Virginia Lawyers Weekly articles from June 2008

Virginia Lawyers Weekly archives from June 2008

4th Circuit Court of Appeals: Richmond Medical Center for Women v. Herring.(abortion)
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Civil Rights - Constitutional - Privacy Right - Partial-Birth Abortion A Virginia abortion statute is unconstitutional under Gonzales v. Carhart, 127 S.Ct. 1610 (2007), because it criminalizes an abortion...

U.S. District Court in Charlottesville: Proctor v. Green.(child abuse)
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Civil Rights - Due Process - Child Abuse Investigation A father cannot sue under 42 U.S.C. s. 1983 various social service officials for claims arising out of a two-year investigation into allegations that he...

U.S. District Court in Charlottesville: Rust v. CommerceFirst Bank.(personal jurisdiction)
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Civil Procedure - Personal Jurisdiction - Va. Long-Arm Statute - Transacting Business Plaintiff couple, who as directors of a forfeited Maryland corporation executed guarantees on a loan to the corporation using...

U.S. District Court in Abingdon: Buchanan County, Va. v. Blankenship.(bribery; corruption)(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Conspiracy - RICO - Bid Rigging - Bribery A U.S. District Court in Abingdon denies defendant's motion to dismiss this civil RICO claim on the ground that the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act is...

U.S. District Court in Big Stone Gap: U.S. v. Dove.
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Criminal - SDT - Copyright Infringement In this prosecution of defendant for conspiring with other members of the Elite Torrents organization to infringe copyrighted materials by reproducing and distributing...

U.S. District Court in Abingdon: Ray v. Porter.(job termination)(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Civil Rights - Probtationary Employee - Job Termination A probationary employee of the Russell County, Va. Department of Social Services who was terminated during her probationary period can sue defendant chair...

U.S. District Court in Abingdon: Fields v. Justus.(employment discrimination)
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Civil Rights - Public Employee - Political Affiliation - Qualified Immunity A plaintiff who alleges she was not hired as director of the Buchanan County Department of Social Services on the basis of her...

U.S. District Court in Roanoke: King v. McMillan.(employment discrimination)(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Employment Discrimination - Sexual Harassment - Title VII - Remittitur A U.S. District court in Roanoke grants defendant sheriff's motion for remittitur to reduce an award of $175,000 compensatory battery award...

U.S. District Court in Abingdon: Boysaw v. Purdue Pharma.
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Tort - OxyContin Suit - Limitations A pro se plaintiff's suit against Purdue Pharma and three of its executives for allegedly causing him injury with their product, OxyContin, is dismissed by the U.S. District...

Virginia Court of Appeals: Edwards v. Commonwealth.
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Criminal - 'Burglarious Tool' - Empty Purse Although a woman admitted she emptied her large purse in order to conceal in it shoplifted store merchandise, the purse nevertheless was not a burglarious tool and her...

Virginia Court of Appeals: Duke v. Duke.(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Domestic Relations - Spousal Support - Imputed Income Although wife, a registered nurse, argued the parties had agreed during the marriage that husband would provide for the family financially and wife would stay...

Virginia Court of Appeals: Rogers v. Rogers.(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Domestic Relations - Appeals - Rule 5A:18 A wife cannot rely on her statement of facts' reference to two objections, or her endorsement of the trial court order as Seen and Objected To, to preserve her claims on...

Virginia Court of Appeals: Arms v. Commonwealth.(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Search & Seizure - Home Entry - Consent - Elder Abuse The Court of Appeals holds a defendant cannot suppress evidence of his abuse and neglect of his ill and elderly mother by arguing that a police officer had no...

Virginia Court of Appeals: Jones v. Charlottesville Dep't of Social Servs.(parental rights)(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Domestic Relations - Termination Of Parental Rights - Appeals A father did not raise in the trial court his claims that his neglect did not cause removal of the child from his home and that he was not offered...

Virginia Court of Appeals: Jackson v. Commonwealth.(assault)(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Criminal - Brandishing Firearm - Assault - Double Jeopardy A defendant's conviction of both assault and brandishing a firearm does not violate the Double Jeopardy Clause, the Court of Appeals holds, because the...

Virginia Court of Appeals: Robeson v. Commonwealth.(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Criminal - Sodomy Of Child - Herpes Infection There was sufficient evidence to convict the 19-year-old defendant of sodomy of a child for having oral sex with a 12-year-old girl, a family friend who considered...

Virginia Court of Appeals: Helem v. Commonwealth.
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Search & Seizure - Key Ring Seizure - Murder Victim's Key - Inevitable Discovery Doctrine The Court of Appeals says a trial court did not err in denying defendant's motion to suppress the key to the murder...

Virginia Court of Appeals: Smith v. Commonwealth.(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Criminal - Suspended Sentence Reduction - Jurisdiction A trial court did not err in ruling that it did not have jurisdiction to entertain defendant's motion to reduce the remaining period of his suspended...

Virginia Court of Appeals: Rowe v. Commonwealth.
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Criminal - Assault On Police Officer - Outside Officer's Jurisdiction A defendant can be convicted of assault and battery on a police officer for driving his vehicle toward the officer, even though the victim...

Virginia Court of Appeals: Butler v. City of Roanoke Dep't of Social Servs.(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Domestic Relations - Termination Of Parental Rights - Delayed Appeal A trial court did not err in denying a mother's motion to file a delayed appeal of the termination of her parental rights, in this decision by...

Prince George Circuit Court: Lake v. Mitchell.
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Negligence - Auto Accident - Police Officer - Sovereign Immunity Plaintiffs are not entitled to a jury for determination of a police officer's plea of sovereign immunity, and the Prince George Circuit Court finds...

Madison County Circuit Court: Davis v. Davis.
June 2, 2008... Byline: Sarah Rodriguez Domestic Relations - Adultery - Credibility - Lawyer/Witness Testimony Although a lawyer/witness testified as an attorney and an officer of this court, there is no authority that requires the testimony of an...

Madison County Circuit Court: Putz v. Armtech Insurance Servs.
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Insurance - Premium Payment - Crop Insurance Where plaintiffs dispute their obligation to pay a premium for crop insurance for certain crops on their Texas farm, their dispute with defendant insurance company is...

Madison County Circuit Court: Commonwealth Transportation v. Southard.(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Real Estate - Condemnation - Majority Report - Alleged Defects A Madison County Circuit Court denies respondents' request to set aside the majority report of the condemnation jury and to order a new trial in this...

Fairfax Circuit Court: Commonwealth v. Prieto.
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Criminal - Capital Case - Right To Counsel - Presentence Interview In a case of first impression, a Fairfax Circuit judge holds that a defendant in a capital case does not have a Sixth Amendment right to counsel...

Fairfax Circuit Court: Northern Virginia Real Estate v. Martins.
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Real Estate - Sales Contract - Dec Action A realty company cannot seek declaratory relief against a woman who hired the realty company to sell her mother's home, then terminated the contract after the realty...

Fairfax Circuit Court: Bell v. Renaissance at Chartwell LLC.
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Civil Procedure - Personal Jurisdiction - Va. Long-Arm Statute Although plaintiffs suing on two promissory notes have incorporated into their pleadings defendant LLC's operating agreement showing an individual...

Fairfax Circuit Court: Daniel Jones Remodeling LLC v. Chiu.
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Contract - Contractor License - Remodeling Project - Plea In Bar A Class B contractor is barred from suing homeowners for an extra $62,355 he says is owed for requested alterations in a remodeling project,...

Fairfax Circuit Court: Mortazie v. Mortazie.(divorce settlement)
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Domestic Relations - Arbitration - Equitable Distribution Upon review of a divorcing couple's stipulated figures and the arbitration awards made in this equitable distribution matter, a Fairfax Circuit Court,...

Virginia Court of Appeals: Jones v. Commonwealth.(sexual assault; statement of facts)(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Criminal - Animate Object Sexual Penetration - Statement Of Facts A defendant's failure to include a transcript or statement of facts prevents the Court of Appeals from considering defendant's claim that his...

Virginia Court of Appeals: Shelton v. Commonwealth.(burglary)(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Criminal - Attempted Burglary - Home Break-In There was sufficient evidence to show defendant attempted to break into a home, the Court of Appeals says, where defendant approached the house at about midnight, the...

Virginia Court of Appeals: West v. Commonwealth.(Fifth Amendment right to counsel)
June 2, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Criminal - Voluntariness Of Confession - Request For Lawyer A defendant who told police, I am willing to talk, but can I have a lawyer in here or something? did not unequivocally invoke his Fifth Amendment right...

Rotundas to leave Northern Virginia's George Mason University for California law school.(Kyndra Rotundra; Ronald D. Rotunda)
June 2, 2008... Byline: Peter Vieth Constitutional law scholar and legal ethics expert Ronald D. Rotunda will leave Northern Virginia's George Mason University School of Law after going public with a spat between his wife and another GMU professor. In...

Cop, town don't get immunity in wreck, rules Prince George Circuit Court.
June 2, 2008... Byline: Alan Cooper A Waverly town policeman took time to shave before responding to a homicide call from his Prince George County home. That delay was inconsistent with any interest the state might have had in his driving more than 20...

Contractor can't sue for more than limit of license, rules Fairfax County judge.(Charles J. Maxfield )
June 2, 2008... Byline: Alan Cooper A Class B contractor cannot sue to recover more than the monetary limit of his license, a Fairfax County judge has ruled in a case of first impression. The issue arose from renovation of a home by Daniel Jones...

Man who walked away from home purchase hit for $155K.(Kenneth Grauer)
June 2, 2008... Byline: Peter Vieth Bedford County jury verdict last month dramatically illustrates the recent downturn in the real estate market and the potential consequences for unwary real estate purchasers. The sellers of a high-priced home in a...

Verdicts & Settlements June 2, 2008: Delivery video supports brachial plexus claim.(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly $1,550,000 Verdict On May 24, 2001, after delivery of the baby's head, a shoulder dystocia was encountered involving the left anterior shoulder. Several attempts were made to deliver the shoulders. The...

Verdicts & Settlements June 2, 2008: Fee dispute settled in 'lemon law' claim.(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly $26,500 Settlement Plaintiffs purchased a used Dodge diesel pickup with 100,000-mile engine warranty. When the engine failed, the local Dodge dealership estimated repairs at $6,700. After discovering...

Goolsby corporations book in its third edition.(Book review)
June 9, 2008... Byline: Alan Cooper The third edition of Goolsby on Virginia Corporations has the same nuts-and-bolts focus as the previous versions of the treatise. Any niggling question a practitioner might have about setting up a closely held...

Discipline cases arise in SW and Northern Virginia.(Southwest and Northern Virginia)
June 9, 2008... Byline: Peter Vieth Details are slowly coming to light about the charges against the latest of a crop of Virginia lawyers accused of major misdeeds. One Southwest Virginia lawyer allegedly passed off phony legal documents to cover for...

Lawyer has defamation claim for online post rules U.S. District Court.
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins A lawyer can sue an Internet poster for defamation for suggesting the lawyer should be turned into bar disciplinary authorities, even though the online poster claimed he was just offering an opinion. In Cretella...

Roanoke jury awards $3.5M for negligent bunion surgery.
June 9, 2008... Byline: Peter Vieth A Roanoke jury has delivered a $3.5 million verdict for a woman who claimed she was disabled by negligent bunion surgery. The plaintiff, a Clifton Forge resident, blamed her podiatrist for chronic pain so severe that an...

Virginia State Bar search panel backs Davis for bar counsel.(Edward L. Ned Davis)
June 9, 2008... Byline: Alan Cooper A Virginia State Bar search committee is recommending that Edward L. Ned Davis, an assistant bar counsel for almost 15 years, head the VSB's disciplinary system. The appointment of Davis as bar counsel, the formal...

Fairfax judge orders company to pay fees of $78K.(Charles J. Maxfield; Tax Accounting & Payroll Services Inc.)
June 9, 2008... Byline: Alan Cooper A Fairfax judge awarded $78,202 in attorneys' fees last month after concluding that a company and its attorneys filed a counterclaim to intimidate an accounting firm that had filed a warrant in debt to collect a $7,055...

Summer associate pay strong in '08 at major Virginia law firms.
June 9, 2008... Byline: Peter Vieth The pay and hiring rates for summer associates at major Virginia law firms remain strong and steady, according to an exclusive survey by Virginia Lawyers Weekly. Many major law firms are hiring as many or more summer...

Verdicts & Settlements June 9, 2008: Disc surgery solves one problem, creates another, $650K Verdict.
June 9, 2008... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Eric M. Garver, M.D., a spine surgeon in Bridgeport, Conn., traveled to Richmond in April 2005 to undergo surgery by Dr. Hallett H. Mathews, who installed a Maverick artificial disc device at the L5-S1 level...

Verdicts & Settlements June 9, 2008: Patient list found to be trade secrets - $175K Verdict.(Brief article)
June 9, 2008... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The evidence in this case proved that Romar MedEquip employee Robin G. Tomer, on the night before she quit in order to work for Romar's competitor, entered the office building, logged on to a company...

Verdicts & Settlements June 9, 2008: Owners allege mistreatment by community association.
June 9, 2008... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Plaintiffs, husband and wife, sued the board of their community association complaining that a multi-building limitation on the number of rental units permitted to be offered to the public was an...

U.S. District Court: Steinburg v. Chesterfield County Planning Comm'n.
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Municipal - First Amendment - Public Meeting - Topic Choice A county planning commission did not violate a man's First Amendment rights by having him removed from a public meeting when he refused to address the...

U.S. District Court: U.S. v. Evans.
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Criminal - Identity Theft - Guidelines-Plus Sentence A defendant who entered conditional guilty pleas to identity theft after he purchased financial information about Wachovia bank account holders from a...

U.S. District Court: Cretella v. Kuzminski.
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Tort - Defamation - Internet Poster - Lawyer's 'Extortion' A Virginia writer who posted comments to a website for authors, accusing a Maryland lawyer for a publisher of engaging in extortion when he requested...

U.S. District Court: Corinthian Mtge. Corp. v. Choicepoint Precisions Marketing LLC.
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Contract - Mailing List - Confidentiality A mortgage lender whose contract with a mailing list broker included confidentiality clauses, and who suspected a former vice president fired by the lender of setting up...

U.S. District Court: Adkins v. Fairfax County School Bd.(Brief article)
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Employment Discrimination - School Employee - Disability A pro se plaintiff who has been litigating her disability discrimination claims against defendant school board has her most recent complaint dismissed by...

U.S. District Court: Cincinnati Ins. Co. v. American Glass Industries Inc.
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Bankruptcy - Automatic Stay - Ch. 11 - Necessary Party A glass company that filed a Chapter 11 petition in Virginia bankruptcy court is entitled to the protection of the automatic stay in bankruptcy, but the U.S....

U.S. District Court: Nammari v. Gryphus Enterprises LLC.(Brief article)
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Tort - Defamation - Compulsory Counterclaim An employment discrimination plaintiff cannot get his former employer's defamation counterclaim dismissed by the U.S. District Court in Alexandria because the claims...

U.S. District Court: Cook v. Purdue Pharma.(Brief article)
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Civil Procedure - Complete Diversity - Drug Company Execs A federal inmate's pro se suit against executives of Purdue Pharma for their alleged role in failing to advise him of the danger of becoming addicted to...

U.S. District Court: Harrington v. Sprint Nextel Corp.
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Employment - Contract - ADR Clause - At-Will Employee A U.S. District Court in Alexandria denies defendant employer's motion to dismiss two former employee's wrongful discharge claim on employer's theory that...

U.S. District Court: Andrews v. Virginia Union University.
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Employment - Title VII - Religious Discrimination - 'Reverend' Title A plaintiff who held a master's degree in social work and was an ordained minister, and who was demoted from her position as chair of the...

U.S. District Court: Kabat v. Bayer Cropscience LP.(Brief article)
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Civil Procedure - Venue Transfer - ADEA Claim Although a former regional salesman for defendant Bayer Cropscience was required to live in Chester, Va., during the employment period in question, he has since moved...

U.S. District Court: Smithfield Foods Inc. v. United Food & Commercial Workers Int'l Union.
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Labor - Union Representation - RICO - Extortion A Richmond U.S. District Court holds that plaintiff Smithfield Foods has stated claims for violation of the federal RICO statute based on defendant union's alleged...

U.S. District Court: Carter v. Countrywide Home Loans Inc.(Brief article)
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Real Estate - Mortgage Default - RESPA Claim Plaintiff homeowners who have defaulted on their loan and seek to avoid foreclosure are granted leave by the U.S. District Court in Richmond to amend their complaint...

U.S. District Court: Davenport v. Wal-Mart Stores East LP.
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Employment Discrimination - Sex - Title VII - Retaliation - Exhaustion A female former area manager for defendant Wal-Mart Stores East LP has her Title VII sex discrimination suit dismissed by the U.S. District...

U.S. District Court: Burton v. The TJX Companies Inc.(Brief article)
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Negligence - Premises Liability - Store Slip & Fall - Default Judgment A Richmond U.S. District Court denies a slip-and-fall plaintiff's motion for default judgment against a Chesterfield County T.J. Maxx store,...

U.S. District Court: Taylor v. Oce Imagistics Inc.(Brief article)
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Employment Discrimination - Race & Age - Exhaustion - EEOC Questionnaire An African-American woman who submitted a questionnaire to the EEOC can use that questionnaire to demonstrate she exhausted her...

U.S. District Court: U.S. v. McHugh.(Brief article)
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Police had reasonable suspicion to stop defendant's vehicle based on their observation of clear rear brake light covers, blue front turn-signal lights and a Massachusetts license plate, all of which prompted...

U.S. District Court: U.S. v. Jefferson.
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Criminal - Indictment - Bribery - 'Official Act' A federal indictment charging defendant, a sitting member of the U.S. House of Representatives, with conspiracy, wire fraud, violations of the Foreign Corrupt...

U.S. District Court: Fitzgerald v. Fairfax County School Board.
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Civil Rights - Schools - IDEA - School Suspension - Paintball Defendant school board wins summary judgment in this suit filed by a high-school student who suffers from Tourette's Syndrome and ADHD, whose...

U.S. District Court: Nystrom v. Trex Co.
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Intellectual Property - Patent Infringement - Wooden Decking Boards - Estoppel A Norfolk carpenter and lumberyard owner cannot pursue this second patent infringement claim against defendant Winchester-based Trex...

U.S. District Court: Drewry v. Starr Motors Inc.
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Consumer Protection - Auto Loan - Return Of Vehicle In this decision from the U.S. District Court in Richmond, purchasers of a vehicle who changed their mind and returned the vehicle to the dealer but...

U.S. District Court: Stronach v. Virginia State University.(Brief article)
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Employment Discrimination - Race - Title VII - College Professor Although plaintiff, a tenured Caucasian professor at a historically black university, has presented evidence that his superiors did not value his...

U.S. District Court: Sierra Shelving Inc. v. Design Assistance Construction Systems Inc.
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Intellectual Property - False Advertising - Lanham Act - 'Open Rack' Shelving On a recommendation from the magistrate judge, the U.S. District Court in Norfolk enters judgment for defendant design company in...

U.S. District Court: Hentze v. City of Portsmouth.
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Employment Discrimination - Title VII - Female Firefighter - 'Turnout' Boots - Foot Injuries The City of Portsmouth and its fire chief win summary judgment in this Title VII sex discrimination suit filed in...

U.S. District Court: Myers v. Air Serv Corp.
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Civil Procedure - P.I. Suit - Diversity - State Court Remand - Fraudulent Joinder An Alexandria U.S. District Court remands to Fairfax Circuit Court this personal injury suit filed by a wheelchair-bound Fairfax...

U.S. District Court: Mansfield v. Anesthesia Associates Ltd.
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Civil Procedure - Removal - Waiver - Rule Of Unanimity A plaintiff anesthesiologist who is suing his former practice, its chair and Inova Hospital, for his termination on a complaint that he sexually harassed an...

Norfolk U.S. District Court: U.S. v. Monreal.
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Criminal - Miranda Waiver - Spanish Translation Based on the testimony of the two bilingual police officers, from the DEA and from the Brownsville, Tx.., police department, the Norfolk U.S. District Court will...

U.S. District Court: U.S. v. Johnson.
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Criminal - Drug Conspiracy - Sentence Reduction - Amendment 706 A Charlottesville U.S. District Court reduces a defendant's 360-month prison sentence for conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine to 324 months,...

Va. Court of Appeals: Gagelonia v. Commonwealth.(Virginia)
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Criminal - Postal Drug Delivery - Brady Claim A defendant convicted on marijuana charges after signing for a package from Arizona that contained nearly 200 ounces of marijuana cannot overturn his conviction by...

Va. Court of Appeals: Stadter v. Siperko.(Virginia)
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Domestic Relations - Visitation - Lesbian Couple Split A woman who helped rear her lesbian companion's biological daughter is not entitled to visitation with the child after the couple separated on a theory that...

Va. Court of Appeals: Payne v. Commonwealth.(Virginia)
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Traffic Offenses - Felony Homicide - Involuntary Manslaughter - Hit-And-Run A drunken driver who left the scene of her first traffic accident and promptly struck a pedestrian, causing his death, before again...

Va. Court of Appeals: Korpsak v. Korpsak.(Virginia)(Brief article)
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Domestic Relations - Property Settlement - Transcript Because husband failed to file a transcript of statement of facts on the trial court's evidentiary hearing to determine the validity of the Stipulation signed...

Va. Court of Appeals: Greene v. Greene.(Virginia)(Brief article)
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins Although husband contends the final divorce decree entered in 1987 contained no starting date for his monthly spousal support payments of $175, the decree expressly ordered that the parties' agreement, which provided...

Va. Court of Appeals: Canellis v. Gray.(Virginia)
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins In this suit in which a creditor is seeking to collect a $86,400 judgment debt from defendant John W. Gray, who owns a $310,000 townhouse in Portsmouth together with his mother and his wife, the Portsmouth Circuit...

Va. Court of Appeals: Austin v. Austin.(Virginia)
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins A Roanoke County Circuit Court recognizes that the civil union entered into by two women in the State of Vermont is void in Virginia, and the court cannot otherwise order any relief to a complainant who filed a...

Va. Court of Appeals: Lesesne v. Zablocki.(Virginia)
June 9, 2008... Byline: Deborah Elkins A Fairfax Circuit Court is obliged to hold an evidentiary hearing to consider plaintiff's request for attorney's fees in light of the court's earlier grant of a continuance to allow defendant to be with his mother...