Virginia Lawyers Weekly articles from October 2003

Virginia Lawyers Weekly archives from October 2003

Virginia Sales Tax On Lawyers Still On The Table, Official Says.
October 6, 2003... Byline: John D. Tuerck Shrugging off reports that a proposed overhaul of the state's tax code -- including a 4 percent sales tax on legal services -- is dead in the water, but a key official insisted the overhaul is still very much...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: October 6, 2003.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights First Amendment - Community Center Use - Home- School Clubs Although plaintiffs' proposed use of public community centers for activities clubs for home-schooled children is a form...

U.S. District Court For Western Virginia Case Summaries: October 6, 2003.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Case Consolidation - Multiple Murders A woman charged with perjury for her testimony corroborating her boyfriend's alibi in his earlier capital murder trial has her case consolidated...

Virginia Court Of Appeals: Custody Case Is Sent Back For More Detail.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Deborah Elkins A divorce court's custody award to a mother must be overturned because the trial judge did not adequately state the basis for his decision, the Virginia Court of Appeals has ruled. Domestic relations...

Firm Can Keep Part Of Fee If Lawyer Leaves, Rules Supreme Court Of Virginia.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Dawn Chase Where a lawyer leaves a firm and carries contingency-fee cases with her, it is not unethical for the old firm to receive a portion of the fee from the cases, under a new rule adopted by the Supreme Court of Virginia. ...

Virginia Court of Appeals Case Summaries: October 6, 2003.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Involuntary Manslaughter - Assault - Exit Ramp Where defendant physically assaulted the victim and left him curled up in the fetal position on an unlit exit ramp of I-95, where a car...

Verdicts & Settlements October 6, 2003: Va. jury awards $20K in auto accident suit.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff was rear-ended by the defendant as he waited to make a left turn. Liability was clear, but there was very little visible damage to the plaintiff's truck. Three days after the...

Man's Estate Can Sue 911 Dispatcher, Rules Staunton Circuit Judge.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Paul Fletcher The estate of a hit-and-run victim can bring a negligence claim against a 911 dispatcher who allegedly did not send emergency help after the accident had been reported, a Staunton Circuit judge has ruled in a case of...

'Check-Off' For Legal Aid Proposed For Virginia State Bar Invoices.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Dawn Chase Virginia's statewide legal aid organization, Legal Services Corporation of Virginia, wants to give lawyers an official way to make a voluntary contribution to legal aid. LSCV has proposed that a contribution line be...

Portsmouth Jury Awards $7.2M In Erb's Palsy Case.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Matthew Philips A Portsmouth circuit court jury has awarded a mother and her nine-year-old daughter $7.2 million for the permanent injuries the daughter suffered as a result of the inappropriate use of a vacuum extraction method...

Verdicts & Settlements October 6, 2003: Towing Firm's Garage Policy Doesn't Cover Car Accident.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff On Jan. 4, 2000, a vehicle being operated by the defendant, Ms. Bartee-Monroe, was involved in a collision in Buckingham County with a vehicle operated by the defendant driver, Mr. Jordan. As a result,...

Verdicts and Settlements October 6, 2003: Va. Jury Awards $7M For Erb's Palsy Case.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Matthew Philips A Portsmouth circuit court jury has awarded a mother and her nine-year-old daughter $7.2 million for the permanent injuries the daughter suffered as a result of the inappropriate use of a vacuum extraction method...

Verdicts and Settlements October 6, 2003: Auto Accident Nets Record Verdict In Virginia.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Matthew Philips A Harrisonburg attorney has secured what is believed to be the largest verdict for an automobile accident in the history of Rockingham County. Late last month, a jury awarded the client of William W. Helsley a...

Virginia Association Of Defense Attorneys Moves Into High Gear Next Week.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys will put it into high gear next week when the group holds its annual meeting in Roanoke. The meeting, entitled "Ladies & Gentlemen of the VADA, Start...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: October 6, 2003.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Negligence Emergency Dispatcher - Public Duty Doctrine An employee of the City of Staunton's emergency response department can be sued for negligence by the estate of a man who died after an...

Verdicts & Settlements October 6, 2003: Va. jury awards $15K in auto accident suit.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff was travelling along a four-lane highway when the defendant attempted to make a U-turn directly in the path of the plaintiff. The plaintiff went to the emergency room on the date of...

Richmond Law Firm Is Receiver In Complex Fraud Case.
October 13, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff A Richmond-based law firm, aided by a local accounting firm, has taken on the complicated job of collecting and distributing money to more than 70 investors victimized by a Charlottesville-based Ponzi...

Credit-Based Defamation Lawsuit Is Thrown Out By Hampton Circuit Judge.
October 13, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff A Hampton circuit judge has granted summary judgment in a defamation case brought by the estate of a delinquent credit-card holder whose credit rating plunged after he failed to pay the balance on his...

Med-Mal Plaintiff Wins $350,000 In Punitives.
October 13, 2003... Byline: John D. Tuerck An eye surgeon has been ordered to pay $1 million, including $350,000 in punitive damages, to a woman who was left nearly blind after he performed laser surgery on the wrong eye. It is apparently the first time...

Med-Mal Plaintiff In Virginia Wins $350,000 In Punitives.
October 13, 2003... Byline: John D. Tuerck An eye surgeon has been ordered to pay $1 million, including $350,000 in punitive damages, to a woman who was left nearly blind after he performed laser surgery on the wrong eye. It is apparently the first time...

Polly Wants to Confer With Counsel: Alexandria Man Wants To Depose A Parrot.
October 13, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff In Alexandria, a man claims a woman wrongly adopted his lost parrot - and he can prove it if given a chance to question the bird in court. That's right. The guy wants to depose a parrot. ...

Plaintiff Must Get Permission To File Any Further Suits, Rules Richmond Circuit Judge.
October 13, 2003... Byline: Dawn Chase A former attorney who filed multiple lawsuits pro se on behalf of himself and his mother's estate has been told by a Richmond Circuit judge to ask the court's permission before he files any more suits in the case. ...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: October 13, 2003.
October 13, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Denial Of Discharge - Attorney's Fees - Ch. 7 Where the bankruptcy court denied debtors a discharge and found that they breached a real estate sales contract on Pennsylvania...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: October 13, 2003.
October 13, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Interstate Stalking - Murder - Crime Witness A defendant who planned with his brother a scheme to use a phony job ad to lure the victim, a witness who had identified defendant as the...

Verdicts & Settlements October 13, 2003: Credit-Defamation Defendant Wins Summary Judgment.
October 13, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Herbert E. Marshall sued Capital One Bank in Hampton Circuit Court, claiming that Capital One's debt collection and credit reporting practices were improper. In his motion for judgment, Marshall alleged...

U.S. District Court VA Western Case Summaries: October 13, 2003.
October 13, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Deeds Of Trust - Partial Avoidance - Ch. 11 - Good Faith Where debtor, whose husband earlier had declared bankruptcy after the failure of his coal business, and her husband granted...

Hail to the Redskins.
October 13, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff A federal judge in Washington earlier this month overturned a ruling revoking the Washington Redskins trademark, finding there was insufficient evidence to conclude that the name is disparaging to...

Virginia Court of Appeals Case Summaries: October 13, 2003.
October 13, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Embezzlement - Intent To Defraud - Gas Station Lease Where the trial judge found that defendant, a mechanic who had not previously operated a gas station, engaged in poor business...

Roanoke Lawyer Michael F. Urbanski Tapped For Judgeship.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Dawn Chase Roanoke lawyer Michael F. Urbanski has been selected by the federal judges in the Western District to be the new U.S. magistrate judge for the district. After a background investigation, Urbanski will succeed Glen...

Virginia Trial Lawyers Association's First Small-Firm Conference A Big Success.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Dawn Chase John C. Shea, a former president of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, had come here to talk about law-firm marketing, but as he looked out over the crowd he realized the VTLA had been pretty successful in its own...

Receiver Hopes To Pay All ANLIR Claims In Full.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Dawn Chase Virginia's insurance commissioner is forecasting that the assets of Reciprocal of America are adequate to pay the claims of the company's hospital policyholders, and there may be money left over to pay its creditors,...

Virginia Chief Justice Leroy R. Hassell: GDC Judges Need 40-Hour Week.
October 20, 2003... Byline: John D. Tuerck Virginia Chief Justice Leroy R. Hassell Sr. says there are a few general district judges who are not working hard enough. As a result, he has proposed establishing a 40-hour workweek for all the state's general...

Bad Move of the Week: Tennessee Man Charged with Filing False Police Report.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff A 30-year-old Tennessee man is in a world of hurt after a big night on the town Oct. 6. He now stands charged with filing a false police report after claiming he was robbed to cover for the $200 he...

Verdicts & Settlements October 20, 2003: Man Awarded Damages For Severed Tendon.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff This injury occurred at the Econo Lodge in Willoughby Spit in Norfolk. The plaintiff was an invitee of the hotel. The night before the injury, the plaintiff ordered a pizza and placed the pizza...

Virginia Court of Appeals Case Summaries: October 20, 2003.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Failure To Appear - Aiding & Abetting Although a panel of this court earlier reversed defendant's conviction, on rehearing en banc, the Court of Appeals affirms by an evenly divided...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: October 20, 2003.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Contract - Just Cause - Nurse Practitioner Even though a nurse practitioner's contract with an orthopedic practice identifies certain misconduct that could constitute "just cause"...

Seasonal Item: Bring Your Own Pumpkin.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Remember our "Hearsay" items a few years ago on potato guns? This rachets it up a whole 'nother level. This comes from Culpeper. If you ever need to know how to launch a pumpkin 4,000 feet, just...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: October 20, 2003.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Child Neglect Investigation - Qualified Immunity A child protective service worker has qualified immunity from a civil rights suit filed by a mother whose children, one of whom was...

U.S. District Court VA Eastern Case Summaries: October 20, 2003.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Revocation Of Discharge - Fraud - Ch. 7 A bankruptcy court did not err in revoking debtor's chapter 7 discharge, based on evidence of fraud in debtor's earlier reporting of her...

Verdicts & Settlements October 20, 2003: Elderly Woman Suffers Bladder Injuries.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The case involved a 70-year-old widow who underwent elective shoulder surgery for her rotator cuff. After the procedure, the nursing staff failed to monitor her fluid intake/urinary output and to...

Benefits Are Restored To Victim Of Fatigue.
October 20, 2003... Byline: John D. Tuerck Aided by a doctor's videotaped testimony and extensive documentary evidence, a woman suffering chronic-fatigue syndrome convinced her company's insurance carrier to restore long-term benefits it previously had...

Norfolk's Kelley Is Tapped For Federal Judgeship In Virginia's Eastern District.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Paul Fletcher President Bush has nominated Norfolk lawyer Walter D. Kelley Jr. for a pending federal judgeship in Virginia's Eastern District. U.S. District Judge Henry Coke Morgan announced earlier this year that he would take...

Virginia Lawyers Weekly Salary Survey Says: Hiring Down, Pay Rates Flat.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Matthew Philips The results from the Virginia Lawyers Weekly 16th Annual New Associates' Salary Survey are in, and they present a good news/bad news scenario. The bad news is that the slowdown in the national economy finally...

Virginia State Bar Transfers $600K From Bar's Reserve.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Dawn Chase The Virginia State Bar Council has approved the transfer of $500,000 to the Clients' Protection Fund and a contribution of $100,000 to Lawyers Helping Lawyers, as a mechanism for reducing its large reserve. The...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: October 27, 2003.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Dischargeability Of Debt - Student Loans - Ch. 7 In this chapter 7 bankruptcy case, the district court erred in holding that nondischarge of a chiropractor's $63,000 in educational...

American Inns Of Court Adds Chapter In Roanoke.
October 27, 2003... Byline: John D. Tuerck With the Ted Dalton American Inn of Court up and running, a touch of England has come to the Star City of the South. Modeled after the English system, the Roanoke chapter of the American Inns of Court provides...

Judges' Opinions Fair Game For Re-Election Review.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Deborah Elkins When was the last time you heard a Republican legislator cite the American Bar Association as an authority on anything having to do with judicial selection? Well, Richmond lawyers heard it right here in River...

U.S. District Court For Eastern Virginia Case Summaries: October 27, 2003.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Defense Contractor - Security Clearance Although plaintiff software engineer obtained a security clearance during his military service after enlistment in the Air Force in 1973,...

Verdicts & Settlements October 27, 2003: Henrico Jury Rules For Defense In Medical Malpractice Suit.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The patient sought root canal therapy for a canine abscess on Feb. 14, 2000. The endodontist recommended that she take Advil (ibuprofen) for pain and inflammation relief. While he knew that the patient...

Legal Ethics.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Dawn Chase Nobody wants to think about it, but lawyers need to use defensive strategies to protect themselves from the possibility a client could turn on them. John J. Brandt, a trial lawyer for over 40 years and the Virginia...

A Quick Primer On Websites For Attorneys.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Dawn Chase When a plaintiffs' lawyer recently wanted to gather evidence of how prevalent asbestos used to be, he turned to an unusual source: eBay, the online auction giant. By going to www.ebay.com, he was able to purchase...

Virginia Attorney Maya M. Eckstein Is Honored For Community Service Work.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Matthew Philips Richmond attorney Maya M. Eckstein is the 2003 recipient of the Sandra Day O'Connor Award for Professional Service. Presented annually by the American Inns of Court, the national award recognizes an Inns of...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: October 27, 2003.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Legal Malpractice - Divorce - Marital Estate A plaintiff has sufficiently pled a legal malpractice claim against her former divorce attorney by alleging that an attorney-client...

Commentary: Practice Management.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Stephen Seckler If you follow baseball, you know that a "closer" is the pitcher who comes into the game in the ninth inning and secures the win. Having a good closer is not an essential element in having a winning record. But it...

Benefits Are Restored To Victim Of Fatigue.
October 27, 2003... Byline: John D. Tuerck Aided by a doctor's videotaped testimony and extensive documentary evidence, a woman suffering chronic-fatigue syndrome convinced her company's insurance carrier to restore long-term benefits it previously had...

Virginia Court of Appeals Case Summaries: October 27, 2003.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Alcohol Sales - Underage Consumer A circuit court did not err in upholding an order of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Board finding that appellant store unlawfully sold...

Verdicts & Settlements October 27, 2003: Man Suffers Back Pain In Rear-End Accident.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The case arose out of a rear-end accident on Route 151 in Nelson County. The plaintiff and his companion were slowing down to turn into a strawberry farm when they were struck from behind by the...