The case of a Norfolk judge who refused to enforce an arbitration clause in a nursing home contract is among the more interesting of the first flush of petitions for appeal granted by the Supreme Court of Virginia after its writ panel session earlier this month. We look at the case, Medical Facilities of America [...]
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Posted in Justices, Supreme Court Opinions on Sep 20th, 2010
No, Justice William C. Mims was not announcing himself as a “strict constructionist.” He is, however, ready for some plain talk about the plain language of Virginia’s statute of repose, Virginia Code § 8.01-250. Builders depend on the statute of repose to cut off any chance for personal injury claims after five years. Mims, joined [...]
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A lawsuit filed in Virginia must be signed, by the plaintiff in his own hand if he’s pro se, or by a Virginia-licensed lawyer, if the plaintiff has counsel. The Supreme Court of Virginia reinforced that rule in two decisions handed down today, both of them personal injury suits filed after automobile accidents. In the [...]
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Two statute of limitations cases, one involving an allegation of legal malpractice, are among the 14 granted appeals the Supreme Court of Virginia has posted on its Web site this month. The SOL cases are Laura Anna Head Kelley v. Pirsch & Associates PLLC (100446), which raises the issue of whether the three-year statute for [...]
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A state law that says it is not negligent to fail to restrain a child in a vehicle does not abrogate the common law duty to protect the child, a divided Supreme Court of Virginia holds today. Four-year-old Hannah Leigh Evans was seriously injured in a head-on collision after her father put her in a [...]
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Posted in Civil Cases, Unpublished Orders on Mar 29th, 2010
Fairfax Circuit Judge Jane Marum Roush reminded those at the Virginia Trial Lawyer Association’s annual convention on Saturday, “The Supreme Court has a lof of faith that, if given the opportunity, the jury will get it right.” The court had re-emphasized the point barely 24 hours in an unpublished order, Thompson v. Home Properties Seminary [...]
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The facts were different, but in two tort cases today the Supreme Court of Virginia re-emphasized that courts should not dismiss cases too early in the process. In one, a tenant filed suit against his landlord and a management company alleging that he suffered an eye injury and that his property was destroyed because the [...]
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The Supreme Court of Virginia handed down 18 decisions and two orders this morning. Full-text PDF copies of every case are also available on our Web site. Here are some of the highlights: A party can’t vouch for a decedent’s promise It’s like a classic tale from your T&E class: Uncle dies and the aunt’s [...]
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