Judge Mary Jane Hall | Virginia Lawyers Weekly

Contract – Accord & Satisfaction – General Release

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 30, 2010
Tags: Contract, Judge Mary Jane Hall, Norfolk Circuit Court, Virginia Circuit Courts

In this suit against a builder for breach of contract by use of allegedly defective Chinese drywall to construct a home, a Norfolk Circuit Court rejects the builder’s claim that the suit is barred by plaintiff’s execution of a 2006 release of a single defendant “from any and all claims – past, present or future, [...]

Products Liability – Chinese Drywall – Warranty Claims – Economic Loss Rule

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 30, 2010
Tags: Judge Mary Jane Hall, Norfolk Circuit Court, Products Liability, Virginia Circuit Courts

In these consolidated lawsuits against builder/developer defendants and manufacturer/supplier defendants, alleging use of defective Chinese drywall, a Norfolk Circuit Court overrules defendants’ demurrers to plaintiffs’ claim for breach of implied warranties and demurrer citing the economic loss rule as a bar to negligence claims, but the court sustains the demurrer to defendants’ claims for unjust [...]

Products Liability – Warranty Claims – Chinese Drywall – Craving Oyer

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 15, 2010
Tags: Judge Mary Jane Hall, Norfolk Circuit Court, Products Liability, Virginia Circuit Courts

Homeowners who are suing builder-developers for use of allegedly defective Chinese drywall, and who assert claims for breach of contract and breach of express warranty, must respond to defendant developers’ motions craving oyer to request documents that support a contract or warranty claim, a Norfolk Circuit Court says. The approximately 65 pending complaints all include [...]

Domestic Relations – Attorney’s Fees – Ability To Pay

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 8, 2010
Tags: Domestic Relations, Judge Mary Jane Hall, Norfolk Circuit Court

Although wife may have spent retirement assets that could have been invested, a Norfolk Circuit Court says the relative financial abilities of the parties still would support a partial award of attorney’s fees, and the court orders husband to pay $3,500 of wife’s attorney’s fees. The court’s authority to award attorney’s fees in a case [...]

Civil Procedure – Venue – Motion To Disqualify Counsel

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 1, 2010
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge Mary Jane Hall, Norfolk Circuit Court

Although the two defendant businesses in these “Chinese drywall” cases are out of business and the houses that allegedly contain defective drywall are in locations outside Norfolk, a Norfolk Circuit Court denies defendants’ motions to transfer venue from Norfolk, and also denies defendants’ motion to disqualify counsel for a conflict of interest. Venture Supply Inc. [...]

Domestic Relations – Spousal Support – Husband’s Early Retirement

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 1, 2010
Tags: Domestic Relations, Judge Mary Jane Hall, Norfolk Circuit Court

Although husband took early retirement at age 59 from his shipyard welder job, he has had to invade his retirement fund to meet his monthly expenses, including spousal support, while wife dissipated most of her $98,000 share of retirement funds in two years, and the Norfolk Circuit Court reduces husband’s spousal support obligation from $1,250 [...]

Partnerships – Foreign LP – Virginia Dissolution

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 1, 2010
Tags: Judge Mary Jane Hall, Norfolk Circuit Court, Partnerships

In this first-impression case, a Norfolk Circuit Court says it has no jurisdiction to dissolve a Georgia limited partnership, even though none of the LP’s assets – a $20 million brokerage account – or its family-feud partners have any connection to Georgia and defendants waited until the eve of trial to seek dismissal. Defendants argue [...]

Virginia court can’t dissolve LP formed elsewhere

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 26, 2010
Tags: Judge Mary Jane Hall, Norfolk Circuit Court

A limited partnership formed under another state’s laws can’t be dissolved by a Virginia court, a Norfolk Circuit Court held last week in a case of first impression. The Valone family formed a limited partnership under Georgia law, to be governed by Georgia law, even though the partnership, its partners and its assets, purportedly had [...]

Domestic Relations – Mom’s Move – GAL Recommendation

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 11, 2010
Tags: Domestic Relations, Judge Mary Jane Hall, Norfolk Circuit Court

Although both the parenting evaluator and guardian ad litem support awarding shared custody to the dad in Virginia after the mom precipitously moved with the parties’ four-year-old son to be near her family in Colorado, a Norfolk Circuit Court awards primary physical custody to the mom. The court has considered these recommendations, but particularly because [...]

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