‘Deferred judgment’ practice on hold

Liquidated Damage Upheld for Mall Lease

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 17, 2013
Tags: Fairfax County Circuit Court, Judge Jan L. Brodie, Real Estate, Virginia Circuit Courts

The parties’ commercial lease for a wireless services store contains a valid liquidated damages clause calling for the balance of rent due under the term of the lease, which is not unconscionable under the controlling Maryland law; the Fairfax Circuit Court orders judgment for plaintiff lessor, a shopping mall, requiring defendant tenant to pay $70,644.85, [...]

Doctor avoids contempt charge

By Peter Vieth
Published: October 3, 2012
Tags: Fairfax County Circuit Court, Judge Jan L. Brodie, Medical Malpractice, Sanctions, Virginia State Bar

A physician who failed to appear for a deposition has avoided a contempt charge, but lawyers who advised the doctor to stay away have been cited for contempt by a Fairfax Circuit Court judge. In an effort to keep the doctor from having to answer questions about a hospital internal investigation, the hospital’s lawyers told [...]

High court provides primer on preserving objections

By Peter Vieth
Published: April 30, 2012
Tags: Fairfax County Circuit Court, Judge Jan L. Brodie, Justice William C. Mims, Personal Injury, Supreme Court of Virginia News

A major brain injury claim that drew a small verdict from a Fairfax County jury provided an opportunity for the Supreme Court of Virginia to offer guidance to lawyers on preserving objections in a trial court record. The auto accident victim, Mary Arnold, claimed permanent traumatic brain injury from a 2005 collision but came away [...]

Contract Case Meant for Texas Courts

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 2, 2012
Tags: Civil Procedure, Fairfax County Circuit Court, Judge Jan L. Brodie, Virginia Circuit Courts

Under a “Sales Teaming Agreement” between defendant Project Resource Consulting LLC (PRC) and plaintiff ITech Consulting Group Inc. Texas law would govern the Agreement, and further, the Fairfax Circuit Court does not have personal jurisdiction over defendant PRC, a New York LLC, and over defendant Agility Solutions Inc. In the past, forum selection clauses in [...]

Pedestrian hit on store sidewalk recovers for emotional injuries – $324,000 Verdict

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: February 27, 2012
Tags: Fairfax County Circuit Court, Judge Jan L. Brodie, Personal Injury

On March 9, 2007, the vehicle driven by the defendant approached a set of parking spaces in front of a gas-station convenience store. The defendant did not stop, ran over the curb onto the sidewalk in front of store, and hit the pedestrian plaintiff. Plaintiff refused medical attention and first visited his primary care physician [...]

Court Approves Dealer’s Service Center

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 17, 2011
Tags: Administrative, Fairfax County Circuit Court, Judge Jan L. Brodie, Virginia Circuit Courts

A Fairfax Circuit Court upholds the decision of the commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles rejecting Springfield Toyota’s challenge to Page Toyota’s plans to open a Toyota Certified Service Center (TCSC) within the same Relative Market Area (RMA) in which Springfield operates; the service center is a “franchise,” not a “dealer” that sells vehicles, [...]

Nurse sexually assaults patient during pelvic exam – $400,000 Verdict

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: April 18, 2011
Tags: Fairfax County Circuit Court, Judge Jan L. Brodie, Medical Malpractice

Plaintiff, a 25-year-old single woman, went to Inova Urgent Care for what she thought was a yeast infection. After signing in, she was accompanied to an exam room by a male nurse and told to disrobe. The nurse returned and at his request she placed her legs into the stirrups and he performed a pelvic [...]

Lawyer beats pro se malpractice lawsuit

By Peter Vieth
Published: February 21, 2011
Tags: Fairfax County Circuit Court, Judge Brett A. Kassabian, Judge David Stanford Schell, Judge Dennis J. Smith, Judge Gerald Bruce Lee, Judge Jan L. Brodie, Judge R. Terrence Ney, Legal Malpractice

The slightly built woman stands, apparently alone, on a busy corner in bustling Tysons Corner, Virginia. In the video she posted on YouTube, she is dwarfed by the office buildings behind her and appears in danger of being blown over by the rush of traffic. The woman carries a battery of signs – two sandwich-style [...]

Jury trial waiver forfeited in scheduling order

By Peter Vieth
Published: January 24, 2011
Tags: ADR, Fairfax Circuit Court, Judge Jan L. Brodie, Judge Leslie Alden, Judge Stanley P. Klein, Landlord/Tenant

Lawyers disillusioned with mandatory arbitration are writing jury waiver clauses into their commercial contracts. But the lawyer must be careful not to waive the client’s contractual right to a bench trial when the lawyer goes to court for a routine scheduling conference, as one Fairfax County lawyer discovered the hard way. The lawyer’s signature on [...]