Forms over substance: Agency can’t retract payments by claiming paperwork errors

Consent-to-Sell Provisions Are Ambiguous

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 17, 2013
Tags: Fairfax County Circuit Court, Judge Jonathan C. Thacher, Real Estate, Virginia Circuit Courts

In this dispute over a contract for the sale of real estate with multiple owners, the owners’ Operating Agreements are ambiguous because one provision states 51 percent of the members must agree to sell, and another provision says it takes 80 percent of the members to consent, and the Fairfax Circuit Court says the ambiguity [...]

Employee Has Respondeat Superior Claim

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 17, 2013
Tags: Employment, Fairfax County Circuit Court, Judge Jonathan C. Thacher, Virginia Circuit Courts

A woman who was hired at age 18 to manage two Wireless Unlimited stores in Vienna, and who alleges the store owner’s 35-year-old friend, who was allowed to act as a store manager, openly threatened her with sexual assault, cursed at her, called her names and sexually assaulted her after taking her home from a [...]

Passenger killed after for-hire vehicle crashed – $4,600,000 Settlement

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: January 14, 2013
Tags: Fairfax County Circuit Court, Million-Dollar Settlements, Wrongful Death

A 31-year-old male visiting from an underdeveloped country in Southeast Asia was a passenger in a for-hire transportation vehicle, which was involved in a single vehicle accident. He was ejected and killed. Decedent is survived by his wife and 1-year-old daughter. The decedent was a human rights activist with a modest history of past earnings. [...]

Military dad killed in car crash – $4,685,000 Settlement

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: January 14, 2013
Tags: Fairfax County Circuit Court, Million-Dollar Settlements, Wrongful Death

A 48-year-old member of the U.S. military was stopped at a traffic light in Fairfax County when he was struck from behind by a commercial vehicle. He died as a result of the accident. He was survived by his wife and their three minor children, ages 17, 12 and 9. Lost earnings of $2,527,404 were [...]

Judges could not use foreign law in divorce

By Peter Vieth
Published: January 7, 2013
Tags: Domestic Relations, Fairfax County Circuit Court, General Assembly, Virginia Court of Appeals News

With foreign-born persons now representing more than 11 percent of Virginia’s population, and more than 20 percent in three Northern Virginia counties, courts are being called upon more often to interpret foreign law, especially in divorce cases. One bill introduced for the coming General Assembly session aims to ensure that the use of foreign law [...]

Motorcyclist’s left foot was crushed in collision with auto – $1,200,000 Settlement

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: January 7, 2013
Tags: Fairfax County Circuit Court, Million-Dollar Settlements, Personal Injury

On Nov. 12, 2010, the 52-year-old plaintiff was riding his motorcycle through an intersection on a solid green light when the defendant failed to yield and turned left in front of him. Defendant’s vehicle struck the left side of the motorcycle, directly striking the plaintiff’s left foot. Plaintiff suffered a midfoot fracture-dislocation to the left [...]

Supreme Court reverses ban on Internet criticism

By Peter Vieth
Published: January 3, 2013
Tags: Constitutional, Defamation, Fairfax County Circuit Court, Judge Thomas A. Fortkort, Supreme Court of Virginia

The Supreme Court of Virginia acted swiftly last month to overturn a lower court’s takedown order directing a disgruntled consumer to remove critical online postings about a contractor. The high court vacated a Dec. 7 order from Fairfax Circuit Judge Thomas A. Fortkort ordering Jane Perez of Fairfax County to delete certain accusations about Dietz [...]

‘Baseless’ suit nets sanction of $50K

By Paul Fletcher
Published: December 21, 2012
Tags: Contract, Fairfax County Circuit Court, Judge Jane Marum Roush, Sanctions

A Fairfax circuit judge has levied sanctions of $50,000 against a lawyer and his client for filing in a frivolous lawsuit based on a relationship gone bad. The plaintiff company filed a suit against a former employee that included claims of breach of fiduciary duty, misappropriation of trade secrets, conversion and breach of contract. The [...]

Litigation pitfalls and pratfalls

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 10, 2012
Tags: Attorneys Fees, Civil Procedure, Discovery, Employment Discrimination, Fairfax County Circuit Court, Federal Courts, Law Firms, Legal Malpractice, Personal Injury, Real Estate, Richmond Circuit Court, Sanctions, Social Media, Supreme Court of Virginia News, Year in Review

Lawyers can find plenty of ways to stay out of a courtroom. Instead of the hand-to-hand combat of a trial before judge or jury, they can opt for some form of alternative dispute resolution. But the lure of the courtroom stays strong, for a whole class of litigators and for those who just enjoy stories [...]