Virginia Lawyers Weekly articles from March 2007

Virginia Lawyers Weekly archives from March 2007

How to ... Move your law firm.
March 5, 2007... Byline: Bernadette Starzee Dolan Media Newswires Moving your offices is a time-consuming and costly task. One of the biggest costs is the interruption to your business before, during and after the move, but you can minimize this disruption...

Five-gallon bucket of marijuana delivered to a Virginia high-end jeans boutique.(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Paul Fletcher It was a pretty normal Saturday morning at a high-end jeans boutique in Philadelphia called "Fusion." Fed-Ex guy comes with a big box from California. New designer duds from the west coast? Not exactly. ...

Virginia General Assembly adopts eminent domain statute that appears to be tolerable.
March 5, 2007... Byline: Alan Cooper The General Assembly has adopted an eminent domain statute that appears to be at least tolerable to all concerned--with one major exception. Housing authorities and local governments believe it would hamstring...

Cohabitation with lesbian partner ends spousal support under couple's property settlement agreement.
March 5, 2007... Byline: Deborah Elkins A husband can cut off his $4,000 monthly spousal support to his wife who lived in a relationship "analogous to a marriage" with her lesbian partner. The husband in Stroud v. Stroud (VLW 007-7-062) used a...

Judges Dohnal and Alper get top bar nods for Virginia judgeships.(Dennis W. Dohnal and Joanne F. Alper)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Alan Cooper U.S. Magistrate Judge Dennis W. Dohnal and Arlington Circuit Judge Joanne F. Alper lead the list candidates recommended by statewide bar groups for two judgeships in the Eastern District of Virginia. Judge T.S....

Issue of hospital foundation immunity goes to Virginia Supreme Court.
March 5, 2007... Byline: Alan Cooper The issue of whether foundations set up to support teaching hospitals have charitable immunity appears to be on its way to resolution by the Supreme Court of Virginia. The University of Virginia Health Services...

Nine Virginia heart solution lawsuits settle under confidential terms.
March 5, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Nine cases involving allegations of injuries from a contaminated solution used in heart surgeries have been resolved under confidential terms. Stephanie E. Grana, a Richmond attorney who...

Virginia Supreme Court approves appointed appellate panel.(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Alan Cooper The Supreme Court of Virginia has approved the creation of a panel of attorneys who are willing to accept appointments in which an indigent, unrepresented party is awarded a civil appeal. Supreme Court Clerk...

Virginia legislators find a way to boost Clients' Protection Fund.(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Paul Fletcher Two days before the 2007 General Assembly adjourned, legislators found a way to save a measure to boost the Clients' Protection Fund. That fund, administered by the Virginia State Bar, reimburses victims of...

U.S. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: March 5, 2007.(American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier LLC v. P&O Ports Baltimore Inc.)(Kreisler v. Goldberg)(Nigh v. Koons Buick Pontiac Finance Corp.)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Admiralty COGSA - Indemnification - Limitations In this suit by American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier against P&O Ports Baltimore Inc., a stevedoring company, after a piece of equipment loaded on...

U.S. District Court of Eastern Virginia Case Summaries: March 5, 2007.(Headstrong Corp. v. Jha)(U.S. v. Li)(Bohreer v. Erie Ins. Group)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Service Of Process - Defendant In India Where the record reveals "an extensive history of attempts to complete service of process" by plaintiff company on its former employee,...

U.S. District Court of Western Virginia Case Summaries: March 5, 2007.(Elswick v. U.S. )
March 5, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Plea Agreement - Sentence Correction - Waiver A Roanoke federal district judge finds that defendant entered valid guilty pleas and valid waivers of his right to appeal and his right to...

Virginia Court of Appeals Case Summaries: March 5, 2007.(Wise v. Commonwealth )
March 5, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Obstruction Of Justice - Intimidation Of Officer Virginia Code Sect. 18.2-460(C), a statute that prohibits threats of bodily harm to a judicial or law-enforcement officer lawfully...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: March 5, 2007.
March 5, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Appeals - Statement Of Facts On plaintiff/appellant's motion to certify a proffered Statement of Facts, the circuit court certifies that the record is incomplete, as it does...

Verdicts & Settlements March 5, 2007: Virginia toll collector, hurt by truck, settles for 245K.(Pershing v. Thrift)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff was employed as a toll collector for the Richmond Metropolitan Authority operating a toll booth on the Downtown Expressway. Defendant unsuccessfully attempted to deposit change for the toll...

Verdicts & Settlements March 5, 2007: Estates settle Virginia car-wreck claim.
March 5, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Robert W. Stoops and Paul E. Crawford Jr. were killed in a single car accident in Franklin County on May 1, 2005. The accident occurred when the vehicle, driven by Crawford, ran off Route 122, vaulted...

Verdicts & Settlements March 5, 2007: Virginia pedestrian struck by truck settles for $220K.
March 5, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff, a Louisa resident, was a pedestrian struck while crossing the street (not at crosswalk or intersection) going to a restaurant in Harrisonburg; defendant was driving a pickup truck....

Want to go green at your firm? Here's how.
March 12, 2007... Byline: Bernadette Starzee Dolan Media Newswires Most people are familiar with the universal recycling logo, which contains three arrows in a circle. But you may not know that the arrows represent three Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle. It's...

Drunk driver slams into Minnesota home featured in the old Mary Tyler Moore series.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Paul Fletcher Who can turn the world on with her smile? Who can take a nothing day and suddenly make all seem worthwhile? Mary, of course. Mary Tyler Moore, that is, whose namesake program was a staple of 1970s...

Beer bomb explodes in northeast Oklahoma.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Paul Fletcher Memo to frat guys across the continent: Don't let this happen to you. Last week, a beer bomb nearly leveled the little town of Adair in northeast Oklahoma. Back up. Okay, it wasn't that dramatic, but last...

Missouri law firms announce personnel changes and promotions.
March 12, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Tasos A. Galiotos has joined the Norfolk office of Willcox & Savage as a shareholder. He focuses his practice on commercial real estate with an emphasis on senior housing facilities, including nursing...

Legislative background of lien law explained.(Letter to the editor)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Dear Editor: Your lead article in your Feb. 26 issue caught my eye ("General contractor, sub have different rules on perfection of mechanic's liens"). I am pleased to see that Judge Sharrett got...

Supreme Court of Virginia rules judge can't levy monetary sanctions against lawyers.
March 12, 2007... Byline: Alan Cooper A court's inherent authority to supervise the conduct of attorneys does not extend to awarding attorneys' fees and costs as a sanction, the Supreme Court of Virginia ruled earlier this month. Virginia Beach Circuit...

Virginia Supreme Court reverses $1.85M award for 'defamatory' job evaluation.(Raytheon Technical Services Co. v. Hyland )
March 12, 2007... Byline: Deborah Elkins The Supreme Court of Virginia has reversed a $1.85 million award for an executive who said she was defamed during a performance evaluation. Only two of the five allegedly defamatory statements in the executive's...

The Supreme Court of Virginia rules recanted testimony is not enough to prove innocence.(Carpitcher v. Commonwealth)(Johnson v. Common-wealth )
March 12, 2007... Byline: Alan Cooper The Supreme Court of Virginia has ruled that recantation of testimony by key witnesses was not enough for two inmates to prove their innocence. The cases, Carpitcher v. Commonwealth (VLW 007-6-042) and Johnson v....

Indemnity clause covering personal injury is OK in Virginia.(Estes Express Lines Inc. v. Chopper Express Inc.)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Alan Cooper Virginia has a public policy against a waiver of liability for a personal injury claim. But an indemnity clause in a contract, making one party liable for a claim against the other, is OK. The Supreme Court of...

U.S. Magistrate Judge Dennis W. Dohnal leads the list of candidates for Virginia federal judgeship.
March 12, 2007... Byline: Alan Cooper Editor's Note: By press time last week, the Virginia State Bar and the Old Dominion Bar Association had not announced their endorsements for two pending federal judgeships in the Eastern District of Virginia. The...

Virginia Senator asks bar groups for recommendations for open 4th Circuit judgeship vacancies.(Jim Webb )
March 12, 2007... Byline: Alan Cooper Sen. Jim Webb asked Virginia bar groups on Wednesday for recommendations for two vacancies on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that he says have been assigned to the state. The vacancies were created by the...

U.S. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: March 12, 2007.(Peterson v. National Telecommuni-cations and Information Administration )
March 12, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Agency Rule - Internet Domain Names - Public Disclosure An Illinois lawyer who operates a Web site for discussion of current events under a ".us" domain name does not have...

Virginia Court of Appeals Case Summaries: March 12, 2007.(Turner v. Commonwealth )
March 12, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Traffic Offenses DUI - Second Offense - Lesser- Included Offense Where defendant was convicted of DUI first offense in general district court and has appealed to the circuit court, the...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: March 12, 2007.(McKinnonn v. Doman)(Slepin v. Colonial Chevrolet Co.)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Discovery - Accident Report - Taped Statement A defendant who was driving a car behind a truck when plaintiff bicyclist fell off her bike and under the wheel of the oncoming...

Virginia Supreme Court Case Summaries: March 12, 2007.(Nusbaum v. Berlin )
March 12, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Lawyer's Trial Conduct - Sanctions - Contempt In a dispute over a Norfolk lawyer's alleged elbowing of opposing counsel in response to counsel calling the lawyer's co-counsel...

Verdicts & Settlements March 12, 2007: Virginia auto accident results in $175K jury award.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff, a 52-year-old female, was involved in a rear-end accident on Route 28. Liability was admitted at trial. Plaintiff's injuries were four herniated discs at C5-C6; L3-4, L4-5 and L5-S1. The...

Verdicts & Settlements March 12, 2007: Virginia auto accident victim settles for $3M.(Fatima L. Fortmuller v. Hampton Roads Transportation District and Clayton Martin)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff On Jan. 14, 2002, plaintiff was stopped in traffic in the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel when she was rear ended by an HRT bus. She was dazed and experienced low back pain. She was treated for back pain...

Staff 'problems' that may steer your office off course.
March 12, 2007... Byline: Nancy Byerly Jones Dolan Media Newswires Clients often ask me what staff problems would make my "High Voltage - Beware the Dangers" list. That's a tough question to answer generically, but here's a top 10 list: * Adults whose...

Want to solve the 'problem employee' problem? Declare war.
March 12, 2007... Byline: Rich Meneghello Dolan Media Newswires Problem: The same problem that it's always been: your problem employee. All of you reading this know whom I'm talking about. The problem employee is the one employee that eats up your time. One...

U.S. Supreme Court to rule on overtime issue.
March 19, 2007... Byline: Alan Cooper The Fair Labor Standards Act does not apply to employees who provide companion services for the elderly and disabled if the employees work directly for those they care for. But what if they work for a company that...

Virginia court rules fired cop can sue City of Newport News for violating his due process rights.(Sciolino v. City of Newport News)
March 19, 2007... Byline: Deborah Elkins A probationary cop fired on suspicion of odometer-tampering can sue the City of Newport News for violating his due process rights, according to a new decision by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In Sciolino...

Virginia court officials to develop rules for fee-cap waiver pay on court-appointed attorneys' fees.
March 19, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Court officials will develop guidelines in the next few months for judges to use in deciding whether to waive the cap on court-appointed attorneys' fees in particular cases. "We have to make sure...

Virginia judge upholds Total Pollution Exclusion clause in policy.
March 19, 2007... Byline: Alan Cooper By its very name, the Total Pollution Exclusion clause declares what insurers hope to accomplish with it. The same language has been used in many comprehensive general liability policies for more than two decades...

U.S. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: March 19, 2007.(Elm Grove Coal Co. v. Director, OWCP)(U.S. v. Moulden )
March 19, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Black Lung Benefits - Medical Evidence - Evidence- Limiting Rules - Lawyer's Draft Reports In this case involving an award of black lung benefits to a retired coal miner, the...

U.S. District Court of Eastern Virginia Case Summaries: March 19, 2007.(Field Auto City Inc. v. General Motors Corp.)
March 19, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Commercial Automobile Dealer - Financing Agreement - Abstention An automobile dealer that lost its state court litigation against its inventory financing entity cannot now sue in federal court;...

U.S. District Court of Western Virginia Case Summaries: March 19, 2007.(Chadwell v. Lee County School Board)(Great Eastern Resort Corp. v. Bluegreen Corp.)(The United Co. v. Keenan)
March 19, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Joinder - Public Employee Termination - Political Party Two women who allege that each suffered job discrimination by defendant county school board because of their political...

Virginia Court of Appeals Case Summaries: March 19, 2007.(Stokes v. Commonwealth)(Neel v. Commonwealth )
March 19, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Grand Larceny - Indictment - Variance A defendant's grand larceny conviction, for unauthorized withdrawals from the bank account of a man for whom she performed home cleaning...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: March 19, 2007.(Tucker v. Ford Motor Co.)(WVC3 Group v. Plexus Scientific)(Dennis Stubbs Plumbing Inc. v. PMA Properties 815 LLC)
March 19, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Consumer Protection Car Purchase - Arbitration - Fraudulent Inducement - MMWA A buyer who experienced multiple problems with the 2001 Jaguar he bought from defendant is required to arbitrate...

Verdicts & Settlements March 19, 2007: Virginia woman settles airport assault case.(Jane Doe vs. Argenbright Security, Inc. and Elamin)
March 19, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff On the date of this incident, the defendant was a uniformed employee of Argenbright Security, Inc. ("ASI"). His jacket was a different color than the security personnel under him, as he was a...

Verdicts & Settlements March 19, 2007: Virginia surgeon hurt in car wreck wins $500K.(Eric Vera v. Estate of Dana M. Ainslie)
March 19, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff, a 52-year-old OB/GYN surgeon, was T-boned at a red light on Volvo Parkway on his way to see patients at Chesapeake General Hospital. Plaintiff had to be cut out of his Mercedes. Defendant...

Verdicts & Settlements March 19, 2007: Virginia Woman hit head-on settles for policy limits.(Ebony Saunders v. Matthew Anderson and Don E. Davis, individually and t/a Don Davis Towing)(Brief article)
March 19, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff was traveling eastbound on South Military Highway on the Gilmerton Bridge in Chesapeake. The defendant, Matthew Anderson, was driving a tow truck owned by Don Davis Towing, a one-truck sole...

Virginia Court of Appeals Case Summaries: March 26, 2007.(Ferguson v. Commonwealth)(Vance v. Commonwealth)(Debroux v. Commonwealth)
March 26, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Failure To Appear - Willful Conduct A defendant who failed to contact his lawyer, stopped taking psychotropic medication and absconded from probation supervision, demonstrated that...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: March 26, 2007.(Carney v. City of Richmond)(Vaughn v. Sionbai LLC)(Commonwealth v. Bowman )
March 26, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative School Board - Disciplinary Transfer - Review Although a student claims he was acting in self-defense when he was involved in an altercation with other students in a school...

Verdicts & Settlements March 26, 2007: Surgeon not negligent for failing to operate sooner.
March 26, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff This medical negligence action was tried before a jury in Portsmouth Circuit Court Sept. 11, 2006 through Sept. 14, 2006. The Motion for Judgment alleged the defendant, a consulting surgeon, failed to...

Verdicts & Settlements March 26, 2007: Chain wrecks in tunnelresult in defense verdict.(Gregory Sutton v. E.G. Middleton Inc. and Simon Bettinger)
March 26, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The case arose following a motor vehicle accident occurring in the Monitor/Merrimac bridge tunnel in July of 2001. A number of rear-end collisions had occurred in the tunnel ahead of the plaintiff's...

Verdicts & Settlements March 26, 2007: Jury returns defense verdict in Erb's Palsy case.(Brief article)
March 26, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff On September 10, 1999, the plaintiff mother presented to the hospital for labor and delivery. During the delivery, the defendant obstetrician encountered a severe shoulder dystocia. In their Motions...

Virginia Lawyers in the News: March 26, 2007.(Magee, Foster, Goldstein and Sayers PC appoints Patrick T. Fennell)(Troutman, Sanders, Lockerman and Ashmore appoints Edward J. Epstein, Coburn R. Beck at their new branch)(Tyler, Bartl, Gorman and Ramsdell, PLC appoints Gregory H. Counts)
March 26, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Four attorneys with the law firm of Kaufman & Canoles have been named partner. Vonda W. Chappell is a member of the firm's tax section in the Chesapeake office. She focuses her practice on estate...

Virginia Lawyers Weekly law blog debuted.
March 26, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Virginia Lawyers Weekly is pleased to announce the debut of VLW, the law blog. The URL for the blog is: vlweekly.blogspot.com. VLW will feature breaking news and new cases you can use. And it...

Richmond federal magistrate rules ex-elder facility director can sue for wrongful discharge.(McFarland v. Virginia Retirement Services of Chesterfield LLC )
March 26, 2007... Byline: Deborah Elkins An employee who claims she was fired for cooperating with a safety investigation at a Chesterfield assisted-living facility can sue for wrongful discharge, a Richmond federal magistrate judge says. In firing the...

Lawyers ignoring Virginia State Bar fee dispute program.
March 26, 2007... Byline: Alan Cooper Alternative dispute resolution, especially mediation, is booming, in the words of Falls Church lawyer Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan. But he says it is "totally underutilized" in an area where it would seem to be of the...

Virginia company may face punitives for not responding to threats.
March 26, 2007... Byline: Alan Cooper An employer faces a punitive damages claim for allegedly failing to respond to an employee's threats against a coworker whom he later shot and killed. Rockingham County Circuit Judge John J. McGrath Jr. rejected...

Insurance coverage disputes: Winning the case within the case.
March 26, 2007... Byline: Chris Gatewood A client says, "We think we might get sued on this one, so we're going to call our insurance agent to find out about coverage." This coverage question often becomes the case within the case -- the insurance coverage...

U.S. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: March 26, 2007.(The Daniels Co. v. Mitchell)(U.S. v. Moussaoui)(U.S. v. Seldon)
March 26, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Black Lung Benefits - Responsible Operator A coal mine operator at whose fabricating shop in Bluefield, W.Va. claimant worked performing maintenance and repair on coal tipples...

U.S. District Court VA Eastern Case Summaries: March 26, 2007.(McFarland v. Virginia Retirement Services of Chesterfield LLC)
March 26, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment At-Will - Bowman Claim - Assisted Living Home - Safety Report A former activities director at an assisted living facility states a Bowman claim for wrongful discharge in violation of...