Medical Malpractice - Expert Witnesses - Limit 
Published: December 1, 2008
In this failure-to-diagnose Lyme disease case in which plaintiff has hired three experts and defendant has eight, including five experts on the standard of care, a Norfolk Circuit Court says defendants can call a total of five experts.
Defendants claim a statutory right to present cumulative expert testimony under Va. Code § 8.01-581.20(C). This subsection was [...]
FDIC will back full amount of IOLTA accounts
Published: December 1, 2008
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will cover the full amount of lawyers’ IOLTA accounts, under new regulations adopted Nov. 21.
The regulations are part of the agency’s transaction account guarantee program, which in turn is part of its Temporary Liquidity Guarantee (TLG) program that is designed to enhance confidence in lenders through December 2009.
The original proposal [...]
Civil Procedure - Res Judicata - Claim-Splitting - Sanctions
Published: December 1, 2008
A real estate financing company that lost a 2006 suit with a former business associate has its later suit against the associate dismissed as barred by res judicata, and the Fairfax Circuit Court sanctions the lawyer hired to bring the second suit for $25,626 under Va. Code § 8.01-271.1.
Defendant Karen Canellis and plaintiff Gray Diversified [...]
Litigation over who missed deadline expands to four suits
Published: December 1, 2008
Litigation over a blown deadline in the appeal of an $8.3 million judgment has expanded to four lawsuits in state and federal court.
The focus of all the cases is whether Christopher C. Spencer and his former law firm, Bowman and Brooke LLP, or E. Duncan Getchell Jr. and his firm, McGuireWoods LLP, was responsible for [...]
Attorneys - Legal Malpractice - Divorce - Expert Opinion
Published: December 1, 2008
A Fairfax Circuit Court refuses to dismiss an unhappy husband’s legal malpractice suit against his divorce lawyer because plaintiff husband does not have an expert witness.
Plaintiff was unhappy with the outcome of his divorce representation and the size of the lawyer’s legal bill. When the lawyer sought to collect the outstanding portion of the bill, [...]
Real Estate - Fraud - Easement Disclosure - Neighbors’ Contract
Published: December 1, 2008
Two sisters whose contractor neighbor on the adjacent lot agreed to build a house on the sisters’ lot, but who allegedly did not learn of an easement the contractor added before closing that kept the sisters from using one-third of their lot, can pursue their fraud claim against the contractor neighbor, a Fairfax Circuit Court [...]
Downtown diners and courthouse cafes
Published: December 1, 2008
Preparing for an out-of-town hearing or trial should involve more than just legal research and argument outlines, according to traveling lawyers from around Virginia. Several attorneys we contacted said knowing the local perspective on dining could be crucial to your legal endeavors.
A few weeks back, this column discussed Southwest Virginia and its dining opportunities. This [...]
Real Estate - Contract - Deposit With Auctioneer
Published: December 1, 2008
A real estate buyer proved fraud by showing defendant auctioneer put the buyer’s deposits in a trust account and promptly wrote checks covering his own expenses for much of those funds; a Norfolk Circuit Court awards the buyer $10,000 in nominal damages, $3,500 in punitive damages and $12, 962 in attorney’s fees and costs.
Plaintiffs allege [...]
Negligence - P.I. Suit - Lawyer Lien - Notice
Published: December 1, 2008
A lawyer who claims a lien on a client’s personal injury settlement may amend his pleadings to assert that he gave written notice of his claim of statutory lien under Va. Code § 54.1-3932, as indicated in correspondence attached as an exhibit, a Norfolk Circuit Court holds.
Plaintiff lawyer, who uses the trade name “The Hammer,” [...]
Workers’ Comp - Limitations - Claim By Letter - Slip & Fall
Published: December 1, 2008
A truck driver who slipped and fell on ice while making a delivery in February 2004, and who initially received workers’ comp for his scalp laceration and cervical strain, filed a valid claim for back injury through correspondence from his lawyer in December 2005, the Court of Appeals holds.
Employer essentially presents two litigable questions on [...]
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