Clear Policy Language Prevents Intra-Policy Stacking

Immunity for Fellow, Not for Nurse

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 7, 2011
Tags: Charlottesville Circuit Court, Judge Edward Hogshire, Medical Malpractice, Virginia Circuit Courts

Medical interns and residents do not automatically have sovereign immunity from med-mal claims, but in this suit alleging a pediatric cardiology patient died from improper medication, a board-certified pediatrician, who took the infant’s medical history and who was six weeks into his three-year fellowship in pediatric cardiology at UVa, has sovereign immunity; however, the Charlottesville [...]

Defense seeks $900K sanctions in death case

By Peter Vieth
Published: September 27, 2011
Tags: Charlottesville Circuit Court, Judge Edward Hogshire, Sanctions, Wrongful Death

With more than $900,000 in requested sanctions at stake, the Richmond-based law firm of Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen hopes to draw the line on its exposure for the misdeeds of former partner Matthew B. Murray. A Charlottesville judge is considering how much to penalize Murray and his former client for hiding evidence of Facebook [...]

Verdict slashed, lawyer referred for discipline

By Peter Vieth
Published: September 12, 2011
Tags: Charlottesville Circuit Court, Judge Edward Hogshire, Law Firms, Lawyer Discipline, Million-Dollar Verdicts, Sanctions, Wrongful Death

A Charlottesville judge slashed a record wrongful death verdict by two-thirds and ordered sanctions against the plaintiff and his lawyer in the aftermath of a hotly contested trial. Circuit Court Judge Edward L. Hogshire also referred Charlottesville lawyer Matthew B. Murray to the Virginia State Bar on three separate findings of wrongdoing, and referred Murray’s [...]

Firm: Don’t punish client for any sins of lawyer

By Peter Vieth
Published: August 3, 2011
Tags: Charlottesville Circuit Court, Judge Edward Hogshire, Law Firms, Million-Dollar Verdicts, Wrongful Death

Lawyers hoping to preserve a record $10.5-million verdict in a fatal concrete truck wreck say the actions of the plaintiff’s former attorney are sanctionable by the court – and potentially by the Virginia State Bar – but do not justify overturning the jury’s award. In pleadings filed July 29, Richmond-based Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen, [...]

Top p.i. lawyer quits Allen firm

By Peter Vieth
Published: July 20, 2011
Tags: Charlottesville Circuit Court, Judge Edward Hogshire, Law Firms, Virginia State Bar, Virginia Trial Lawyers Association

Charlottesville lawyer Mat-thew B. Murray, the immediate past president of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, has resigned from his law firm and reportedly is leaving the practice of law. Murray’s resignation from Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen, the largest personal injury firm in Virginia, came one day after the filing of legal papers accusing him [...]

Jury Award Under Special Damages Upheld

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 25, 2011
Tags: Charlottesville Circuit Court, Judge Edward Hogshire, Negligence, Virginia Circuit Courts

Although the jury award of $1,000 was for a sum less than the $1,172 price of plaintiff’s emergency room visit and follow-up appointment with a primary care physician after an auto accident, a Charlottesville Circuit Court declines to set aside the verdict as inadequate as a matter of law. The claim arose from an automotive [...]

Man Stabbed by Cook Can Sue Sushi Restaurant

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 22, 2011
Tags: Charlottesville Circuit Court, Judge Edward Hogshire, Negligence, Virginia Circuit Courts

A restaurant patron stabbed by a cook who was standing at the bar drinking while on duty can sue the restaurant for assault and battery, negligence in failing to protect an invitee, emotional distress and punitive damages, but not for negligent hiring and retention, says a Charlottesville Circuit Court. Defendant demurs to counts II (assault), [...]

Documents turned over in error are protected

By Paul Fletcher
Published: March 21, 2011
Tags: Charlottesville Circuit Court, Civil Procedure, Judge Mary Jane Hall

A woman involved in a lawsuit prepared to meet with her lawyer and scribbled handwritten notes on a document. She and her husband met with the lawyer and and she left the documents behind. When documents were produced to the other side, the law firm inadvertently included the papers with the notes on them in [...]

Attorney-Client Privilege Holds After Inadvertent Disclosure

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 16, 2011
Tags: Charlottesville Circuit Court, Civil Procedure, Judge Mary Jane Hall, Virginia Circuit Courts

Plaintiff’s documents inadvertently disclosed to defense counsel still are protected by the attorney-client privilege, even though the client’s husband was with her when she shared the documents with her attorney; a judge designate for the Charlottesville Circuit Court denies a motion to compel the privileged documents, in this case of first impression. Plaintiff testified she [...]