Virginia Lawyers Weekly articles from October 2007

Virginia Lawyers Weekly archives from October 2007

Richmond cop's contact with one man seizes both.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Deborah Elkins When police saw two guys hanging out at a convenience store on a January day, their follow-up request to talk to one man led to suppression of drugs held by the other, in a new case from Richmond federal district...

Obituaries.(Obituary)
October 1, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Griffin T. Garnett, Jr. Griffin T. "Griff" Garnett, Jr., a retired Arlington attorney and a writer, died of heart failure June 15; he was 92. A native of Richmond, he graduated from the...

U.S. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: October 1, 2007.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Medicaid - Reasonable Promptness A district court erred in holding that a disabled claimant's application for Medicaid services was moot and the case is remanded to allow...

U.S. District Court VA Eastern Case Summaries: October 1, 2007.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Attorney's Fees - Fraudulent Claims Act After consideration of defendant foundation's revised motion for attorney's fees that reduces its request to account for work on "mixed...

U.S. District Court VA Western Case Summaries: October 1, 2007.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Inmate - Religious Medallion - Qualified Immunity Defendant prison officials who rejected plaintiff inmate's request to be allowed to wear a religious medallion - "Thor's Hammer"...

Virginia Court of Appeals Case Summaries: October 1, 2007.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Comp Limitations - Claim Abandonment A shipyard worker who was first injured in 1996 when he was struck by a forklift, and who initially pursued both a Virginia workers' comp claim...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: October 1, 2007.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Plea Agreement Rejection - Embezzlement - Restitution A circuit court declines to reconsider its rejection of a plea agreement submitted by a defendant who allegedly embezzled $277,914...

Verdicts & Settlements October 1, 2007: Legal malpractice alleged because suit not filed.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff, a school bus driver, was rear ended while transporting a handicapped child home from school. Plaintiff injured her back in the accident. Neither the child nor the person who ran into the...

Verdicts & Settlements October 1, 2007: Plaintiff alleges smoking sensitivity, retaliation.(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff claimed disability based on a sensitivity to smoking and discrimination and retaliation related to the sensitivity. Court granted summary judgment as to all claims on the basis that plaintiff...

Verdicts & Settlements October 1, 2007: Mental health disability benefits denied by insurer.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff Gagliano was granted long-term disability benefits by defendant Reliance due to plaintiff's mental health problems. After eight months, Reliance terminated benefits on the grounds that...

How to...choose the right accounting firm.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Bernadette Starzee Dolan Media Newswires If you need to change accountants, focus on the reasons why. According to Mark Meinberg, managing partner for a Long Island-based accounting firm, the reasons you're looking to change...

Commentary: Communications key to brownfields redevelopment success.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Gerald L. Kirkpatrick Brownfield redevelopment projects and sale agreement negotiations are becoming more complex and as that level of complexity expands, communications among the transaction support team has become critical. In...

Fairfax jury awards husband $540K in p.i. suit against wife.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Alan Cooper A husband filed claims of malicious prosecution, abuse of process, defamation and infliction of emotional distress against his wife while their divorce case was pending, and a Fairfax jury has awarded him $540,000 in...

Gould to become Va. State Bar's new executive director.(Karen A. Gould)
October 1, 2007... Byline: Alan Cooper Karen A. Gould, the immediate past president of the Virginia State Bar, will succeed Thomas A. Edmonds as executive director of the agency. "I look at this as an opportunity to do a job that I feel very passionate...

Verdicts & Settlements October 1, 2007: Punitives sought from drunken, reckless 18-year-old.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Defendant, age 18, unlawfully possessed and consumed Grey Goose Vodka at a Saturday night party with friends. Defendant then drove his father's Chevy Tahoe while impaired. Defendant's blood alcohol...

Verdicts & Settlements October 1, 2007: Wife kills pet, accuses husband of assault, drug use.(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff This was not a divorce case. Mr. Fadness sued his former wife for intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, malicious prosecution and abuse of process. He also alleged conspiracy to...

Verdicts & Settlements October 1, 2007: Protruding disk linked to rear-end collision.(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff had pain down her back and thigh after her car was rear-ended. She was treated for six weeks and released as asymptomatic. Seven months later she returned to her physician with the same...

Commercial leases.
October 8, 2007... Byline: W. Leighton Lord III Dolan Media Newswires A well-run Fortune 100 company has an internal legal policy that all contracts that could potentially cost the company over $100,000 are to be reviewed and approved by either in-house or...

Virginia Lawyers in the News: October 8, 2007.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Randy D. Singer has returned to the Norfolk office of Willcox & Savage as a partner. Singer was previously president of FamilyNet television and the executive vice-president and general counsel of the...

Roanoke County Circuit judge rules against homeowners assn. in hot tub lawsuit.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Deborah Elkins A Roanoke couple who wanted a hot tub at their new home thought they had all their bases covered before they began building. When Michael and Amy Hovis bought one of the last lots in Parkway Place, a subdivision...

Hanover County Circuit Judge John Richard Alderman gets OK from Judicial Inquiry and Review Comm'n.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Alan Cooper Hanover County Circuit Judge John Richard Alderman has moved past his drunken driving conviction in November 2004 from the standpoint of the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission. The General Assembly will...

Virginia Court of Appeals says videotape can be used for context of statement.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff When a prosecutor uses a defendant's statement to a detective to challenge the credibility of the defendant's testimony, the defendant can demand that a videotape of the statement be played to put it...

U.S. Court Of Appeals Case Summaries: October 8, 2007.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Admiralty Jury Trial - Mandamus The 4th Circuit issues a writ of mandamus in this admiralty case, directing the district court to grant petitioner Lockheed Martin's request for a jury trial in...

U.S. District Court VA Eastern Case Summaries: October 8, 2007.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Contract - Real Estate Purchase A company who sued its former lawyer in state court, alleging that the lawyer breached his contract with the company in his defective representation...

U.S. District Court VA Western Case Summaries: October 8, 2007.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Certification - Bankruptcy Question Because an order of the bankruptcy court involves a question of law as to which there is no controlling decision from the 4th Circuit or the...

Virginia Court Of Appeals Case Summaries: October 8, 2007.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Demeanor - Impeachment By Videotape A defendant's conviction of unlawful wounding under Va. Code Sect. 18.2-51 is reversed because the trial court refused to play for the jury a...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: October 8, 2007.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Medical Malpractice Partnerships - Nursing Home Ownership Two limited partnerships that own defendant nursing home must defend against a wrongful death suit even though the partnerships...

Verdicts & Settlements October 8, 2007: Complaint of fraudulent plan has no factual basis.(Brief article)
October 8, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiffs alleged that defendant car dealer had a "practice or plan" of buying wrecked vehicles at a discount and then failing to disclose the damage when it sold them. They acknowledged during...

Verdicts & Settlements October 8, 2007: Shoulder injury from rear-ender requires surgery.(Brief article)
October 8, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff was struck in the rear by a commercial vehicle while she was stopped at a light, and suffered damage to her neck and shoulder. The shoulder injury required surgery. Plaintiff will have...

Verdicts & Settlements October 8, 2007: Prison inmate sues guard, jail for forcible sodomy.(Brief article)
October 8, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff was a female inmate at the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail. She contended that she was sodomized by a correctional officer. The officer was found guilty in a criminal case of forcible...

U.S. District Court VA Eastern Case Summaries: October 15, 2007.(Virginia)
October 15, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Fair Housing Act - Apartment Residents - Racial Harassment Residents of a Virginia Beach apartment complex who filed complaints with the Office of Fair Housing and Equal...

U.S. District Court VA Western Case Summaries: October 15, 2007.(Virginia)
October 15, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Drug Possession - USSG Amendment - Sentence Reduction A defendant convicted of marijuana possession in 1991 is eligible for a sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. Sect. 3582(c)(2) to a...

Virginia Court Of Appeals Case Summaries: October 15, 2007.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Hospital Construction - COPN In this litigation over the decision of the State Health Commissioner to award a certificate of public need to Northern Virginia Community Hospital...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: October 15, 2007.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Settlement & Release - Oral Agreement An auto-accident plaintiff who was awaiting a loss of wage form after her initial conversation with an insurance adjuster, who thought her...

Verdicts & Settlements October 15, 2007: Plaintiff alleges attorney failed to represent her properly.(Brief article)
October 15, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff A client filed a legal malpractice case against her attorney after he withdrew his representation of her because of her failure to cooperate in the case. She alleged that the attorney failed to...

Verdicts & Settlements October 15, 2007: Case of back strain contested in rear-ender.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff This case involved a rear-end collision with marginal damage to the plaintiff's vehicle. Injuries were diagnosed as sprains and strains of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine. Plaintiff had a...

Verdicts & Settlements October 15, 2007: Hyundai SUV rollover results in quadriplegia, brain injury.(sports utility vehicles)
October 15, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff, a 35-year-old, married mother of two children, was driving on a two-lane road in Fluvanna County in ice and snow in December 2003 when she lost control of her vehicle, struck an...

Verdicts & Settlements October 15, 2007: Vehicle strikes block wall, man on other side is crushed.(Brief article)
October 15, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff After being companions for more then a decade, decedent and his wife had just married and were preparing to leave town on a honeymoon. While decedent was in a customer waiting area at a place of...

MySpace is a well-stocked arsenal for trial lawyers.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Edward P. Schwartz Dolan Media Newswires While your 14-year-old daughter might have known about MySpace and Facebook like forever, trial lawyers have only recently begun to realize the amount and variety of ammunition that may be...

Wiki world: Taking the labor out of collaboration.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Lee S. Rosen Dolan Media Newswires Prepare yourself: The wiki has arrived. A wiki, simply put, is a Web site that allows multiple people to contribute, edit and collaborate on it. This short, odd little word (it's pronounced...

Help for your practice is as close as the Web.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Donna M. Fisher Dolan Media Newswires Success in the legal profession, as in any other profession, depends on having current, relevant and accurate information. But not every bit of information you need will be found in your law...

Charlottesville circuit judge says household member can bring claim for asbestos.(Charlottesville Circuit Court Judge Edward L. Hogshire)
October 15, 2007... Byline: Deborah Elkins A member of the household of an employee exposed to asbestos can sue for injuries from an employer's alleged failure to warn of the danger of exposure. A Charlottesville circuit judge has overruled a demurrer in...

S. Bernard Goodwyn tapped for Supreme Court of Virginia.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Alan Cooper As a successful litigator with a pro-minent Norfolk law firm, S. Bernard Goodwyn had to be talked to into becoming a substitute general district court judge. Once he started sitting, however, he knew he wanted to be...

Fairfax Circuit judge considers modular home a 'moveable' object.(Fairfax Circuit Judge R. Terrence Ney)(Brief article)
October 15, 2007... Byline: Paul Fletcher When Linda and Richard Cash bought a modular home to be built on a lot in Fairfax County, they ran into so many problems that they had to file a lawsuit against the manufacturer. They'll be able to bring the same...

Roanoke Circuit judge says personal injury plaintiff can go back, cure faulty Ch. 7 petition.(Roanoke Circuit Judge Jonathan M. Apgar, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Petition)
October 15, 2007... Byline: Alan Cooper Angela Thompson Boscan failed to list her personal injury claim from an October 2004 automobile accident when she filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition four months later. That omission could have been fatal to her...

Virginia Court of Appeals rebuffs two separate cases on DUI.(driving under the influence)
October 15, 2007... Byline: Alan Cooper Two defendants in drunken driving cases tried to use recent tougher DUI statutes to their advantage, but the Virginia Court of Appeals would have none of it in cases decided last week. The first case, from Arlington...

Virginia Lawyers in the News: October 22, 2007.
October 22, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Michael R. Katchmark of the law firm of Willcox & Savage has been recognized as the 2007 Volunteer of the Year by the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, Chesapeake Division. Katchmark is currently the...

U.S. District judge says builder can't tap insurance for costs of mold remediation.(U.S. District Judge James C. Cacheris)
October 22, 2007... Byline: Paul Fletcher A Northern Virginia builder won't be able to recover all its costs for remediating mold damage at a townhouse development it built in Gaithersburg, Md. The townhome project, erected in 1999-2000, developed...

Tort Claim fund is not insurance, King William County judge finds.(Circuit Judge Thomas B. Hoover)
October 22, 2007... Byline: Alan Cooper The $100,000 available for personal injury under the Virginia Tort Claims Act is not insurance and cannot be considered as a credit against underinsured motorist coverage, a King William County judge has ruled in a case...

Study panel: Reorganize Virginia magistrates into 7 regions.
October 22, 2007... Byline: Alan Cooper A study group is recommending reorganization of the magistrate system from judicial districts to seven regions supervised by the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia. The reorganization...

U.S. District judge says company 'overreached' in trying to enforce secrecy pact.(District Judge James R. Spencer)
October 22, 2007... Byline: Alan Cooper Don't you feel dumb when you click on the wrong address in the "To:" field in your e-mail program and send a message to the wrong person? Brian Groskopf must feel not only dumb but beleaguered--and rightly so,...

Lawmakers, courts focus on preemption.
October 22, 2007... Byline: Kimberly Atkins Dolan Media Newswires WASHINGTON, DC—The issue of federal preemption of state claims is a hot-button topic in the nation's capitol. As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to take on the question in several...

U.S. Court Of Appeals Case Summaries: October 22, 2007.(United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit)
October 22, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Antitrust Antitrust Standing - Consumer & Competitor Rule - Tolling In these cross-appeals from interlocutory orders in an antitrust action against Microsoft by Novell Inc., the owner of...

U.S. District Court VA Eastern Case Summaries: October 22, 2007.(Virginia Eastern District)
October 22, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Joinder - Necessary Parties - Mortgage Refinancing In this action arising from a consolidation and refinancing mortgage loan transaction in December 2005 for an Arlington...

U.S. District Court VA Western Case Summaries: October 22, 2007.(Virginia Western District)
October 22, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Equitable Subrogation - Hospital Operation - Ch. 11 National Emergency Services, a creditor of debtor hospital, is not entitled to equitable subordination of the hospital's debt to...

Virginia Court Of Appeals Case Summaries: October 22, 2007.
October 22, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Domestic Relations Child Support Reduction - Change In Circumstances A father whose income increased by $300 per month since the trial court's last award of child support, and who failed to...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: October 22, 2007.
October 22, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Pollutant Discharge Permit - Subdivision Utility An Accomack County Circuit Court orders the State Water Control Board to issue a sewage discharge permit to plaintiff Captain's...

Verdicts & Settlements October 22, 2007: Neck injuries worsen months after collision.
October 22, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The defendant admitted liability because she ran a red light and the plaintiff's van T-boned her vehicle at about 35 mph in April 2005. The plaintiff was the owner-operator of an auto repair shop and...

Verdicts & Settlements October 22, 2007: Woman trips on cord to display at Wal-Mart.(Brief article)
October 22, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff went to Wal-Mart on Sept. 2, 2005, to pick up medicine to treat her Crohn's disease, which is incurable and causes inflammation of the intestines, among other problems. Steroids were...

Verdicts & Settlements October 22, 2007: Child's condition worsens while awaiting transportation.
October 22, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Five-year-old Mattie Nauman went to Page Memorial Hospital in respiratory distress. The defendant emergency room physician arranged for the child to be transported to the University of Virginia Health...

Large firms in Northern Virginia raise new-lawyer pay to $160K.
October 29, 2007... Byline: Sarah Rodriguez Starting salaries at large firms across the commonwealth have skyrocketed to record amounts in the past year, topping 2006 rates by as much as $35,000. Today's law degree could be worth as much as $160,000 to a...

Mandatory malpractice insurance still issue for Virginia State Bar.
October 29, 2007... Byline: Alan Cooper Mandatory legal malpractice insurance is still an issue for the Virginia State Bar. Given a choice between abandoning discussion of the issue and directing the VSB's Special Committee on Lawyer Malpractice to come...

Virginia Supreme Court advisory committe seeks input on counterclaim change.
October 29, 2007... Byline: Alan Cooper A Supreme Court advisory committee is seeking comment on whether the court should adopt a compulsory counterclaim rule. Historically, Virginia has treated all counterclaims as "permissive," so that a defendant has...

U.S. District Court VA Eastern Case Summaries: October 29, 2007.(United States Dirtrict Court of Eastern Virginia)
October 29, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Products Liability Reconditioned Paint Sprayer - Warning Label A Home Depot store is not entitled to summary judgment in this products liability suit filed by a man who injured his hand and...

U.S. District Court VA Western Case Summaries: October 29, 2007.(United States District Court of Virginia, Western District)
October 29, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Severance - Securities Fraud A Charlottesville federal district court grants a motion to sever count IV from the other three counts in this prosecution of four defendants for...

Virginia Court Of Appeals Case Summaries: October 29, 2007.
October 29, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative ABC License - Time Restrictions A neighbor who objected to the issuance of liquor licenses to Ocean View Fishing Pier LLC in Norfolk allowing late-night service has standing to...

Virginia Circuit Court Case Summaries: October 29, 2007.
October 29, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Motor Vehicle Dealer Franchise - VW Supplier A Richmond Circuit Court upholds a decision by the Commissioner of the Division of Motor Vehicles that Volkswagen of America Inc....

Verdicts & Settlements October 29, 2007: Patient loses sight in eye after doctor is unavailable.(Brief article)
October 29, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff was admitted to the Hunter Holmes McGuire Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Richmond for multiple medical problems in April 2005. The plaintiff had complications from a...

Verdicts & Settlements October 29, 2007: Suture needle left in vagina after birth.(Brief article)
October 29, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff entered the hospital for the birth of her child. After delivering the child, she was found to have two tears in her vagina. The attending physician and a resident attempted to suture the...

Verdicts & Settlements October 29, 2007: Restrictive covenant overbroad in employment agreement.(Brief article)
October 29, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff The case in chief is a declaratory judgment action based on the enforceability of an employment agreement with several restrictive covenants. On cross-motions for summary judgment, the court found the...

Verdicts & Settlements October 29, 2007: $280,000 settlement for personal injury.(Brief article)
October 29, 2007... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff, a Pizza Hut deliverywoman, was injured when she stepped through a rotten board on the defendant's front porch while delivering a pizza at night. The defendant claimed the plaintiff was...