Virginia Lawyers Weekly articles from November 2004

Virginia Lawyers Weekly archives from November 2004

Commentary: It's a dog's life.
November 1, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff This column is ever vigilant in reporting legal trends, and judging from recent headlines, there's a whole new practice area just waiting to be mined: Dog Law. Dog custody has become big: Down...

Virginia court voids Norwegian man's will.
November 1, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff A Norwegian man's threat to haunt anyone who tampered with his will didn't hold up in - or send a chill through - a court. The man, who wasn't identified, died in mid-2003 and left a will dividing...

Lawyers must mull degrees of 'fault' in divorces.
November 1, 2004... Byline: Deborah Elkins Domestic relations lawyers know it is hard for divorcing couples to put aside the blame game, despite the availability of "no fault" divorces. Lawyers have to measure marital fault on a regular basis, whether...

Virginia Court jury rules nurse anesthetist must pay $150K for flash-fire in operating room.
November 1, 2004... Byline: Paul Fletcher A woman who went in for surgery to excise a cyst but suffered second-degree burns when a a flash-fire started in the operating room has recovered $150,000 from a nurse anesthetist. The Richmond jury had a choice...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: November 1, 2004.
November 1, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Discovery Order - Nonsuit Although a deadline has passed for plaintiff to comply with an order compelling compliance with discovery and to pay defendant attorney's fees, the...

Verdicts & Settlements November 1, 2004: Virginia court awards 25K in auto negligence case.
November 1, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff, then a 22-year-old nursing student, with pre-existing scoliosis diagnosed as a juvenile, was rear-ended by the defendant on Route 6 in Goochland County as she was stopped to make a...

Verdicts & Settlements November 1, 2004: Newport News jury finds for defense in wrongful death suit.
November 1, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The deceased was a 33-year-old woman admitted to the emergency room on Dec. 30, 1999, complaining of various symptoms including chest pain and shortness of breath. She was diagnosed (incorrectly,...

Missouri man posts online bid for presidential vote.
November 1, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff If you're gonna sin, sin boldly, someone once said. Out in Missouri, there's a guy who's figuring maybe he sold his future a little cheap. Authorities have charged Timothy Hubbard, 24, with...

Georgia woman burglarizes and lives in suburban Atlanta home while owner is on vacation.
November 1, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Those of you who are Jimmy Buffett fans will recall Jimmy's song, "Gypsies in the Palace." In the tune, Jimmy recalls a practice he says dates back to the Middle Ages (this is Jimmy Buffett doing...

Computer technology can create malpractice perils.
November 1, 2004... Byline: Dara McLeod Technology has become a necessity in the practice of law these days, and it not only enables lawyers to practice with greater efficiency -- it also can enable lawyers to commit ethical violations and malpractice at...

Verdicts & Settlements November 1, 2004: Fibromyalgia by trauma auto accident case settles for $300K.
November 1, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff was a 29-year-old management consultant who was injured in a Jan. 1, 2001 accident on Route 7 in Tysons Corner. She was a front seat passenger in a car driven by her fiance. She claimed that...

Verdicts & Settlements November 1, 2004: Va. jury awards $150K for OR fire.
November 1, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff's surgery was posted as a monitored anesthesia case which included the need to administer oxygen to the plaintiff when she was anesthetized. The certified registered nurse anesthetist...

Virginia attorney Geoffrey F. Birkhead dies at 58.
November 1, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Norfolk attorney Geoffrey F. Birkhead, a partner at the firm of Vandeventer Black LLP, died Sept. 15. He was 58. A native of Baltimore, he grew up in Philadelphia and Huntington, W.Va. He graduated...

Virginia Court Case Summaries: November 1, 2004.
November 1, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Resentencing - Marijuana - CCE A defendant sentenced for marijuana conspiracy and later sentenced on a separate but related continuing criminal enterprise charge after he completed...

Virginia Court Case Summaries: November 1, 2004.
November 1, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Discrimination Age - ADEA - School Secretary A 53-year-old secretary to a school superintendent who worked for the school board for 35 years cannot pursue her claim of age...

Virginia Court Case Summaries: November 1, 2004.
November 1, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Third Felony Charge - Malicious Wounding - Elements Of Offense Because a defendant's two prior felony convictions were not elements of the charge under his current indictment for...

Lawyers In The News: November 1, 2004.
November 1, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Daniel P. Frankl, Thomas H. Miller and Dale W. Webb have formed a new law firm, Frankl Miller & Webb LLP. The firm will open on Nov. 1, with offices located at 1711 Grandin Road in Roanoke. The...

Virginia State Bar Ethics Committee approves garnishment of funds held by another lawyer.
November 1, 2004... Byline: Dara McLeod It is not unethical for an attorney who has obtained a judgment against a former client for unpaid legal fees to garnish funds held as advanced legal fees by that client's new attorney, according to a new Legal Ethics...

Virginia judges air pet peeves at VTLA small firm conference.
November 1, 2004... Byline: Dara McLeod In a rare opportunity to give young attorneys some off-the-record advice, three judges from three different court levels sounded off on their courtroom pet peeves during the 2004 Solo and Small Firm Conference sponsored...

Charlottesville Circuit Court clerk becomes president of Virginia Court Clerks Association.
November 1, 2004... Byline: Brent Baldwin If you're looking for court records in Charlottesville, Paul C. Garrett is your man and has been for the last 23 years. Since 1981, Garrett has served as clerk for the Charlottesville Circuit Court. Since...

Virginia Lt. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine calls for more lawyers in the political system.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Dara McLeod Lt. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine sounded the call for more lawyers to enter politics and public service at last month's Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys annual meeting in Richmond. That message has been echoed by...

Virginia judge Henry J. Schrieberg dies at 90.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Retired Richmond General District Judge Henry J. Schrieberg died on Oct. 28 from injuries he received in a September auto accident. He was 90. The judge survived a spectacular two-car crash after...

Virginia Beach Circuit judge refuses Hurricane Isabel defenses.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Brent Baldwin A 17-year-old girl hurt in a car wreck during Hurricane Isabel last year did not assume the risk of injury and was not contributorily negligent, a Virginia Beach Circuit judge has ruled in apparently the first auto...

Virginia attorney McDonald Wellford Jr. dies at 62.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Richmond attorney McDonald Wellford Jr., who served as deputy commissioner of accounts for the Richmond Circuit Court, died suddenly Nov. 1. He was 62. A graduate of East Tennessee State...

Verdicts & Settlements November 8, 2004:Virginia jury awards $181,494 in hurricane-related accident.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff This is the first auto case known to plaintiff's counsel arising directly out of the effects of Hurricane Isabel in the Tidewater area last year. The plaintiff was a 17-year-old passenger in the...

Verdicts & Settlements November 8, 2004: Va. jury awards defendants in alleged contract breach.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiffs filed suit against Erie Insurance Group, the company that issued their condominium owners policy, alleging that the insurer had breached the insurance contract by denying coverage for...

Verdicts & Settlements November 8, 2004: Virginia wrongful death in med-mal case settles for $850K.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff's decedent, 59, presented to the ER complaining of body aches and fever of 24 hours duration, unresponsive to Ibuprofen. Upon presentation his temperature was 103.6, with elevated blood...

Virginia Court Case Summaries: November 8, 2004.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Jurisdiction - Patent Litigation - Right To Proceeds In this consolidation of two cases involving a dispute over litigation proceeds that plaintiff, a Virginia technology...

Virginia Court Case Summaries: November 8, 2004.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Sentencing Enhancement - Firearms - Blakely A defendant sentenced to 37 months in prison on drug charges and for use of a firearm in the commission of a crime, which resulted in a...

Virginia Court Case Summaries: November 8, 2004.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Check Forgery - Defense Witness - Fifth Amendment Waiver In this fraudulent check-cashing case, the trial court did not err in ruling that an alleged participant in the scheme did not...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: November 8, 2004.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Nolle Prosequi - Cooperation Agreement - Bad Faith Where the prosecution sought to noll pross drug charges against defendant, but she objected to the motion on the ground that the...

Virginia Chief Justice Leroy R. Hassell Sr. gives tips for choosing judges.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Deborah Elkins Lawyers don't have to become legislators in order to become players in a key part of Virginia's judicial system: the election of judges. In fact, it's vital for practicing lawyers to get involved in the process,...

Virginia court rules JIRC must hand over advisory opinion.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Deborah Elkins The Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission must give Norfolk lawyer Allan D. Zaleski the advisory opinion it gave a Norfolk circuit judge in a consultation over judicial ethics, a Richmond Circuit judge has ruled. ...

'Right to hunt' to get its first legal test nationally in Virginia.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Brent Baldwin A commercial estate in Nelson County that wants to train hunters by establishing a sport shooting range is about to embark on the first legal test of a state constitutional amendment that protects Virginians' right...

Jurassic Park? Historians want to bring back extinct Carolina parakeet.
November 15, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff DNA testing has tripped up many criminal defendants, and more recently it has been used to free defendants who claimed all along they were innocent. Here's an item from the Palmetto State that...

Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys announces highest honors.
November 15, 2004... Byline: Paul Fletcher Richmond lawyer Terrence L. Graves entered the leadership of the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys at the group's meeting in Richmond late last month. Graves was elected secretary; as in many bar groups, an...

Virginia State Bar panel backs changes in indigent defense.
November 15, 2004... Byline: Dara McLeod A recent report of the Virginia State Bar Indigent Defense Task Force recommends that the mandatory fee cap for appointed defense counsel be abolished, the rules of discovery in criminal cases be broadened, and that...

Virginia Supreme Court rules defendant doctor can't be questioned as an expert.
November 15, 2004... Byline: Deborah Elkins A med-mal plaintiff could not use a defendant surgeon's testimony on how to perform gastric bypass surgery as a springboard to question the doctor on the standard of care for this popular surgical treatment for obese...

Virginia Court Case Summaries: November 15, 2004.
November 15, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative COPN - Appeal - Standing The Health Systems Agency of Northern Virginia lacks standing to appeal the state health commissioner's decision granting Northern Virginia Community...

Verdicts & Settlements November 15, 2004: Va. jury awards payment of ER bills in two-car accident.
November 15, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The lawsuit arose out of a two-vehicle accident in which the defendant struck the rear of plaintiff's vehicle. Liability was admitted at the outset of the trial; therefore, the only issue for the...

Virginia physicians and surgeons to march in their 'white coats' in the tort reform march.
November 15, 2004... Byline: Brent Baldwin For the second year in a row, Virginia physicians and surgeons will don their white coats and march during the General Assembly session to seek tort reform and to protest another round of steep insurance hikes. ...

Veteran Virginia trial lawyer James W. Morris III to lead American College of Trial Lawyers.
November 15, 2004... Byline: Brent Baldwin Veteran trial lawyer James W. Morris III of Richmond has become president-elect of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a select nationwide organization of trial lawyers. "I joke with people that you are now...

Virginia Supreme Court Case Summaries: November 15, 2004.
November 15, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Involuntary Commitment A circuit court erred in holding that Inova Mount Vernon Hospital had the obligation to care for a patient who was involuntarily committed pursuant to Va....

Verdicts & Settlements November 15, 2004: Virginia jury finds for defense in gall bladder case.
November 15, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff presented to emergency room with acute cholecystitis. The following day, the defendant surgeon removed the gallbladder. The laparoscopic cholecystectomy was converted to an open surgery due to...

Virginia lawyers Harold V. Thornhill dies at 83.
November 15, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Harold V. Thornhill, a lawyer who spent his career working in insurance claims, died Nov. 6. He was 83. A native of Lynchburg, Mr. Thornhill was the valedictorian of the Lynchburg College Class of...

Virginia Court Case Summaries: November 15, 2004.
November 15, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Sentencing - Drug Quantity - Cocaine Base In sentencing a defendant for possession with intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine base, the district court erred in excluding from its...

Virginia Court Case Summaries: November 15, 2004.
November 15, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Discovery - SDT - Child Support A district judge denies a motion to quash a government-issued subpoena duces tecum in a criminal proceeding, directed to the district manager of...

Virginia Court Case Summaries: November 15, 2004.
November 15, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Rape - Victim's Uncle At defendant's trial for rape, the trial judge did not err in denying defendant's motion in limine seeking to prevent disclosure of the fact that 52-year-old...

Friends don't let friends drive drunk.
November 15, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The old saying is that friends don't let friends drive drunk. Usually hiding the car keys from the inebriated guy or gal will do the trick. Last month, in Indiana, though, it got more serious than...

Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys put on mock trial of a closed-head injury case.
November 15, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Closed-head injury cases can be tough all around - tough for the plaintiff who senses things aren't right, tough for the plaintiff's lawyer trying to document the deficits, and tough for the defense...

Verdicts & Settlements November 15, 2004: Virginia plaintiff injured by seatbelt settles for $80K.
November 15, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff was a passenger in a vehicle struck by an oncoming tractor-trailer. On the day of the accident, she complained of chest pain, was treated for seatbelt abrasions, and was given pain...

Virginia Appeals Court rules noncompete payment is pulled into marital pot.
November 29, 2004... Byline: Deborah Elkins Although a husband signed a noncompete agreement when he sold his business before his marriage, the $1 million he collected after the marriage is not his separate property, the Virginia Court of Appeals has ruled....

Verdicts & Settlements November 29, 2004: Record verdict award given for head injury in Williamsburg.
November 29, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff, a black man, sustained a barroom beating by a number of white men. All diagnostic imaging was negative, but the health care providers opined that his symptoms were consistent with a...

Verdicts & Settlements November 29, 2004: Closed head injury from assault nets $221K in Virginia.
November 29, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Erin Fischer was knocked across a porch and down a flight of concrete stairs by Evan Zimberg. The evidence showed that the parties had been in a romantic relationship and on the night in question went...

Virginia jury returns record award in racial assault case.
November 29, 2004... Byline: Brent Baldwin A Williamsburg jury has awarded $850,000--believed to be the record jury verdict for the circuit--to a plaintiff who received a head injury from a racially motivated assault in 1994. Newport News lawyer Avery T....

Virginia woman wins $500K for pain during eye surgery.
November 29, 2004... Byline: Dara McLeod A woman who underwent eye surgery has been awarded $500,000 by a Richmond jury for the pain she experienced during the procedure. The jury found opthalmologist Dr. Geoffrey G. Cooper and West End Anesthesia Group...

Verdicts & Settlements November 29, 2004: Fairfax jury awards $36,465 in legal malpractice case.
November 29, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Action for legal malpractice resulting from purchase of business. Plaintiff alleged that defendant attorney failed to obtain a lease assignment and to draft an enforceable covenant not to compete....

Verdicts & Settlements November 29, 2004: Va. wrongful death case settles before trial for $425K.
November 29, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff On July 31, 2002, while a passenger in defendant's vehicle, plaintiff's decedent was 16 years old and defendant was 17 years old. Prior to the accident, the defendant, David Weitz, and plaintiff's...

Verdicts & Settlements November 29, 2004: Va. jury awards almost $700K in cocaine-related auto crash.
November 29, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff was a passenger in a car that was rear-ended by a cement mixer. The driver of the cement mixer later died for reasons unrelated to the crash. After much resistance, the corporate defendant...

Virginia judge cancels coverage for not reporting possible claim.
November 29, 2004... Byline: Dara McLeod An Alexandria federal judge has rescinded a professional liability insurance contract where a law firm failed to report a case on its application in which a former client was wrongfully convicted of sexual abuse against...

Virginia Court Case Summaries: November 29, 2004.
November 29, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Removal - Complaint Amendments - Federal Defense Where plaintiff is suing the Greenbrier Hotel under West Virginia state law, alleging violations of that state's human rights and...

Virginia Court Case Summaries: November 29, 2004.
November 29, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Informed Decision - Compulsory Medical Exam A trial court erred in requiring a 51-year-old woman, who suffers from morbid obesity and depression, to undergo medical examination...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: November 29, 2004.
November 29, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Discovery - Interrogatory Answers A plaintiff's action against his former employer, a supermarket, alleging defamation is dismissed as a sanction under S.Ct. Rule 4:12 because...

Commentary: Managing the 'shoulds' of decision-making.
November 29, 2004... Byline: Nancy Byerly Jones Choices. The fabric of our personal and professional lives is heavily interwoven with the decisions we have made or not made. Likewise, most of our choices have a direct or indirect, negative or positive impact...

Commentary: Ten keys to owning the Q&A stage.
November 29, 2004... Byline: David J. Dempsey "Before I refuse to take your questions, I have an opening statement."-Ronald Reagan The grand jury has just indicted the CEO of your firm's largest client on numerous violations of securities regulations, and...

Commentary: The five golden rules of negotiation for lawyers.
November 29, 2004... Byline: Marty Latz Let's say you're sitting at your desk Monday morning, your telephone rings, and it's Jane, opposing counsel in one of your cases, calling to see if you might be interested in discussing the offer she e-mailed you last...

Commentary: Exercise, a perfect way for lawyers to beat stress.
November 29, 2004... Byline: Jeff Rutstein A high profile criminal trial or the demands of a business client can add much physical and emotional stress to your personal and professional life. One of the best ways to combat this is to make physical fitness a...

Commentary: Blogging: hot marketing trend costs little and delivers results.
November 29, 2004... Byline: Robert J. Ambrogi Search Google for "trademark lawyer," and the number-one hit is the Trademark Blog of New York lawyer Martin Schwimmer. Search for "appellate law," and the highest ranking page is How Appealing, the blog of...