Virginia Lawyers Weekly articles from February 2006

Virginia Lawyers Weekly archives from February 2006

Commentary: A few notes on legal style.(legal language)
February 6, 2006... Byline: Paul Mark Sandler The following article was originally published in The Daily Record, Baltimore, Md., a sister publication. In argument, style is the form into which you put the content of your ideas, the manner in which you...

Lawsuit threatened if Assembly fails to act on appointed pay.(lawyers' fees)
February 6, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper A lawsuit already has been prepared that would ask a federal judge to declare unconstitutional the caps Virginia law places on the fees of attorneys appointed to represent indigent defendants. But advocates for...

Fastcase awarded contract by Virginia State Bar.
February 6, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper Virginia State Bar members should be able to use the Fastcase online research service by March 1. The VSB last week gave a 10-day notice of intent to award the contract to the company that was founded in Alexandria...

William R. Van Buren III becomes president of Virginia Bar Assn.
February 6, 2006... Byline: Brent Baldwin Norfolk lawyer William R. Van Buren III always has had a healthy respect for the Virginia Bar Association. A corporate lawyer at Kaufman & Canoles, Van Buren said that he could still remember the role-model...

Verdicts & Settlements February 6, 2006: Conductor hurt in derailment, settles for $370K.
February 6, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff M.B. was a rail conductor working in Winchester, and while in a locomotive moving at just under 10 miles per hour, his train suddenly derailed (but the car did not turn over) as it moved over a switch....

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: February 6, 2006.(Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1999, Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, Privacy Act of 1974, Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1997 (Draft))
February 6, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Privacy Act - SSN - Black Lung - Attorney's Fees Even though an applicant for black lung benefits can show no actual damages from the government's disclosure of his Social Security...

U.S. District Court VA Eastern Case Summaries: February 6, 2006.(Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993)
February 6, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Personal Jurisdiction - Texas Will Contest - Constructive Trust An Alexandria federal district court does not have personal jurisdiction over the widow and executrix of...

Virginia Supreme Court Case Summaries: February 6, 2006.
February 6, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Mandamus - Death Penalty - Judicial Discretion A Fairfax Circuit judge lacked discretion to rule that prosecutors cannot seek the death penalty against a Vietnamese national, as a...

Plaintiff, claiming EEOC retaliation, wins $7.7M.(Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967)
February 6, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper When the jury filed back into the courtroom less than 20 minutes after beginning its deliberations, plaintiff's attorney John M. Loeschen took it as a sign that he had lost because the jury couldn't have taken any time...

Virginia Legal Community Obituaries: February 6, 2006.(Felix Jack Ward)(Obituary)
February 6, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Felix Jack Ward Felix Jack Ward, who practiced law in Roanoke for 30 years, died Dec. 14. He was 86. A native of Pulaski, he entered Roanoke College in 1942. He had taken flying lessons before...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: February 6, 2006.(Fair Credit Reporting Act)
February 6, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Reopening Case - Improper Credit Report - Ch. 7 A bankruptcy court grants debtor's motion to reopen her bankruptcy case to pursue her claim that the Bank of America made an improper...

Virginia Court of Appeals Case Summaries: February 6, 2006.
February 6, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative COPN - Medical Care Facilities The Court of Appeals has no jurisdiction to hear this appeal from a decision by the State Health Commissioner denying appellant Loudoun Hospital's...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: February 6, 2006.
February 6, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Jurisdiction - Wrongful Death A Portsmouth Circuit Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this wrongful death suit filed by plaintiff parents against their child's...

Verdicts & Settlements February 6, 2006: Doctors not liable for self-dealing, get deferred comp.
February 6, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff On Oct. 28, 2005, a Richmond jury concluded that Dr. Francis Perera and Dr. Paul Franks did not breach their fiduciary duties to their former company - both were long-time shareholders and officers of...

Verdicts & Settlements February 6, 2006: Woman wins $7.7M verdict on Title VII discharge claim.(Brief Article)
February 6, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff This case was brought as a retaliatory discharge claim, in which the plaintiff claimed that as a result of several attempts to seek promotion within the company she was passed over and/or told by the...

Verdicts & Settlements February 6, 2006: Conductor, hurt in van wreck, mediates his claim.
February 6, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff R.D. was a conductor with over 20 years' experience who was being transported in a taxi van operated by the defendant, Professional Transportation Inc. (PTI), when he was injured when the van crashed...

Verdicts & Settlements February 6, 2006: Conductor hurt while walking track settles for $900K.
February 6, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff E.H., a CSX brakeman/conductor, was hurt during April 2003 while walking a mile-long freight train, checking the air brakes. While he walked along the railroad ballast rock beside the tracks, his foot...

Verdicts & Settlements February 6, 2006: Railroad employee's back injury suit settles for $333K.(Brief Article)
February 6, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff W.C. was in the western part of Virginia working for the railroad when he was assigned the task of "throwing" a derail device. Unfortunately, the method that this railroad had specified for the...

U.S. District Court VA Eastern Case Summaries: February 13, 2006.(Virginia )
February 13, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Bill Of Costs - Prevailing Party - Mixed Results In this suit by a Virginia aeronautical engineering company alleging intellectual property and trade secret violations by a...

Commentary: Workplace doozies that are stranger than fiction.(work environment)
February 13, 2006... Byline: Mike Boyd (This story originally ran in Colorado Springs Business Journal, another Dolan Media publication.) Day in and day out, the majority of happenings in offices around the world would probably fall into the category of...

U.S. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: February 13, 2006.
February 13, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Admiralty Salvage Law - Titanic - Jurisdiction A Norfolk federal district court did not have jurisdiction over certain artifacts salvaged in 1987 from the wreck of the Titanic, in order to...

Seven-year noncompete in business sale is upheld in U.S. District Court.(Western Insulation LP v. Moore)
February 13, 2006... Byline: Deborah Elkins Noncompetes - they're not just for employment agreements anymore. They show up in agreements to sell a business, as well. True, lawyers may already know they can stick restrictive covenants in their...

VA legislator's bill would establish ownership of electronic information on late-model cars.(Virginia )
February 13, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper Del. Joe T. May, R-Loudoun, believes there's a simple premise behind his bill that would establish the ownership of electronic information usually available on late-model vehicles: "I own the car, and I own the...

27-month sentence for teen beer party upheld by VA Court of Appeals.(Robinson v. Commonwealth)
February 13, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper Legal positions changed between a panel decision and en banc review by the Virginia Court of Appeals, but the result was the same: a now-divorced couple still faces 27 months in prison for providing alcohol at their...

U.S. District Court VA Western Case Summaries: February 13, 2006.(Virginia)
February 13, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Prison Inmate - RLUIPA - Religious Accommodation In this suit by a Virginia inmate who is an adherent of the "Hebrew Israelite" faith, the district court rejects defendant...

Virginia Court of Appeals Case Summaries: February 13, 2006.(Domestic Relations case)(Overcash v. Overcash)(Termination Of Parental Rights case)(Arrington v. Richmond Dep't of Social Servs)(Slade v. City of Hampton DSS )
February 13, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal False Pretenses - Reliance - Drug Sales A man who assisted his girlfriend in obtaining fake ecstasy tablets to sell to an undercover police officer cannot be convicted of obtaining...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: February 13, 2006.(Habeas Corpus case)(Turmur v. Johnson)(Foreclosure Sale case)(Busman, Substitute Trustee v. Beeren & Barry Investments LLC)(Promissory Note case)(Danielson v. Thoburn LP )
February 13, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Commercial Promissory Note - Affirmative Defenses - Credibility After a three-day trial of plaintiff's suit against defendant limited partnership alleging failure to pay a promissory note and...

Commentary: Passwords: Easy guidelines to prevent identity theft.
February 13, 2006... Byline: Bill Carey (This article originally ran in MA Lawyers Weekly, Boston, MA, another Dolan Media publication.) In the digital age, the need for individuals to have instant access to information is crucial, and passwords are a...

Verdicts & Settlements February 13, 2006: Trucking accident settled for $2M.
February 13, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff On March 7, 2003, plaintiff's decedent, James Miller, was driving a truck in McDowell County, W.Va., hauling a low-boy trailer when his co-worker, driving a similar truck, got stuck on a tight curve at...

Verdicts & Settlements February 13, 2006: Head-injured teen settles case for $2.35M.
February 13, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff, an 18-year-old female, was a passenger in a vehicle that was involved in a motor vehicle crash in August 2002. The driver at fault in the collision was operating an automobile while in...

Verdicts & Settlements February 13, 2006: Fault statement at issue in death case.
February 13, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff's decedent was a 25-year-old married mother of two small boys, ages 4 and 3. The two-vehicle collision occurred at the intersection of Routes 20 and 743 in Orange County. The intersection was...

U.S. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: February 20, 2006.(Deiter v. Microsoft Corp.)
February 20, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Consumer Protection Antitrust - Class Certification - 'Enterprise' Customer Exclusion In this antitrust litigation against Microsoft Corp., the district court did not err in certifying a class...

U.S. District Court VA Eastern Case Summaries: February 20, 2006.(Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993)
February 20, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Pleadings - Amendment - Airline Employee - Discharge Grievance A terminated American Airline employee may amend his wrongful termination and unfair labor practice suit to state a...

Virginia General Assembly has two views on eminent domain.(Kelo v. City of New London)
February 20, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper The General Assembly will have two very different responses to Kelo v. City of New London to consider between now and the end of its session in March. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last June that the federal...

Wife can OK search of husband's computer files.(Frank Buckner and Michelle Buckner)
February 20, 2006... Byline: Deborah Elkins A husband had a reasonable expectation of privacy in password-protected files in a computer he shared with his wife, a Harrisonburg federal judge has ruled. But that expectation did not prevent the wife from...

Flood policy won't cover some hurricane repair costs.(Increased Cost of Compliance)
February 20, 2006... Byline: Paul Fletcher Hurricane Isabel blew through Virginia two and a half years ago, but the impact of that storm continues to resonate through the courts in the commonwealth. In a new case from Norfolk federal court, a judge has...

A different kind of judge-shopping -- compensation packages.
February 20, 2006... Byline: Deborah Elkins So what does it cost to buy a judge nowadays? Wait - we don't mean to suggest that any of the jurists in the commonwealth can be bribed. We're talking "total compensation package." Policymakers need to know...

Ebert gets Virginia State Bar's Carrico Award.(Paul B. Ebert, Harry L. Carrico Professionalism Award)
February 20, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper Longtime Prince William County Commonwealth's Attorney Paul B. Ebert has received the 2006 Harry L. Carrico Professionalism Award from the Virginia State Bar's Criminal Law Section. The section also honored Frank W....

Virginia Lawyers in the News: February 20, 2006.(Kelley M. Wynne and Joseph R. Furtek appointed to Spotts Fain; Andrew Mulcunry appointed to William Mullen; Shannon E. Jones appointed to Jeremiah A. Denton III)
February 20, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Richmond-based Spotts Fain has two new associates: Kelley M. Wynne will be an associate in the creditors rights, bankruptcy and insolvency group. She received her J.D. from the University of...

Richmond attorney authors comics on the side.
February 20, 2006... Byline: Brent Baldwin McGuireWoods attorney Jesse Bausch always has loved comics. Ever since he was a kid growing up in Pennsylvania, Bausch had a hankering for the horror genre and monsters in particular. "I'd always fiddled with...

Man who lost use of arm wins $922K verdict.(Larry A. Jenkins)
February 20, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper When Leesburg personal injury attorney Barbara S. Williams wanted advice on the jury panel for her medical malpractice trial in Page County, she didn't bother with an investigator or a jury consultant. She went to...

U.S. District Court VA Western Case Summaries: February 20, 2006.
February 20, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Satellite TV - Signal Piracy - Default Judgment In this, one of thousands of civil enforcement actions by plaintiff DirecTV to combat theft of its satellite television services,...

Virginia Court of Appeals Case Summaries: February 20, 2006.
February 20, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Carnal Knowledge - Amended Charge A trial court did not err in allowing the commonwealth to proceed on an amended charge of carnal knowledge after the court granted defendant's motion...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: February 20, 2006.
February 20, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Jurisdiction - 'Transacting Business' - Clothing Sales Two New York corporations that negotiated contracts by telephone in Virginia Beach with the president of two Virginia Beach...

Va. Trial Lawyers Assn. and doctors cut a deal on civil immunity for lab tests.(Virginia Trial Lawyers Association and the Medical Society of Virginia)
February 20, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper Representatives of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association and the Medical Society of Virginia have agreed on a revision of a statute that produced conflicting opinions from the Supreme Court of Virginia within five...

Employers, workers struggle with pregnancy discrim issues.(Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993)
February 20, 2006... Byline: Correy E. Stephenson (This article was originally published in Lawyers Weekly USA, another Dolan Media publication.) Pregnancy discrimination is a continuing problem for women in the workplace, according to both employment...

Verdicts & Settlements February 20, 2006: Doctor prevails in arbitration of injury during surgery.(Vann v. Kevin McCowan)
February 20, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Ms. Vann suffered from gastric esophageal reflux disease (GERD) that did not respond to medical management. Her gastroenterologist referred her to Kevin G. McCowan, M.D., for a laparoscopic nissen...

Verdicts & Settlements February 20, 2006: Man who lost use of arm wins $922K.(Larry A. Jenkins v. Dwight T. Kemp, D.O.)
February 20, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The defendant performed a total shoulder replacement surgery on Jan. 22, 2002 on Larry A. Jenkins, then 52 years old. Jenkins was a hydro-electric technician with a 30-year work history and was earning...

Verdicts & Settlements February 20, 2006: $10 million products case against car makers settled.(Brief Article)
February 20, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff accepted a $10,000,000 confidential settlement in a products liability case filed against major automobile manufacturers. Plaintiff elected not to structure or accept any of the proceeds over...

Virginia may finally get formal set of Rules of Evidence.
February 27, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper After more than 20 years of on and off effort, Virginia may get a formal set of Rules of Evidence. The advisory committee on rules of court to the Judicial Council of Virginia is publishing for comment proposed...

Committee appointed to propose the change to govern public access to court records.
February 27, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper A committee appointed by Virginia Chief Justice Leroy Rountree Hassell Sr. is considering proposing Part Nine to the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia to govern public access to court records. Hassell appointed...

NY jury returns verdicts for defense in family's lawsuit against Japanese restaurant.(Brief Article)
February 27, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff "Flying Shrimp" isn't quite the oxymoron that "Jumbo Shrimp" presents, but this is a tale about that shrimp that fly. At one of those prepared-at-your-table restaurants, that is. Earlier this...

Virginia Lawyers in the News: February 27, 2006.(Janis Orfe appointed to Union Bankshares Corp., Frank J. West and Akihiro Yamazaki appointed to Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier and Neustadt and Colten Cummins Watson and Vincent PC relocated)
February 27, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The Fredericksburg Area Bar Association has elected its officers for 2006. They are: * President: Tracy Ann Houck * President Elect: Albert "Buck" Jacoby * Treasurer: Bruce Phillips ...

VA-based law firm, Hunton & Williams, names new leaders.(Thurston R. Moore)
February 27, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper Hunton & Williams, the largest law firm based in Virginia, announced last week that a former partner in its Miami office will become managing partner and that former managing partner Thurston R. Moore will succeed...

Ex parte contacts with employees: Rules not always clear-cut.
February 27, 2006... Byline: Declan Leonard Your company is sued for sexual harassment and the plaintiff's attorney wants to interview some of your employees. In addition to in-house counsel, the company has engaged outside counsel to litigate the case, of...

Employers need guidance when soldiers come back to work.
February 27, 2006... Byline: Gil A. Abramson This article originally appeared in The Daily Record, Baltimore, another Dolan Media Publication. The federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), enacted in 1994, was designed to...

Is time running out for condo developers in some regions?
February 27, 2006... Byline: Jen Degregorio (This story originally appeared in the Daily Record, Baltimore, MD., another Dolan Media publication). The frenzied pace of condominium conversions across the nation has become "played out" in some housing...

Verdicts & Settlements February 27, 2006: Fairfax jury awards $250K to woman hurt on bus.(Brief Article)
February 27, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff was a 74-year-old wheelchair-bound passenger on a FastTran bus, who suffered a fractured right orbital bone (face) and fractured femoral neck (hip) when her wheelchair fell over during bus...

U.S. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: February 27, 2006.
February 27, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Fraudulent Transfer - Bermuda Real Estate - Ch. 7 A U.S. bankruptcy court can avoid a constructively fraudulent transfer of real estate in Bermuda between debtor, a U.S. resident,...

U.S. District Court VA Eastern Case Summaries: February 27, 2006.(Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003)
February 27, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Personal Jurisdiction - Va. Long- Arm Statute A man who traveled to Virginia to discuss use of his image and successful weight-loss experience with "Pat's Shake," a diet shake...

U.S. District Court VA Western Case Summaries: February 27, 2006.
February 27, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Insurance Auto Exclusion Endorsement - Overloaded Coal Truck An insurance company that provided commercial general liability coverage to a coal company does not have to defend an auto-accident...

Feds pay $650K to settle tort claim.(Federal Tort Claims Act)
February 27, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The federal government didn't dispute that a Marine Corps staff sergeant used poor judgment in leaving a 22-foot beam unattached at the 7-foot top of the "Scale of Integrity" on an obstacle course at...

Commentary: "English-only" complaints on the rise.
February 27, 2006... Byline: John O. Cunningham This article was originally published in Lawyers Weekly USA, another Dolan Media publication. As more and more employers hire workers who don't speak English or speak it only as a second language, workplace...

Fairfax Bar Pro Bono Program awards given.
February 27, 2006... Byline: Brent Baldwin Pro bono organizers at Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP, a law firm based in Baltimore, wanted to give back to Virginia. Even through the firm has an office in Alexandria, several attorneys from the firm's D.C....

Virginia Court of Appeals Case Summaries: February 27, 2006.
February 27, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Appeal Waiver - Guilty Plea - Search Warrant Challenge Although defendant's trial lawyer expressed an intention to reserve a right to appeal a search warrant during defendant's...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: February 27, 2006.(Virginia. Code)
February 27, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative VRS Benefits Claim - Attorney's Fees A woman who first settled her claim against the City of Alexandria for workers' comp benefits, and then won in circuit court her challenge...

Verdicts & Settlements February 27, 2006: Hecht's Dept. Store, guard prevail in excessive force suit.(Meza v. Wharton and The May Department Stores Co.)
February 27, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff concealed and shoplifted a $15 pair of earrings from the Hecht's Department Store at the Dulles Town Center in Loudoun County on Sept. 9, 2003. The plaintiff, age 60, was apprehended by...

Verdicts & Settlements February 27, 2006: Jury returns $300K verdict for lung injury.(Gesling v. John E. Sherry, M.D. and Blue Ridge Pain Treatment Centers, P.L.C.)
February 27, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff suffered from pre-existing Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, formerly known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, and was being treated by the defendant with trigger-point injections in her back...

Verdicts & Settlements February 27, 2006: Fired woman wins $3.5M verdict for defamatory evaluation.(Hyland v. Raytheon Co., et al., Cynthia Hyland)
February 27, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff, Cynthia Hyland, age 45, had enjoyed a successful and lucrative 21-year career with Raytheon Corporation, and its predecessor company, Hughes Electronics Corporation. Shortly before her...