Virginia Lawyers Weekly articles from January 2005

Virginia Lawyers Weekly archives from January 2005

Virginia 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules investors can't claim fraud for CEO's lie.(chief execurive officer)
January 10, 2005... Byline: Deborah Elkins A CEO's "lie about finishing college" cannot form the basis for a federal securities fraud action by shareholders, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. Lying on a resume has come to light in a number...

2005 Virginia General Assembly to convene Jan. 12.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Paul Fletcher The 2005 session of the Virginia General Assembly will convene this Wednesday, Jan. 12, in Richmond, and with it will come the now-predictable culture battles, budget crunches, license-tag measures and political...

4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules in favor of Baltimore nightclub owner.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Deborah Elkins A "mezzanine" in a nightclub does not qualify as a building "story" that would require the nightclub owner to install an elevator under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has...

Lawsuits over Appalachian School of Law shootings settled.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Dara McLeod The family of a student slain during the 2002 shootings at the Appalachian School of Law and three other victims have settled their claims against the school for $1,000,000. Plaintiffs Rebecca C. Brown, Martha M....

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: January 10, 2005.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Search & Seizure Mail Box Drop - Drug Shipment - Probable Cause Although defendant was neither the lessee of a mailbox at Mail Boxes Etc. nor the addressee of a package he retrieved at that...

VA. U.S. District Court: Eastern District Case Summaries: January 10, 2005.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff U.S. District Court EASTERN DISTRICT Employment ERISA - Long-Term Disability Benefits - Chronic Back Pain A newspaper reporter who developed chronic back pain after she fell and injured...

Va. Court of Appeals: Case Summaries: January 10, 2005.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Va. Court of Appeals Criminal Miranda Warnings - Custody - Murder - Corpus Delicti - Infant Death Where a female college student voluntarily accompanied police to a police operations...

Virginia Lawyers Weekly presents "Largest Verdicts of 2004".(Brief Article)
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Virginia Lawyers Weekly presents the "Largest Verdicts of 2004" in this issue, our annual compilation of big jury verdicts from across the commonwealth. The survey compiles verdicts of at least $1...

Top 2004 Virginia Verdicts: $1.1 million - Negligence.(Brief Article)
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff #12 (TIE) - $1.1 Million Joseph v. De Souza Type of Case: Negligence Court: Richmond Circuit Court Attorney: Keith B. Marcus, Richmond Summary: In this case, the plaintiff was...

U.S. Court of Appeals - Case Summaries: January 24, 2005.
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment ERISA - Benefits Due - Unpaid Wages In this action filed by 22 employees against their employer and various company officers alleging a cause of action for benefits pursuant to 29...

Virginia Court of Appeals - Case Summaries: January 24, 2005.
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Immunity Agreement - Murder - Juvenile Defendant A juvenile defendant's first-degree murder conviction is reversed because the trial court erred in finding that a cooperation/immunity...

Virginia State Bar disciplinary actions: January 24, 2005.(Brief Article)
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff On Jan. 13, pursuant to an agreed disposition, a subcommittee of the Virginia State Bar's Fifth District Committee, Section III, issued a public reprimand to Fairfax lawyer Robert J. Hill. According to...

Dolan Media acquires legal services provider Counsel Press.
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Dolan Media Company announced today that it has acquired New York City-based Counsel Press, the nation's largest provider of appellate services to the legal profession. Counsel Press assists...

Virginia Supreme Court seeks volunteers for judge-training mock trials.
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Lawyers are needed by the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia to act as counsel for plaintiffs and defendants in mock civil trials to be conducted by newly elected...

Fairfax County evaluating budget priorities as senior population grows.
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff A spike in the senior citizen population this decade is giving some Fairfax County supervisors gray hair as they evaluate spending priorities. U.S. Census Bureau figures for 2003 show Fairfax...

Virginia places records on assisted living facilities online.
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff For the first time, the Virginia Department of Social Services is posting information online about more than 600 licensed assisted living facilities in the state. For decades, the public has not...

Environmental group seeks to throw out trash agreement.
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff An environmental group is asking a court to throw out trash barge rules adopted after a confidential deal in which a waste company agreed to pay Virginia $1 for each ton of trash it barged into the...

Commentary: Lawyer provides correction to prior letter to editor about Uniform Trust Code.(Letter to the Editor)
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Dear Editor: On page 5 of your Jan. 10 edition, you published a letter from me concerning the Uniform Trust Code. I have determined (and apologize for) an error stated as a fact. It appears...

Commentary: Tsunami aid raises tax issues for donors.
January 24, 2005... Byline: J. William Gray Americans are opening their hearts and their wallets in response to the recent Asian earthquake and tsunamis. Amid the myriad of resulting charitable appeals and the maze of U.S. tax laws, however, some may be...

Virginia's Atty General Kilgore's departure timed to keep office in GOP hands.(Jerry W. Kilgore)
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore has asked the General Assembly to appoint career government attorney Judith W. Jagdmann to succeed him when he resigns Feb. 1 to run for governor full time. The...

Specialty license plates - the 2005 version.
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff One state delegate wants to create a specialty license plate to promote "traditional marriage." Another wants one for the Daughters of the Confederacy. Yet another wants to honor elk. Every year,...

Budget numbers prompt Virginian delegate to say I told you so.(Brief Article)
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff It was inevitable, particularly when the Jan. 14 revenue report for December showed that state tax collections for the month were up by nearly one-fifth over the same month in 2003. Last year's...

Virginia Lawyers in the News: January 24, 2005.
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Fairfax lawyer Philip Schwartz has been elected as a diplomate of the American College of Family Law Trial Lawyers. The college limits its membership to only 100 lawyers nationwide, and Schwartz is...

Virginia Lawyers Weekly presents the commomwealth's top jury verdicts of 2004.(Brief Article)
January 24, 2005... Byline: Paul Fletcher In this issue, Virginia Lawyers Weekly is pleased to present the "Largest Verdicts of 2004," our annual compilation of big jury verdicts from across the commonwealth. As in past years, our criteria for the list...

Top 2004 Virginia Verdicts: $8.3 million - Negligence by ski resort causing personjal injury.(Brief Article)
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff #1 - $8.3 Million Milton Grigg as Conservator of Jessica Grigg v. Wintergreen Partners, Inc., Brett Henyon and Jeffrey Eimutus Type of Case: Negligence by ski resort causing personal injury ...

Judge Haley is elected to Virginia Court of Appeals by General Assembly.
January 24, 2005... Byline: Deborah Elkins Judge James W. Haley Jr. was elected last week to the Virginia Court of Appeals, filling a vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Rosemarie Annunziata on Dec. 31. Both Haley, of Stafford County Circuit Court,...

Top 2004 Virginia Verdicts: $7.6 million - Conspiracy to harm business.
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff #2 - $7.6 Million Performance Motor Racing v. Verbin Type of Case: Conspiracy to harm business Court: Circuit Court of Fairfax County Attorney: Richard W. Driscoll, Alexandria ...

Top 2004 Virginia Verdicts: $3.09 million - Medical malpractice.
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff #4 - $3.09 Million Confidential Type of Case: Medical malpractice Court: Confidential Attorneys: Lewis T. Stoneburner and Wallace B. Wason Jr., Richmond Summary: In this case, a...

Top 2004 Virginia Verdicts: $2.5 million - Medical malpractice.(Brief Article)
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff # 5 - $2.5 Million (reduced to applicable cap $1.65) Confidential Type of Case: Medical malpractice Court: Fairfax Circuit Court Attorneys: William E. Artz and Andrew J. Waghorn,...

Top 2004 Virginia Verdicts: $2.25 million - Personal injury.
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff #6 - $2.25 Million Sharon Mietus v. Pier 1 Imports, Inc. and Elizabeth Rhyne Type of Case: Personal injury Court: City of Richmond Circuit Court, Richmond, Virginia Virginia Attorneys:...

Top 2004 Virginia Verdicts: $2.28 million - Employee terminated during pregnancy leave.(Brief Article)
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff #7 - $2.2 Million Scott v. Washington Homes, Inc. and K. Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. Type of Case: Title VII pregnancy and retaliation; FMLA interference and retaliation; and constructive fraud...

Top 2004 Virginia Verdicts: $2 million - Hit and run/death.(Brief Article)
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff #8 - $2 Million Family of Naeuen Yoon v. Jane Wagner Type of Case: Hit and run/death Court: Loudoun County Circuit Court Attorney: Peter Grenier, Washington, D.C. Summary: This...

Top 2004 Virginia Verdicts: $1.7 million - Medical malpractice/wrongful death.
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff #9 - $1.7 Million Estate of Feury v. Member Type of Case: Medical malpractice/wrongful death Court: Spotsylvania County Circuit Court Attorneys: Steven W. Bancroft and Michael J....

Top 2004 Virginia Verdicts: $1.5 million - Medical malpractice/Battery.(Brief Article)
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff #10 (TIE) - $1.5 Million Gorbea v. Atlantic Anesthesia Type of Case: Medical malpractice/Battery Court: Norfolk Circuit Court Attorneys: Lewis T. Stoneburner and Wallace B. Wason Jr.,...

Top 2004 Virginia Verdicts: $1.5 million - Medical malpractice.
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff #10 (TIE) - $1.5 Million Barbour v. William R. Baetz, M.D. and Anesthesia Associates of Roanoke, Inc. Type of Case: Medical malpractice Court: Roanoke City Circuit Court Attorney:...

Top 2004 Virginia Verdicts: #1.1 million - Declaratory judgement/Legal malpractice coverage.
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff #12 (TIE) - $1.1 Million Confidential Type of case: Declaratory judgment/Legal malpractice coverage Court: Norfolk Circuit Court Attorney: George T. Albiston, Norfolk Summary:...

Top 2004 Virginia Verdicts: $1.1 million - Shareholder dispute.(Ewing Bemiss & Co.)
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff #12 (TIE) - $1.1 Million Monroe v. Ewing Bemiss & Co., et al. Type of Case: Shareholder dispute Court: Richmond Circuit Court Attorneys: Thomas Wolf and Kenya Washington, Richmond ...

Top 2004 Virginia Verdicts: $1 million - Medical malpractice.(Brief Article)
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff #15 - $1 Million Jane Doe, an infant v. John Doe, M.D. Type of Case: Medical malpractice Court: Newport News Circuit Court Attorneys: Thomas B. Shuttleworth and Edwin J. Rafal,...

Verdicts & Settlements January 24, 2005: Wrongful death from collision settles for $900,000.
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Just before 8:30 a.m. on a summer morning in 2003 in a rural Virginia county, the individual defendant, an employee of the corporate defendant, a transportation company, drove his 15,000-pound...

Verdicts & Settlements January 24, 2005: Med-mal defense verdict in ibuprofen misuse case.
January 24, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff was a 15-year-old male who treated with his family physician for multiple conditions since the age of about six. Plaintiff received regular treatment for asthma and had an intermittent...

Va. Court of Appeals: Case Summaries: January 31, 2005.
January 31, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Federal Question Jurisdiction - Arbitration Where a bank/financial services company sued a Discover card holder in state court for an unpaid credit card balance, and when she...

U.S. District Court VA Eastern Case Summaries: Jan. 31, 2005.
January 31, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Appeals - Record Supplement - Labor - Hybrid 301 Action Where a union member filed a "hybrid 301" action under the Labor Management Relations Act, alleging that her former...

U.S. District Court VA Western: Case Summaries Jan. 31, 2005.
January 31, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Insurance Murder Of Wife - Slayer Statute - ERISA Where a defendant was convicted of murdering his wife and his conviction was affirmed on appeal, the district court denies his motion to stay...

Verdicts & Settlements: January 31, 2005: Back injury nets $60,000 in negligence case.(Brief Article)
January 31, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff This was a head-on collision causing substantial property damage to both vehicles. The defendant admitted liability. The plaintiff was 18 years old at the time of the accident with no prior history of...

VA State Bar Disciplinary Board Law License Suspension: Jan. 25, 2005.(Brief Article)
January 31, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff On Jan. 20, 2005, the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board suspended the law license of Robert E. La Serte of Vienna for five years, to take effect July 26, 2005, when a previous three-year suspension...

Thirty-Fifth Annual Criminal Law Seminar to be held Feb. 4, 2005.(Brief Article)
January 31, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The use of evidence gathered from cell phones will be one of the featured topics at the Thirty-Fifth Annual Criminal Law Seminar, cosponsored by the Virginia State Bar Criminal Law Section and Virginia...

VA Law Foundation Inducts 2005 Class Of Fellows.(Brief Article)
January 31, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The Virginia Law Foundation inducted its 2005 Class of Fellows at a dinner meeting held on Jan. 20 in Williamsburg during the Virginia Bar Association's Annual Meeting. Former Virginia Attorney...

Virginia Lawyers in the News: January 31, 2005.
January 31, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Michael R. Sloan has become an associate with Woods Rogers PLC. Sloan's primary areas of practice include healthcare, labor and employment, and general business litigation. A 1999 University of...

Former NFL player trades in uniform for Newport News law practice.(National Football League)
January 31, 2005... Byline: Brent Baldwin Jim Reid can still remember the place where it hit him. Standing in his Tennessee Oilers uniform on the busy sidelines of the Buffalo Bills' Rich Stadium as the snow drifted down, he could hardly believe it. ...

Shutting down your computer at night vs. leaving it on.
January 31, 2005... Byline: Rick Edvalson, Dolan Media Newswires Our client was feeling a little guilty. "I just leave my computer running all the time," he told me. "I hate waiting while it boots up, so I don't even shut it down at night. Am I hurting my...

Commentary: Smart hiring practices can reduce employer liability.
January 31, 2005... Byline: Kathy Perkins, Esq. (This article originally ran in The Daily Record, Kansas City, MO, another Dolan Media publication). A well-documented, consistently applied hiring program can reduce the risk of employment litigation and...

Jagdmann elected VA Attorney General, McGrath gets new term.(Judith W. Jagdmann, John J. McGrath Jr. )(Brief Article)
January 31, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The Virginia General Assembly elected Judith W. Jagdmann on Jan. 27 to succeed Jerry W. Kilgore as Attorney General of Virginia. Kilgore announced Jan. 18 that he would resign in order to campaign...

VA senate panel deals setback to two-term governor.
January 31, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Efforts to let Virginia governors run for re-election, as chief executives in every other state may, were set back last Tuesday by a Senate committee. The Senate Privileges and Elections Committee...

Senate committee defeats Virginia death penalty moratorium.(Brief Article)
January 31, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff A bill that would impose a moratorium on executions died last Monday in a Senate committee. By a vote of 3-11, the Senate Courts of Justice Committee failed to report a bill by Sen. Henry Marsh,...

Surgery patient with towel left inside stomach awarded $1.2 million.(McQuillia v. Maryview Medical Center)
January 31, 2005... Byline: Paul Fletcher A surgery patient who discovered that a towel had been left inside his stomach has recovered $1.2 million from the surgeon and the hospital. The five-day trial featured a fight between the physician and the...

Va Court Of Appeals-Case Summaries: Jan 31, 2005.
January 31, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Felon In Possession - Drug Evidence Where defendant was stopped by police for a suspected traffic violation, and police smelled marijuana in his vehicle and found a gun and marijuana...

Va Circuit Court Case Summaries: Jan. 31, 2005.
January 31, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Prior Nonsuit - Disclosure To Jury Where defense counsel stated before the jury that a physician was deposed prior to the time "when the plaintiff decided to voluntarily dismiss...

Verdicts & Settlements: Jan. 31, 2005: Jury finds for defense in alleged breach of FETFA case.
January 31, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff-employee, a Virginia resident, brought suit against defendant-employer alleging breach of written severance agreement and violation of the Federal Electronic Transfer of Funds Act (FETFA). In...

Verdicts & Settlements: Jan. 31, 2005: Surgery patient wins $1.2M.(McQuillia v. Maryview Medical Center and a Vascular Surgeon)
January 31, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff During deep abdominal aorto-bi-femoral bypass graft surgery, the vascular surgeon and hospital, acting through a scrub and circulating nurse, failed to account for a surgical towel used to pack the...

Verdicts & Settlements: Jan. 31, 2005: Auto injury settles for $1.45M in Harrisonburg.
January 31, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff was a 30-year-old single male who was severely injured in a head-on collision when the oncoming defendant made a left turn in front of him. Poor sight distance on a rolling country road...

Verdicts & Settlements: January 31, 2005: Roanoke jury awards $100,000 to car accident victim.
January 31, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff This case involved a serious single car accident that occurred in Roanoke County on Oct. 3, 1999, in which plaintiff was a passenger and defendant was the driver. Defendant driver, suffering a massive...

Virginia just may get an 'Official State Bat'.(Jackie Stump proposed to add bat as state animal)
January 31, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Many of Virginia's "official" emblems evoke images of the state's beauty: the official state flower, the dogwood; the state bird, the cardinal; and even the state insect, the Tiger Swallowtail...

Virginia Senate again kills gun show bill.(Brief Article)
January 31, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Gun buyers, including criminals, can continue to avoid background checks by doing business with unlicensed dealers at Virginia gun shows. The Senate voted 20-17 last Wednesday to kill Sen. Henry...

District Judge John Anthony Garrett died Dec.22, 2004.(Brief Article)(Obituary)
January 31, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Henrico General District Judge John Anthony Garrett died of cancer Dec. 22. He was 47. Judge Garrett graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1978, and he earned his law degree from the T....

Longtime Orange lawyer Virginius R. Shackelford Jr. died Nov. 26, 2004.(Obituary)
January 31, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Virginius R. Shackelford Jr., a longtime lawyer in Orange and a past president of the Virginia Bar Association, died on Nov. 26. He was 88. Known as "V," Mr. Shackelford was still practicing with...

Salem attorney Harlin Perrine dies Jan. 17, 2005.(Brief Article)(Obituary)
January 31, 2005... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Harlin Perrine, who practiced law in the Salem area for more than 50 years, died Jan. 17. He was 85. A native of West Virginia, Mr. Perrine wanted to be a lawyer as a young boy because he "enjoyed...

Canadian-based BlackBerry vows to keep fighting in patent dispute.
January 31, 2005... Byline: BETH DUFF-BROWN The Canadian creators of the BlackBerry, the wildly successful wireless e-mail device embraced by so many Americans, say they will take their patent dispute with a Virginia company all the way to the U.S. Supreme...