Virginia Lawyers Weekly articles from October 2004

Virginia Lawyers Weekly archives from October 2004

Virginia Lawyers In The News: October 4, 2004.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Susan C. Armstrong, a partner in the Richmond office of Troutman Sanders LLP, was named president-elect of the National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel at the group's August meeting in Colorado...

Virginia judge awards child custody to mom, ex-lesbian partner to appeal.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Brent Baldwin A baby girl in Virginia named Isabella has suddenly found herself at the center of an emotional legal battle with potential ramifications for the ongoing national debate over same-sex marriage rights. Last week, a...

Driver in Fairfax, Va. sentenced for deadly crash.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff A Maryland man was found guilty of reckless driving for slamming his pickup truck into a compact car, killing a 2-year-old boy and seriously injuring his pregnant mother. Matthew R. Cable, 22, of...

Virginia Tech NAACP office is the target of an alleged hate crime.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff FBI agents are talking with Virginia Tech police about an alleged hate crime that has left members of the black community on campus rattled and angry. Members of the Virginia Tech chapter of the...

Virginia Court Case Summaries: October 4, 2004.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Personal Jurisdiction - Venue Transfer - Noncompete Agreement Where plaintiff, a Virginia-based creator, producer and planner of promotional events for corporate clients, alleges...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: October 4, 2004.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Negligence Asbestos Exposure - Maritime Law - Workers' Comp Bar Where a decking subcontractor to a shipbuilder is a defendant in personal injury suits alleging injuries from asbestos exposure,...

U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules securities rules require firm to arbitrate fraud claim.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Deborah Elkins A securities brokerage firm has to arbitrate investors' fraud claims even though the firm claims it did not know about or authorize the alleged fraudulent transactions by its associate broker. In a case of first...

Fomer Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder runs for Richmond's mayor.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Lt. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has endorsed former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder's bid for Richmond mayor. Wilder, the nation's first elected black governor, is battling three other candidates, including...

Virginia Court Case Summaries: October 4, 2004.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Social Services - Child Abuse Finding A trial court decision finding that appellant's infant was abused or neglected is supported by sufficient evidence and is summarily...

New judge in Fairfax, Va. takes reins in sniper case.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff A new judge in the second prosecution of convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad heard old arguments Sept. 23 on whether prosecutors improperly denied Muhammad his right to a speedy trial. Meanwhile,...

U.S. Supreme Court frees Yaser Esam Hamdi and sends him to Saudi Arabia.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff A U.S. citizen held without charges since late 2001 as an enemy combatant was to be sent to Saudi Arabia last Thursday under an agreement to release him that was made public earlier in the week. ...

Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board reprimands lawyer David N. Motague.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff On Sept. 21, the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board publicly reprimanded Hampton lawyer David N. Montague for lack of diligence in a divorce matter and failure to tell the client about the suspension...

Virginia Court Case Summaries: October 4, 2004.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Voting Rights Act - Vote Dilution - Redistricting Plan Where plaintiffs cannot establish that black voters in the 4th congressional district in Virginia can form a majority in a...

Virginia court jury awards gym member $200K for injury resulting from gym's free weight machine.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Brent Baldwin A Fairfax County Circuit Court jury has awarded $200,000 to a man injured in 2001 while working out on an improperly anchored "free weight" machine. The bodybuilder's lawyer successfully fought a waiver of...

Virginia Court of Appeals rules mom's move not okay, dad gets custody of son.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Paul Fletcher The Virginia Court of Appeals last week issued the latest in a series of opinions on the propriety of a long-distance move of a child by a custodial parent. Here, as in most of the cases, the moving parent was the...

Virginia Court of Appeals rules ordering drinks that one cannot pay is stealing.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Listen up, law students. It's hornbook law, and you can take it to court, or to your bar exam: Not paying a bar tab is not, by itself, stealing. "But ordering drinks knowing that one cannot or...

Virginia court jury awards $1M to banking firm shareholder after force-out.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Brent Baldwin A Richmond jury has awarded just over a million dollars to a founding shareholder of an investment banking firm who alleged that, upon being forced out of the company, he was shortchanged on the value of his 25...

Advertising suit between Virginia State Bar and Allen firm is resolved.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Dara McLeod The Richmond-based law firm of Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen and the Virginia State Bar have agreed to a resolve a lawsuit alleging that the bar's position on lawyer advertising unconstitutionally restricts free speech....

Virginia Court Case Summaries: October 11, 2004.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Actual Innocence Writ - Police Document A defendant convicted of robbery in 1996 cannot challenge that conviction on a petition for a writ of actual innocence based on a police...

Verdicts & Settlements October 11, 2004: Va. jury awards 200K for gym accident.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff On 12/8/01, plaintiff was working out at a Gold's Gym performing squats on a Nautilus Smith Machine. The machine tipped up and moved across the floor, causing plaintiff to lose his balance, and rupture...

Commentary: ESOPs and estate planning for the business owner.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Vernon Saper Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) have been around for more than 30 years. However, not all professional advisors are familiar with the advantages ESOPs offer the business owner of a closely held corporation. ...

U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules real estate agent can sue for an implied contract.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Deborah Elkins A real estate agent who showed property and provided services to a prospective buyer can sue for a commission on the $3.8 million sale, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. The case arose in Virginia...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: October 11, 2004.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Consumer Protection Installment Contract - Arbitration - Merger Clause - Buyer's Order A car buyer does not have to arbitrate a dispute over her purchase because there is no arbitration clause...

Verdicts & Settlements October 11, 2004: Va. wrongful death suit settles in mediation for $295K.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Decedent was an 80-year-old widower with four adult children, none of whom was a dependent. He was a farmer and retired fencing company operator who was healthy and lived independently. There were no...

Fight over copying costs in workers' comp is brewing in Virginia.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Dara McLeod The Workers' Compensation Commission has held that non-litigation copies must be available to all parties in a workers' comp case at a "nominal" charge, and it has remanded a case where the charges assessed were...

Virginia Court Case Summaries: October 11, 2004.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Exonerated Defendant - Criminal Investigation - Unsealed Record The district court did not err in unsealing police records of the criminal investigation that resulted in the...

Virginia Court Case Summaries: October 11, 2004.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Removal - Diversity Jurisdiction Where a 9/11 business interruption insurance dispute was litigated extensively in state court for more than a year, then removed to federal...

Virginia Court Case Summaries: October 11, 2004.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Nonsuit - Wrongful Death - Dismissal Without Prejudice Where a personal representative in a wrongful death action filed in state court failed to file for entry of the nonsuit...

Virginia Circuit Court rules car buyer's claim is not subject to arbitration.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Deborah Elkins A car dealer cannot force a buyer to arbitrate a warranty claim based on the retail installment sales agreement by invoking an arbitration clause in the buyer's order a Rockingham County Circuit judge has ruled. ...

Verdicts & Settlements October 11, 2004: Breach of insurance settles for costs before trial in Va.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Consignment City LLC was sued in federal court on a two-count complaint, alleging federal unfair competition and federal trademark infringement. Consignment City gave notice of the lawsuit to its...

Verdicts & Settlements October 11, 2004: Car wreck aggravates preexisting condition, 200K awarded.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff, a 50-year-old man, was injured when the automobile he was operating was broadsided by defendant's automobile after the defendant ran a red light. Although the plaintiff did not immediately...

Verdicts & Settlements October 11, 2004: Virginia jury awards $1.1M in shareholder dispute.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The four defendant shareholders forced plaintiff out of the investment-banking firm he had co-founded 10 years earlier. Under the impasse buy-sell provision of the parties' shareholder agreement,...

Virginia State Bar Ethics Committee rules new employee may need to be screened to avoid conflict.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Dara McLeod A law firm is not necessarily required to withdraw from representing a client when the firm hires a secretary who previously worked at the firm that represents an adverse party in litigation, according to a new Legal...

Verdicts & Settlements October 18, 2004: Va. jury finds for defense in mouth reconstruction case.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff came to the defendant prosthodontist on 4/9/01 for a bridge to fill the space of tooth #19. Subsequent conversations led to restoring the back teeth on both upper and lower sides with crowns....

Canadian government appoints first-ever honorary consul in Richmond, Va.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Brent Baldwin In the interest of developing relationships and expanding trade between Canada and Virginia, the Canadian government has named attorney William J. Benos as the first-ever honorary consul in Richmond. "I am...

Virginia attorney John D. McGavin to become Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys president.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Brent Baldwin John D. McGavin will become president of the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys this week when the group holds its annual meeting at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond. McGavin, who practices in Fairfax, will...

Verdicts & Settlements October 18, 2004: Va. jury finds for defense in surgery battery claim.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff suffered an injury to his left ureter during a laparoscopic sigmoid colon removal on Aug. 17, 2001. The injury was diagnosed six days after surgery and a percutaneous nephrostomy tube was...

Verdicts & Settlements October 18, 2004: Va. jury finds for defense in smoke inhalation case.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Case arose out of a warehouse fire in Smyth County in August 1997. Defendant Royal Moldings, a manufacturer of plastic moldings for residential use, stored reground plastic and finished plastic moldings...

Virginia Court Case Summaries: October 18, 2004.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Equipment Dealership - Declaratory Judgment Where three retail dealers of large earth-moving motor graders sued Volvo, the graders' manufacturer, for termination of their dealer...

Virginia Court Case Summaries: October 18, 2004.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Admiralty Negligence - Seaworthiness - Ship Steward - Primary Duty Rule Where a ship steward claims damages from injuries to his foot that occurred when he was in the ship's refrigerator and a...

Virginia Court Case Summaries: October 18, 2004.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal First- Degree Murder - Short-Form Indictment - Malice A "short-form" indictment charging that defendant "did feloniously kill and murder" his girlfriend, "in violation of Virginia...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: October 18, 2004.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Occupational Safety - Enforcement Action - Delay Although the Virginia Commissioner of Labor and Industry delayed 34 months after respondent construction contractor contested...

Virginia Circuit Court judge rules nursing-home documents are protected by privilege.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Dara McLeod A Greene County Circuit judge has ruled that a defendant in a medical malpractice case properly refused to turn over certain documents requested by the plaintiff during discovery because the documents are protected...

Virginia Circuit Court judge rules amendment to venue statute is retroactive.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Deborah Elkins Although a p.i. suit was filed in plaintiff-friendly Norfolk before a July 2004 statutory change that tightened venue requirements, the new statute can be applied retroactively to allow the defendant to transfer the...

Survey: Pay remains steady and hiring is up slightly in Virginia law firms.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Brent Baldwin The results from the Virginia Lawyers Weekly 17 Annual New Associates' Salary Survey are in, and they present a picture of a steady holding pattern marked by slight growth. Overall, there is cautious optimism in...

Virginia Supreme Court asks State Bar to revisit proposed rule.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Dara McLeod In an unusual procedural move, the Supreme Court of Virginia has instructed the Virginia State Bar to take another look at a proposed rule change on attorney conflicts of interest, and to seek further input and comments...

American Bar Association President Robert J. Grey Jr. convenes at ABA meeting.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Brent Baldwin LEXINGTON--American Bar Assoc-iation President Robert J. Grey Jr. convened a national symposium on the jury system at the Washington & Lee University School of Law on Oct. 15. Grey, who practices in Richmond,...

Virginia court judge rules assistants for no-show coach can sue on contracts.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Paul Fletcher Almost two years ago, leaders at Norfolk State University were plenty steamed when a high-profile college football coach whom they had recruited changed his mind and decided not to come work for the school. Among...

Virginia State Bar wants to offer free Web-based legal research.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Dara McLeod The Virginia State Bar is exploring plans to offer Virginia's lawyers free access to an online legal research database through its Web site, a service already offered in more than 20 other states -- but not everyone is...

Virginia Court Case Summaries: October 25, 2004.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Tort Sovereign Immunity - Suits in Admiralty Act - Jet- Ski Accident Where three young women sued the federal government under the Suits in Admiralty Act, 46 U.S.C. App. Sect. 741 et seq., for...

Virginia Court Case Summaries: October 25, 2004.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Constitutional - Wine Regulatory Scheme - Motion To Stay In this challenge by wine consumers and wine-related business entities to Virginia's alcohol regulatory scheme, the...

Virginia Court Case Summaries: October 25, 2004.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Jurisdiction - Removal - Remand - Dropped Federal Claim Although plaintiff, a doctor suing over termination of his hospital employment, has dropped his federal RICO claim from a...

Virginia Court of Appeals Case Summaries: October 25, 2004.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Child Sexual Abuse - Police Interrogation A defendant's voluntary statements to police about his sexual contacts with two young boys need not be suppressed because defendant was not...

Lawyers In The News: October 25, 2004.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Three recent law graduates have joined the Roanoke firm of Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore LLP: Ryan C. Berry will concentrate in the practice area of commercial litigation. He received his law degree...

Virginia General Assembly has judicial seats to fill.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Deborah Elkins The Virginia General Assembly is facing only three announced judicial vacancies for the next legislative session, including one appellate seat, a mid-fall head count shows. The appellate vacancy arises from Judge...

Virginia State Bar seeks further input on conflict of interest rule.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The Virginia State Bar Council approved at its June meeting an amendment to Rule 1.7, governing lawyer conflicts of interest. The proposed change replaces the present rule in its entirety. The proposed...