Civil Procedure | Virginia Lawyers Weekly

Time for Discovery Response Extended

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 24, 2012
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge M. Hannah Lauck, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In this contract litigation between a mortgage company and defendant loan broker, a Richmond U.S. District Court grants defendant, who says it is “out-of-state, defunct and assetless,” extra time to respond to discovery requests, but no extra time to object to discovery.
On Aug. 25, 2011, SunTrust filed a complaint alleging defendant LCMG breached the parties’ [...]

Meat ‘Mark’ Case Stays in Virginia

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 24, 2012
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge Raymond A. Jackson, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A Norfolk U.S. District Court will not transfer to a federal court in Puerto plaintiff packing company’s suit alleging defendant Puerto Rican companies infringed their trademark for plaintiff’s chicken franks.
Plaintiff Smithfield Packing Company filed this action against two Puerto Rican companies – V. Suarez & Co., who purchased plaintiff’s chicken franks marketed under the Shorgood [...]

Lawyer Fined, But Discovery Response Approved

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 24, 2012
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge Robert E. Payne, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Although plaintiff continues to complain that defendant lawyer has not complied with discovery orders in this suit alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Virginia Consumer Protection Act, the Richmond U.S. District says defendant’s responses are now compliant, but the court orders defendant to pay $1,250 for the five days he [...]

Motion to Unseal Partly Granted

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 16, 2012
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge Robert E. Payne, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In this multi-million dollar intellectual property case, a protective order entered by the Richmond U.S. District Court during discovery to protect the identities of witnesses who might be future witnesses or subjects of criminal proceedings cannot be extended to cover a later motion to stay and related documents, and the court says there is a [...]

Court Records Sealed Under Local Rule

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 15, 2012
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge Rebecca Beach Smith, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In this pending civil action, a Norfolk U.S. District Court magistrate judge grants defendant’s motion that certain documents filed as part of defendant’s memorandum opposing plaintiff’s motion in limine be marked confidential and placed under seal under local rules.
Exhibit 6 includes statements provided by Portsmouth police officers to the Virginia State Police (VSP) chief investigator [...]

No expert fees when a nonsuit is taken at trial

By Paul Fletcher
Published: May 11, 2012
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge Melvin R. Hughes Jr., Judge Walter W. Stout III, Personal Injury, Richmond Circuit Court

When a plaintiff takes a nonsuit during trial, the defendant is not entitled to fees and costs for its expert witnesses, according to a Richmond Circuit judge.
The nonsuit statute, Virginia Code § 8.01-380(C), permits the assessment of expert witness fees and costs for a nonsuit taken within seven days of trial. But that statute does [...]

Venue Requires ‘Substantial’ Business

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 8, 2012
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge Melvin R. Hughes Jr., Richmond Circuit Court, Virginia Circuit Courts

A Richmond Circuit Court grants defendant’s motion to change venue in this case, as the controlling venue statute now prescribes “substantial” business activity in order to sustain venue, which is not demonstrated here.
Evan’s Adm’r v. Haddad v. St. Mary’s Hospital, 1 Va. Cir. 507 (1984), is a case decided by this court on the question [...]

Minor’s Suit is Legal Nullity

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 8, 2012
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge J. Overton Harris, Richmond Circuit Court, Virginia Circuit Courts

A minor plaintiff’s suit may not be amended to allow the minor to sue by his next friend, under Virginia law, and the Hanover Circuit Court denies plaintiff’s motion to amend.
The court agrees with defendant and finds the law requires the court to deny plaintiff’s motion to amend. Virginia Code § 8.01-8 states any minor [...]

No Witness Fees for Nonsuit at Trial

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 8, 2012
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge Melvin R. Hughes Jr., Richmond Circuit Court, Virginia Circuit Courts

Although Virginia law allows recovery of defense witness fees if a plaintiff takes a first nonsuit within seven days of trial, a Richmond Circuit Court says the statute, Va. Code § 8.01-380(C), does not allow recovery of witness fees for a nonsuit taken during trial.
Defendant objected to plaintiff’s motion to amend and argued that as [...]

Venue Transfer for Consultant FLSA Suit

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 8, 2012
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge James C. Cacheris, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Electrical design engineers who live in West Virginia and California respectively, who were hired by a national recruiting firm based in Massachusetts to work for a client in Northern Virginia, have their suit for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act transferred from the Alexandria U.S. District Court to Massachusetts federal court.
Plaintiffs allege defendant [...]

Virginia Lawyers Weekly