Eastern Case Summaries: Feb. 14, 2005.
February 14, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Timely Service Of Process - Waiver Of Service Where plaintiff asserts that it served defendant's registered agent on Dec. 6, 2004, with a request for waiver of formal service...

U.S. District Court VA Western Case Summaries: Feb. 14, 2005.
February 14, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Frivolous Lawsuits - Injunction Against Filing Where plaintiff physician has repeatedly filed pro se lawsuits challenging defendant hospital's denial of staff privileges, the...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: Feb. 14, 2005.
February 14, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Nonsuit - Legal Right Where defendant questions whether this refiled action of the same cause of action is barred by Rule 3:3 due to the failure of plaintiff to obtain service...

Commentary: Law professor concerned of crisis in VA indigent defense system.
February 14, 2005... Byline: Dara McLeod Washington & Lee University Law Professor Roger D. Groot said that every lawyer in Virginia ought to be concerned about the ongoing crisis in the state's indigent defense system, and he said it is lawyers'...

Virginia Lawyers In The News: Feb. 14, 2005.(Cohen Gettings and Caulkins PC )
February 14, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff D. Bruce Hoffman has rejoined Hunton & Williams LLP as partner and vice chair of the firm-wide antitrust practice group, resident in the Washington D.C. office. Hoffman spent the previous three years...

At legislative midpoint, bills alive to cut taxes, restrict gays.
February 14, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff At the annual turnaround point of the General Assembly, legislation that would cut taxes, restrict the prerogatives of gays and lesbians and open schools to prayer by government officials are thriving....

Va. House Speaker Howell calls for special election for Bland's seat.(Fenton L. Bland Jr.)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff House Speaker William J. Howell changed his mind last Tuesday and called for a special election on March 22 to fill the House seat vacated by Fenton L. Bland Jr. of Petersburg last month. The 63rd...

Verdicts & Settlements February 14, 2005: I-81 truck crash yields $1.2M settlement.
February 14, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff On July 22, 2002, a Waste Management trash truck came upon a line of slowing traffic on I-81 and was unable to stop. It overturned on plaintiff's vehicle. Plaintiff suffered four upper extremity...

Verdicts & Settlements February 14, 2005: Norfolk jury finds for defense in loose head screw case.
February 14, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff was a 37-year-old male who at the time of treatment was a Secret Service agent on the White House detail. On Aug. 2, 2001, he was injured in a car accident in the Outer Banks of North Carolina...

Verdicts & Settlements February 14, 2005: Wrongful death in med-mal case settles for $737,500.
February 14, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The decedent, a 61-year-old male with a history of hypertension, high cholesterol and a prior CVA, presented to emergency department after sudden onset of severe lower left quadrant pain, near syncope,...

Former Reciprocal of America officers plead guilty to insurance fraud.
February 14, 2005... Byline: Dara McLeod Two former insurance executives pled guilty last week to conspiracy to commit insurance fraud in a complex case that stems from the 2003 collapse of the Glen Allen-based reinsurer Reciprocal of America. That...

Five from Virginia pass Certified Legal Asst. exam.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2005... Byline: Paul Fletcher Five candidates from Virginia successfully completed the December 2004 Certified Legal Assistant, or CLA, exam. They are: * Candice R. Benvenuty, Woodbridge * Yvonne S. Berry, Chesterfield *...

Commentary: Inexpensive ways to build business relationships.
February 14, 2005... Byline: Stephen E. Seckler Selling legal services is all about relationship building. Since legal consumers hire attorneys whom they trust (either directly or because someone they trust has made a referral), it is not difficult to see that...

Loudoun Circuit Court: Waiver of friend's note provides key to LLC fight.
February 21, 2005... Byline: Paul Fletcher At one time, Patrick and John were the best of friends. They had been roommates at Clemson. John started a business in Loudoun County making granite countertops. He convinced Patrick to leave his job in...

Virginia U.S. Court Of Appeals Case Summaries: Feb. 21, 2005.
February 21, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Education - IDEA - Autistic Student - Private School Placement Although a Virginia federal district court owes deference to the professional opinions of local educators on how to...

U.S. District Court VA Eastern Case Summaries: Feb. 21, 2005.
February 21, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Asset Distribution - Pending Appeal - Mootness - Ch. 7 A debtor's appeal of the bankruptcy court's approval of a plan to distribute assets of the bankruptcy estate is moot where, as...

Commentary: Representation of parents challenging, prompts lawyer to critique the system.
February 21, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Dear Editor: This past fall, "Family Law News," the quarterly newsletter of the Family Law Section of the Virginia State Bar, carried an article I wrote about the challenges of representing parents...

Droopy-pants bill gets dropped by VA lawmakers.(Brief Article)
February 21, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Virginia lawmakers dropped their droopy-pants bill Feb. 10 after the whole thing became just too embarrassing. The bill, which would have slapped a $50 fine on people who wear their pants so low...

Panel to evaluate VA judges should go statewide.(Virginia)
February 21, 2005... Byline: Deborah Elkins A Supreme Court of Virginia study group is recommending statewide implementation of a program that will allow lawyers, court personnel and jurors formally to evaluate the commonwealth's judges. After five years...

Tougher VA mine safety bill prompted by child's death.
February 21, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Six months ago, a half-ton boulder loosened by a strip mining operation tumbled 650 feet down a hill, crashed through a house and crushed 3-year-old Jeremy Kyle Davidson as he slept in his bed. On...

Bill would relax impact of religious speech in VA housing law.(Virginia)
February 21, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Three years ago, a nonprofit housing rights group lodged a complaint against the owner of a Roanoke apartment building that prominently displayed a sign proclaiming "Christ is the Answer." Under...

VA death penalty for gang slayings bill on hold.
February 21, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Legislation that would subject street gang members to the death penalty for carrying out gang-ordered assassinations will likely await next year's session after a Senate panel deferred action last...

Commentary: Reference Checks: The great void.(Column)
February 21, 2005... Byline: Thomas Godar (This article originally ran in The Daily Reporter, Milwaukee, WI., another Dolan Media publication). "Name, rank and serial number. That's all of the information I'll provide." While this might be an appropriate...

Verdicts & Settlements: Feb. 21, 2005: Auto accident settles for $2M in Fairfax County.
February 21, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Adelbert "Red" Norwood was driving back from a Baltimore Orioles game to his home in Annandale in the early morning hours of July 19, 2003, when he struck the rear of a flat bed tow truck which was...

Verdicts & Settlements: Feb. 21, 2005: OB/GYN prevails on sterilization claim.
February 21, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff presented to defendant OB/GYN's office upon referral from another OB/GYN for management of an ectopic pregnancy. Plaintiff had a history of four prior ectopic pregnancies, one voluntary...

Verdicts & Settlements: Feb. 21, 2005: Ten-year-old collision injury settles for $2.2M.
February 21, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff This collision occurred almost 10 years ago when plaintiff was only 2 years old. She sustained a broken arm and laceration to the head. Her mother's and sisters' claims were settled shortly after the...

Verdicts & Settlements: Feb. 21, 2005: Navy vet who lost right testicle settles for $150,000.
February 21, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff, a 26-year-old Navy veteran, presented at a military hospital with complaints of a sudden onset of right testicular swelling and pain radiating into the groin. Physical examination was...

VA U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: Feb. 21, 2005.
February 21, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Support Nonpayment - Contempt Motion - Automatic Stay Violation - Ch. 7 Although debtor's wife and her lawyer violated the automatic stay in bankruptcy by filing a state court...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: Feb. 21, 2005.
February 21, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Rescission - Fraud - Medicaid Charges - Limitations A plaintiff who bought a business transporting Medicaid patients could be expected to be familiar with Medicaid rules providing for...

Popular Rejection Hotline now available in 29 states.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Here's an item that's part of our relentless efforts to bring you the really useful news that you can use. Particularly, in this instance, if you spend any amount of time in singles bars. Did you...

Don't get caught drinking Budweiser when you work for Miller Brewing Co.(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Remember that Super Bowl commercial a few years ago where the Coke delivery guy gets caught on a surveillance camera reaching for a Pepsi and knocks a whole cooler-full into the aisle? Life...

Virginia Lawyers in the News: Feb. 28, 2005.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Richmond lawyer Robert B. "Chip" Delano Jr. has been elected the Mid-Atlantic Regional Director of DRI - The Voice of the Defense Bar. As a member of the DRI Board of Directors, Delano will oversee...

Commentary: Motor carrier may be liable for 'independent contractor'.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Roger T. Creager A tractor-trailer crosses over into the oncoming lane, crashes into a small car, and kills its driver. Counsel for the decedent's family investigates the case and believes that a good recovery can be made in a...

Commentary: Privacy in the workplace, rights in the electronic age.
February 28, 2005... Byline: James Hammerschmidt Dolan Media Newswires A company's top salesperson's productivity is dwindling. His door is closed more often than it used to be. The company has heard rumors that he is looking at inappropriate Web sites,...

Lawyer's Title VII punitives claim should go to the jury.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Dara McLeod A law firm associate who claims she was fired due to her complaints about discriminatory treatment because she is a working mother should have been allowed to ask a jury for punitive damages, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court...

Virginia Court of Appeals Case Summaries: Feb. 28, 2005.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Weapons Charges - Double Jeopardy The appellate court affirms defendant's convictions of robbery, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and possession of a firearm by a...

Verdicts & Settlements Feb. 28, 2005: Medical malpractice suit settles for $450,000.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The 62-year-old decedent suffered from GERD, or gastropesophageal reflux. Defendant recommended a Nissen Fundoplication which was performed at community hospital on 2/27/02 and the patient was...

British adopt a ban on fox hunting, hunt enthusiasts aghast.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff In a piece of legislation that rocked jolly olde England last year and led the hoi polloi to storm the halls of Parliament for the first time in, well, centuries, our British cousins adopted a ban on...

Verdicts & Settlements Feb. 28, 2005: Jury finds for defense in rare cancer case.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff This case involved a woman being treated by defendants for recurrent gynecologic bleeding and problems with hormone replacement therapy. After several episodes of non-stop bleeding, defendant...

Verdicts & Settlements Feb. 28, 2005: Child with Erb's Palsy awarded $1 million verdict.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff In 1997 a 17-year-old, unmarried mother presented to a Hampton Roads area hospital at 41 weeks gestation in order to have her labor induced. She progressed slowly in labor throughout the day. At...

Verdicts & Settlements Feb. 28, 2005: Virginia Beach jury finds for defense in med-mal case.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff was a 36-year-old woman who had her first child on Jan. 19, 2002. On Feb. 15, 2002, plaintiff was admitted to the hospital with heavy active bleeding and hypotension. The defendant physician,...

Verdicts & Settlements Feb. 28, 2005: Comp awarded in Aunt Sarah's slip and fall.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff This workers' compensation case was before the full commission on the employer's request for review of the Deputy Commissioner's May 21, 2004, opinion, awarding reimbursement under Virginia Code Sect....

Verdicts & Settlements Feb. 28, 2005: Student's death case mediated for $400,000.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff At 8:00 p.m. on a fall evening in 2002 on Interstate 95 southbound in rural Southside Virginia, the defendant truck driver drove his loaded tractor-trailer into a small car occupied by two 18-year-old...

Virginia State Bar decries politics in judicial selection process.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Paul Fletcher Joe Condo is angry and frustrated over what he calls "excessive politicization of the process of selecting judges" in Virginia. He took his gripe to the Virginia State Bar Council, which unanimously backed a...

Bill imposing fee on uninsured lawyers dies in committee.(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Byline: Dara McLeod A bill that would have imposed a $1,500 fee on some practicing attorneys who don't have malpractice insurance has died in the Senate Courts of Justice Committee. House Bill 2142, introduced by Del. Johnny S....

U.S. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: Feb. 28, 2005.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Habeas Corpus - Death Penalty - Mental Retardation - Va. Law A district court erred in denying a habeas petition filed by a Virginia death-row defendant who has alleged facts that, if...

U.S. District Court VA Eastern Case Summaries: Feb. 28, 2005.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Admiralty Arbitration - Commercial Ships - Operating Rights In this action to confirm an arbitration award related to an ongoing dispute over operating rights to certain commercial ships...

U.S. District Court VA Western Case Summaries: Feb. 28, 2005.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Sentencing - Booker - Firearms Offenses Applying the federal sentencing guidelines in an advisory capacity to defendant's weapons convictions, and taking into account that possession...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: Feb. 28, 2005.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Service Of Process - Due Diligence - Internet Search Although an auto-accident plaintiff searched local telephone directories and the Internet, contacted the post office, and...