Appeal of JDR Show Cause Order Dismissed

Plywood Flying from Pickup Truck is ‘Auto Accident’

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 5, 2013
Tags: Insurance, Judge Clifford R. Weckstein, Roanoke Circuit Court, Virginia Circuit Courts

A Roanoke City Circuit Court says two employees of a remodeling company were “using” a pickup truck under Virginia law when they loaded a piece of plywood into the truck bed, and auto liability policies of the truck owner and its driver provide coverage for injuries suffered by a pedestrian who was struck by the [...]

Sketch Decree Inconsistent with Post-Nup

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 25, 2013
Tags: Domestic Relations, Judge Clifford R. Weckstein, Roanoke County Circuit Court, Virginia Circuit Courts

A Roanoke County Circuit Court declines to enter a proposed divorce decree that is inconsistent with the parties’ post-nuptial agreement, with regard to child support. The proposed decree says the parties understand that support of the infant child is a right of the child and not of the parties and either party file petition for [...]

Parties Should Discuss Discovery Issues

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 25, 2013
Tags: Contract, Judge Clifford R. Weckstein, Salem Circuit Court, Virginia Circuit Courts

In this long-running contract dispute between a homeowner and a home builder, a Salem Circuit Court denies a motion to reconsider and motions to compel and admonishes the lawyers that “ad hominem attacks, bitterness and biting sarcasm upon or about opposing counsel” are not consistent with the standards of professionalism endorsed by the Supreme Court [...]

IAD Does Not Cover Probation Violations

By Deborah Elkins
Published: August 10, 2012
Tags: Criminal, Judge Clifford R. Weckstein, Roanoke Circuit Court, Virginia Circuit Courts

A Roanoke City Circuit Court denies a federal prisoner’s motion to dismiss state detainers filed on underlying charges of probation violation, as the Interstate Agreement on Detainers does not apply to probation violation proceedings. Under Article III of the Interstate Agreement on Detainers, a prisoner incarcerated in one state has the right to demand the [...]

No Claim for Fraudulent Inducement

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 1, 2012
Tags: Judge Clifford R. Weckstein, Roanoke Circuit Court, Tort, Virginia Circuit Courts

A Roanoke City Circuit Court sustains demurrers to plaintiff’s second amended complaint alleging fraud in the inducement and seeking to pierce the corporate veil in negotiation of a loan agreement. The question remains what it has been: Has plaintiff stated facts sufficient to demonstrate that the Executive defendants owed it a common law duty that [...]

No Comp Lien on Med-Mal Award

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 21, 2011
Tags: Judge Clifford R. Weckstein, Roanoke Circuit Court, Virginia Circuit Courts, Workers’ Comp

An employee who collected workers’ comp for a broken leg, and then won a $988,500 jury award for his treating physician’s medical malpractice leading to lung damage from a pulmonary embolism, does not have to pay the employer $22,945.77 on its workers’ comp lien filed in the med-mal suit, says a Roanoke City Circuit Court. [...]

No comp lien on med-mal award

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 20, 2011
Tags: Judge Clifford R. Weckstein, Medical Malpractice, Roanoke Circuit Court, Workers' Comp

An employer who paid for treatment of an employee’s broken leg cannot collect on a workers’ comp lien on the nearly $1 million medical malpractice award the employee later won from a Roanoke jury. Michael W. Thompson broke his right leg on the job at Bentech Manufacturing in Roanoke. In 2003, he sought workers’ compensation [...]

New Venue Motion Needed for Amended Complaint

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 23, 2011
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge Clifford R. Weckstein, Roanoke Circuit Court, Virginia Circuit Courts

Defendants who moved for a change of venue in response to an original complaint, but who failed to object to venue when they filed responsive pleadings to plaintiff’s amended complaint that added more plaintiffs, have waived their right to seek a change of venue, says a Roanoke City Circuit Court. Plaintiff Argos Utilities, a Delaware [...]

No Absolute Immunity for Water Authority

By Deborah Elkins
Published: August 2, 2011
Tags: Judge Clifford R. Weckstein, Municipal, Roanoke Circuit Court, Virginia Circuit Courts

Defendant Western Virginia Water Authority is a municipal corporation with no absolute sovereign immunity, and a landowner may sue the Authority for damages allegedly caused by the Authority’s negligent maintenance and operation of a sanitary sewer line; although the Roanoke City Circuit previously held that a water authority created by the county and city has [...]