Virginia Lawyers Weekly articles from September 2006

Virginia Lawyers Weekly archives from September 2006

Companies need to be aware of blogging risks.(tips for law firms on using weblogs)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Correy E. Stephenson As blogging makes its way into the business world, companies need to be aware of the risks as well as the rewards of the latest mass communication phenomenon. "Blogs are a rapidly growing tool that...

Virginia law firms announce personnel and management changes.(Roy D. Turner joins Nursing Home Litigation Group)(Roger G. Bowers joins FutureLaw, LLC)(Troutman Sanders LLP receives award)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Bridgewater lawyer Roy D. Turner has been elected secretary/treasurer of the Nursing Home Litigation Group of the American Association for Justice, formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America....

Virginia Supreme Court justices choose Leroy Roundtree Hassell Sr. for second term as chief justice.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper The justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia have chosen Leroy Rountree Hassell Sr. for a second four-year term as chief justice. The re-election came last week at a meeting of the court devoted to court business...

Virginia federal judge rules law firm can't force arbitration of claim under Fair Debt Act.(Fair Debt Collection Practices Act)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Deborah Elkins A law firm defending a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act suit cannot force the debtors to arbitrate the FDCPA claim by bootstrapping an arbitration clause from the credit-card agreement between the debtor plaintiffs...

Virginia Lawyers Weekly recognizes outstanding lawyers of 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff This November, Virginia Lawyers Weekly will recognize outstanding lawyers from across the commonwealth for their accomplishments as "Leaders in the Law" in 2006. The inaugural program will...

Arlington County in North Carolina pays $430K to homeowner for construction of new house.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper When Allison Balzano was relaxing in the finished basement of her Arlington County home, she thought she heard water running under it. It wasn't her imagination. The Tudor at the corner of Glebe and North...

President Bush re-nominates two North Carolina judges to 4th U.S. Circuit of Appeals.(George W. Bush, Terrence W. Boyle and William J. Haynes II)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Paul Fletcher President Bush announced last Wednesday that he will renominate U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle of North Carolina and William J. Haynes II for seats on the 4th U.S. Circuit of Appeals. The Senate had...

Virginia attorneys are remembered after death.(T. Ryland Dodson)(John E. DeHardit)(Philip L. Russo)(Obituary)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Philip L. Russo Retired Norfolk Circuit Judge Philip L. Russo died July 7. He was 84. Judge Russo was known for his service to the local community and for his passion for his alma mater, the...

U.S. Court of Appeals case summaries: Sept. 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Mandamus - Removal Jurisdiction - State Court Remand In this lawsuit by the estates of four security guards killed in Iraq, against a company hired to provide private security...

U.S. Eastern Virginia District Court case summaries: Sept. 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Education - Autistic Student - IDEA - Private Placement A school system must pay for the private school placement of a 12-year-old autistic student because the Individual Education...

U.S. Western Virginia District Court case summaries: Sept. 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Petition Dismissal - Substantial Abuse Although debtor, a cardiologist, had the ability to repay a substantial portion of his debts; he did not file his Chapter 7 petition due to...

Virginia Court of Appeals case summaries: September 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Suspended Sentence - Revocation - Consecutive Service Where a defendant who had 15 years suspended of his 20-year sentence for obtaining money by false pretenses, violated his...

Virginia Circuit Court case summaries: September 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Res Judicata - Dismissal 'With Prejudice' - Election Of Remedies Where plaintiff earlier elected to pursue this matter as a survival action, as opposed to a wrongful death...

Commentary: Practicing law is a lot like playing poker.(Lawyers' Poker: 52 Lessons that Lawyers Can Learn from Card Players )(Book review)
September 18, 2006... Byline: Press Millen (This article was orignially published in North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, another Dolan Media publication.) Lawyers' Poker: 52 Lessons that Lawyers Can Learn from Card Players Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub....

Virginia court rules identity theft victim gets $532K from credit agency.
September 18, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper A joyful event for Suzanne Sloane led indirectly to two years of misery. Sloane delivered her second child at Prince William Hospital in June 2003, unaware that her last name would prove too big a temptation for an...

Virginia Chief Justice Leroy Rountree Hassell Sr. to improve mental health system.
September 18, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper Virginia Chief Justice Leroy Rountree Hassell Sr. says there is widespread agreement that Virginia's mental health system does not work as well as it should. There's much less agreement about the effect of proposed...

Virginia federal judge rules Fair Standards Act preempts RICO claims.(Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act)
September 18, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper The Fair Labor Standards Act preempts RICO claims based on allegations of violations of minimum wage and overtime laws, a federal judge in Norfolk ruled last week. U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson...

Virginia "marriage amendment" won't change contract rights among unmarried persons.
September 18, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Virginia Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell said last week that the proposed "marriage amendment" to the Virginia Constitution would have no effect on the legal rights of unmarried persons involving...

Trust and estate lawyers say that "special needs" law has developed into a niche practice area.
September 18, 2006... Byline: Dick Dahl In the view of many trusts and estates lawyers, "special needs" law has developed into an important niche practice area. Three elder-law attorneys recently launched the Academy of Special Needs Planners, believing...

Virginia Court of Appeals rules ABC stores can exclude out-of-state wine producers.
September 18, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control stores can once again sell wine produced at Virginia wineries and exclude wine from out-of-state producers, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week. The court also...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court case summaries: September 18, 2006.
September 18, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Supplemental Fee Application - Ch. 13 - Actual Time Records A lawyer for Chapter 13 debtors is entitled to supplemental compensation for fees documented by his actual contemporaneous...

U.S. Court of Appeals case summaries: September 18, 2006.
September 18, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional Va. Alcohol Act - Commerce Clause - Personal Import Exception - ABC Store Sales In this facial challenge under the dormant Commerce Clause to the three-tier regulatory scheme...

U.S. District Court of Eastern Virginia: September 18, 2006.
September 18, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Subcontractor Claims - Creditors' Committee - Discovery A bankruptcy court did not err in allowing claims for four creditors in connection with debtor's failure to pay subcontractors...

U.S. District Court of Western Virginia: September 18, 2006.
September 18, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Attempted Escape - Federal Custody Although defendant contends he was not in federal custody at the time of the alleged attempted escape, because he had been obtained from state...

Virginia Court of Appeals case summaries: September 18, 2006.
September 18, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Rape - DNA Evidence - 1991 Sample A defendant who was arrested in Stafford County on rape charges in 2003, and whose DNA was obtained at that time, can be prosecuted for a 1991 rape...

Virginia Circuit Court case summaries: September 18, 2006.(Colonial Marble Products v. Payne)(Squillaci v. Lewis-Gale Hospital Inc.)
September 18, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Specific Performance - Stock Purchase Agreement A circuit court orders specific performance of a stock purchase agreement that required defendant to transfer 60 shares of his former...

Verdicts & settlements September 18, 2006: Virginia jury awards $350 to identity theft victim.(Sloane v. Equifax Information Services, LLC)(Brief article)
September 18, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Mrs. Sloane was the victim of identity theft and contacted Equifax on multiple occasions regarding the erroneous reporting of accounts that were in default that had been opened by the identity thief....

Verdicts & settlements September 18, 2006: Virginia jury awards $250K to injured pedestrian.(Craddock v. DeColigny)(Brief article)
September 18, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Pedestrian was crossing residential intersection. Car pulled from stop sign approximately 92 feet from impact with pedestrian. Due to injuries received, pedestrian had no memory of stepping off the...

Verdicts & settlements September 18, 2006: Virginia jury awards $832K for death after gastric bypass.(Brief article)
September 18, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff A 28-year-old single mother of an 8-year-old, mentally disabled boy had laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery following years of trying diet and exercise without success. Although surgery proceeded...

Virginia lawyers receive promotions.(James W. Dyke Jr. of McGuire Woods L.L.P. honored with J. Michael Brown Award)(Jackson Lewis L.L.P.'s new office opened at Richmond by David E. Nagle)(Venable L.L.P. opens new office at Los Angeles)
September 25, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff James W. Dyke Jr., a partner in McGuireWoods LLP's Tysons Corner office, received the J. Michael Brown Award at the 8th annual DuPont Minority Counsel Conference held recently in Pittsburgh. ...

Virginia jury awards $1M in nursing home suit.(Thelma Arnold v. Convalescent Care Inc.)
September 25, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper A Smyth County Circuit Court jury has returned verdicts totaling $1 million for the family of a woman who wandered from a nursing home and later became dehydrated while at the home. Robert W. Carter Jr., the...

Virginia Supreme Court rules city's motives don't matter on local gov't-owned condemned property.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper The effort of the City of Alexandria to condemn property for a box culvert was clearly different from Kelo v. City of New London, the U.S. Supreme Court case last year that permitted the city to condemn property so that...

Virginia Supreme Court rules being terminated does not free employee from fiduciary duties.(Chesapeake Homes Inc.)
September 25, 2006... Byline: Deborah Elkins A real estate company's former vice president is not liable to the company for buying property she knew about before she was fired by the company. The Supreme Court of Virginia apparently accepts the general...

Virginia court rules second nonsuit void because plaintiff did not give notice to defendant.(Janvier v. Arminio )(medical malpractice case)(Case overview)
September 25, 2006... Byline: Paul Fletcher A woman who twice nonsuited her medical-malpractice claim against a Fairfax podiatrist is back in court for a third try, thanks to the Supreme Court of Virginia. A plaintiff gets one nonsuit as of right. But a...

Jimmie V. Reyna to lead national Hispanic bar.(Hispanic National Bar Association)
September 25, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper Jimmie V. Reyna arrived in Washington 20 years ago "with no job and a lot of hope." The hope took a slight jolt when he ran into a traffic jam as he drove a rental truck pulling the family car from Interstate 66...

Lisa A. Mayne and Glenn L. Clayton II in line to get Fairfax, VA judgeships.(Brief article)
September 25, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Lisa A. Mayne and Glenn L. Clayton II appear to be in line to get two Fairfax County judgeships created by the General Assembly earlier this year. They are the choice of the Northern Virginia...

Virginia Supreme Court rules ABC Board should address Wine Act violations.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Alan Cooper Alleged violations of the Virginia Wine Franchise Act may be the basis of both administrative proceedings before the Virginia Alcohol Control Board and civil conspiracy actions in circuit court, according to the Supreme...

U.S. Court of Appeals case summaries: September 25, 2006.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Domestic Relations Divorced Military Spouse - Constitutional - Rooker- Feldman The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a challenge by current and retired members of the armed forces to...

U.S. District Court of Western Virginia case summaries: September 25, 2006.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Minister's Contract - First Amendment - Jurisdiction A federal district court has subject matter jurisdiction over a minister's claim that defendant Guildfield Missionary Baptist...

Virginia Court of Appeals case summaries: September 25, 2006.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Check Forgery - Uttering A defendant's bench trial convictions of forgery of a check and uttering that forged check in violation of Va. Code Sect. 18.2-172 are affirmed, despite his...

Virginia Circuit Court case summaries: September 25, 2006.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Final Order Notice - Leave To File Appeal Although plaintiff apparently was erroneously informed by the clerk's office that no final entry had been entered, during a period of...

Virginia Supreme Court case summaries: September 25, 2006.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Va. FOIA - Open Meeting Statute A circuit court erred when it held that the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors did not violate the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, Va....

Verdicts & settlements September 25, 2006: Virginia car wreck results in $90K settlement.(Ager v. Betts)(personal injury due to traffic accident case)(Brief article)
September 25, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff There was minimal property damage. Plaintiff's leg suffered muscular injury which became infected after plaintiff applied ice to the bruise. Infection required two surgeries to cure. Type of...

Verdicts & settlements September 25, 2006: surgery causing Paraplegia results in $1.6M settlement.(medical malpractice case)
September 25, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff was involved in vehicle roll-over collision. He was taken by rescue squad to a hospital emergency room where the ER physician ordered plain films. The radiologist read these as normal....

Verdicts & settlements September 25, 2006: Norfolk jury awards plaintiff $2.72M in Erb's palsy case.(Mary Johnson, Infant and Joanne Johnson, her Mother v. Gynecology Associates )(medical malpractice case)(Case overview)
September 25, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff This medical malpractice case was tried before a jury in the Norfolk Circuit Court on July 10-14, 2006. Mary Johnson, age 5, experienced a serious birth-related nerve injury on Jan. 21, 2001. The...

Verdicts & settlements September 25, 2006: Virginia court awards tenant $175K for mold allergy suit.(Kim Ford v. Summit Realty Group, Inc. and The Overlook at Brook Associates, LP, t/a The Overlook at Brook Run Apartment Homes)(personal injuries case)
September 25, 2006... Byline: Virginia Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff was a tenant with her two children at Overlook at Brook Run, an apartment housing unit located just off Route 1 and Interstate 95 in Henrico County. The apartment complex was managed by...