Plaintiff Gets One Bite at Asbestos Apple

No Claim for Shoe-Shopper’s Slip & Fall

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 14, 2013
Tags: Judge Samuel G. Wilson, Negligence, U.S. District Court - Western District

A plaintiff who alleges she tripped over something and fell against a display table and injured her hip and knee while shoe-shopping at defendant’s department store loses her suit on summary judgment; the Roanoke U.S. District Court says plaintiff has been unable to present any evidence of the duration of any alleged unsafe condition at [...]

No Suit for Puddle at Store Entrance

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 14, 2013
Tags: Judge Norman K. Moon, Negligence, U.S. District Court - Western District

A mall department store wins summary judgment in this slip-and-fall because plaintiff customer did not show the store had actual or constructive notice of an alleged unsafe condition resulting from a mat being pushed away from the door, allowing water to accumulate at a store entrance; the Lynchburg U.S. District Court says even if a [...]

No Suit for Glass in Restaurant Salad

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 14, 2013
Tags: Judge Samuel G. Wilson, Negligence, U.S. District Court - Western District

A Roanoke U.S. District Court dismisses a customer’s negligence action against Ruby Tuesday restaurant based on allegedly finding a piece of clear glass in a salad she prepared from the salad bar. Defendant moved for summary judgment on the ground that plaintiff cannot show that an unreasonably dangerous condition existed when the salad left defendant’s [...]

Contractor Has Viable Defamation Claim

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 5, 2013
Tags: Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan, Supreme Court of Virginia, Tort

Plaintiff contractor may sue a competitor for defamation for asserting to plaintiff’s client that the contractor told the competitor he was going to “screw” the client, just like he did a prior client; the Supreme Court of Virginia reverses the trial court’s dismissal of the claim as based on “opinion,” and says whether the competitor [...]

‘Fraudulent Joinder’ of Car Seller, Court Says

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 20, 2013
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge M. Hannah Lauck, Judge Robert E. Payne, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In this products liability suit arising from death of the mother of the owner of a GM Envoy Denali in a rollover crash after the vehicle was rear-ended, a Richmond U.S. District Court accepts the magistrate judge’s report and denies remand of the case based on fraudulent joinder of a car dealership that proved it [...]

Plaintiff Invited ‘Missing Witness’ Instruction

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 14, 2013
Tags: Judge David J. Novak, Negligence, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In plaintiff motorcyclist’s unsuccessful personal injury suit against a truck driver, the trial court did not err in giving a “missing witness” instruction when plaintiff failed to appear at trial after having been named on the witness list, and the magistrate judge for the Richmond U.S. District Court denies plaintiff’s Rule 59 motion for a [...]

Sports Bar Has No Coverage for Patron Claim

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 7, 2013
Tags: Insurance, Judge Leonie Brinkema, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Plaintiff owners of a sports bar do not have coverage for a premises liability suit filed by a former patron who alleges he was injured in a fight at the bar during a billiards tournament in 2008; the Alexandria U.S. District Court says the owners’ policy clearly excludes coverage for injuries arising from assault and [...]

$6.2M Wrongful Death Award Reinstated

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 24, 2013
Tags: Justice Cleo E. Powell, Negligence, Supreme Court of Virginia

The Supreme Court of Virginia reinstates the full jury verdict of $6,227,000 in a wrongful death case filed by a man whose wife died in a car accident when a concrete truck turned over on their car; the trial court erred in reducing plaintiff husband’s award because the court found it was disproportionate to the [...]

No Instruction for ‘Substantial Contributing Factor’

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 17, 2013
Tags: Justice LeRoy F. Millette Jr., Negligence, Supreme Court of Virginia

The Supreme Court of Virginia reverses a $282,685 jury award to the estate of a state trooper who died of mesothelioma after exposure to asbestos while observing vehicle brake inspections as a state trooper and previously, through employment as a shipyard pipefitter; Virginia law does not allow for a jury instruction on “substantial contributing factor” [...]