01 « December « 2008 « Virginia Lawyers Weekly

Contract – Government – False Claims Act – Qui Tam Suit

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 1, 2008

An Abingdon U.S. District Court denies the motion of a nurse who filed a qui tam suit alleging defendant health care corporation engaged in Medicare fraud at the geriatric/psychiatric unit of a hospital in Kingsport, Tenn., asking the Abingdon court to reconsider a portion of her claim dismissed by the multidistrict litigation court that remanded [...]

Employment – ERISA – Attorney’s Fees – Exhaustion

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 1, 2008

A plaintiff who won his ERISA case cannot bill for time spent exhausting administrative remedies, but the Charlottesville U.S. District Court refuses to categorically condemn “block billing” or “lumping of time entries.”
McIntyre v. Aetna Life Ins. Co. (USDC-WD) (VLW 008-3-520) (7 pp.)

Preschool administrator suffers neck injury in Stafford wreck – $175,000 Settlement

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: December 1, 2008

Plaintiff was a 42-year-old preschool owner and administrator. The accident occurred on Route 17 in Stafford County when the defendant pulled out from a stop sign. There was no liability dispute, and the defendant could not be found.
Plaintiff had rapid onset of cervical and lumbar symptoms. After extensive unhelpful treatment, she was diagnosed with a [...]

Driver ejected, dies in rollover of vehicle – $2,500,000 Settlement

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: December 1, 2008

The plaintiff was traveling on Route 7 in Fairfax County when his vehicle was struck by the defendant at a high rate of speed. The impact caused the plaintiff’s vehicle to roll, and he was ejected and died from blunt force trauma to the head. The decedent left behind a wife of 24 [...]

Woman defrauds financier by falsifying invoices – $709,920.19 Verdict

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: December 1, 2008

Brenda Wood was the principal in a business that installed cable for cable television. The Tignors began factoring her accounts. Wood falsified invoices causing the Tignors to advance her or her company $709,920.19.
Summary judgment was granted to the Tignors after Wood made several admissions in a Section 2004 examination. Wood’s discharge was denied under 11 [...]

Stop-sign collision injures knee, requires replacement surgery – $220,000 Settlement

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: December 1, 2008

The plaintiff, a 49-year-old male, was struck broadside by the defendant, who ran a stop sign. The impact flipped the plaintiff’s vehicle. The plaintiff refused medical treatment on the date of the accident.
The only injury complained of by the plaintiff was trauma to the right knee. He was initially diagnosed as having [...]

High-intensity workout results in breakdown of muscle protein – $300,000 Verdict

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: December 1, 2008

Plaintiff, a 25-year-old male, was on active duty in the U.S. Navy and in reasonably good physical condition. He was entreated at a gym to engage in a session of CrossFit exercises. He was assigned a personal trainer. After a 20- to 30-minute CrossFit session, focusing on his legs, he was unstable [...]

Blindsided: P.I. lawyers caught unaware of new Medicare rules, ‘set aside’ practices could be on the way

By Peter Vieth
Published: December 1, 2008

Personal injury lawyers are bracing for more paperwork and possible delays in claim payments when the latest round of Medicare regulations kicks in next year.
A few observers are even warning that plaintiffs’ lawyers will have to develop “set aside” plans for future medical expenses to settle cases for Medicare recipients, although there is no explicit [...]

Lawyer is sanctioned for ignoring res judicata

By Alan Cooper
Published: December 1, 2008

A Fairfax County judge has sanctioned a Vienna lawyer for filing a lawsuit that he said the lawyer should have known would be barred by res judicata.
Judge Jonathan C. Thacher ordered Lawrence A. Katz to pay more than $25,000 in attorneys’ fees and expenses to the defendant. Thacher ruled that an adequate investigation would have [...]

Civil Procedure – Discovery – Real Estate Sale – Environmental Contamination

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 1, 2008

In this litigation over a seller’s remediation efforts on a parcel of Richmond real estate, a Fairfax Circuit Court says the seller must hand over a number of documents involving communications between the seller and its remediation contractor, despite the seller’s use of blanket labels of “privileged and confidential” and “Confidential Work Product” on the [...]