Justice Cleo Powell takes Supreme Court seat

Sub Can’t Sue as Third-Party Beneficiary

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 1, 2012
Tags: Contract, Justice Cleo E. Powell, Supreme Court of Virginia

A sub-subcontractor who has not been paid for asbestos abatement during demolition of a facility owned by a Portsmouth housing authority cannot sue the developer on the project as a third-party beneficiary of the developer’s contract with the authority, and the Supreme Court of Virginia affirms dismissal of the suit. A developer contracted with a [...]

Jury Instruction Wrong on LLC Liability

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 26, 2012
Tags: Corporate, Justice Cleo E. Powell, Supreme Court of Virginia

In an LLC’s suit as landlord of a medical office building for breach of a lease and damages and the tenant’s counterclaim alleging fraud, the trial court erred in instructing the jury that a limited liability company could not be liable for any fraudulent activity unless the fraud was approved by the members of the [...]

A tale of two cases: Land use lawyers scrutinize permits

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 16, 2012
Tags: Justice Cleo E. Powell, Justice Cynthia D. Kinser, Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan, Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn, Real Estate, Supreme Court of Virginia News

A developer that wants to build in the historic town of Occoquan got a green light from the Supreme Court of Virginia earlier this month, in a case that raises questions about the role of “Special Use Permits” in regulating development. Although the high court’s order in the Occoquan case is unpublished, a concurrence by [...]

Court Upholds $1.95M Jury Award

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 7, 2012
Tags: Justice Cleo E. Powell, Medical Malpractice, Supreme Court of Virginia

The Supreme Court of Virginia upholds a $1.95 million jury award to a man whose wife died after outpatient plastic surgery; the trial court did not err in denying a mistrial on a defense complaint about a juror telling plaintiff’s expert, “Good job,” or in admitting decedent’s unpaid medical bills. According to defendant doctor, the [...]

Plaintiff Can Itemize Damages at Closing

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 7, 2012
Tags: Justice Cleo E. Powell, Negligence, Supreme Court of Virginia

A plaintiff’s lawyer whose client alleged headaches and neck pain from an auto accident could show the jury a chart asking for specific amounts of money for itemized damages during closing argument, and the Supreme Court of Virginia upholds the $30,000 jury award to plaintiff. Plaintiff proffered medical bills of $948 and $4,173 and requested [...]

No Comp Bar for Private Stevedore

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 18, 2012
Tags: Justice Cleo E. Powell, Supreme Court of Virginia, Workers’ Comp

Virginia International Terminals and its employee cannot invoke the workers’ comp bar to avoid a negligence action filed by the estate of a private stevedore who was fatally injured when the yard tractor he was driving to unload a ship was struck by a straddle carrier operated by a VIT employee; the Virginia Supreme Court [...]

Legal Assistant Can Assess Capacity

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 17, 2012
Tags: Justice Cleo E. Powell, Supreme Court of Virginia, Wills & Trusts

A lawyer’s legal assistant could determine that a hospitalized client had testamentary capacity to change her will to leave her estate to her daughter Mary Ann who cared for her, in contrast to an earlier will that divided the estate among her five children, and the Supreme Court of Virginia reverses the trial court decision [...]

Looking back on 2011: The year in legal news

By Paul Fletcher and Peter Vieth
Published: December 12, 2011
Tags: Charlottesville Circuit Court, General Assembly, Gov. Bob McDonnell, Judge Edward Hogshire, Judge Thomas D. Horne, Justice Cleo E. Powell, Justice Cynthia D. Kinser, Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan, Justice Lawrence L. Koontz Jr., Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn, Law Schools, Million-Dollar Verdicts, Sanctions, Supreme Court of Virginia News, Virginia State Bar

The reversal of a 20-year-old noncompete case lead the case news from Virginia Lawyers in 2011. Much of the first half of year featured news from the General Assembly. Officials at the Virginia State Bar sparred with legislators over $5 million that Gov. Bob McDonnell wanted to take. And the Hernandez case – which allowed [...]

Vesting Date Not Dispositive for Wife’s Stock

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 10, 2011
Tags: Domestic Relations, Justice Cleo E. Powell, Supreme Court of Virginia

In reviewing classification of various stock options and awards for an equitable distribution, the lower court gave undue weight to the vesting dates, which fell after the date of separation, in deciding the awards were wife’s separate property, and the Supreme Court of Virginia reverses and remands with directions for further remand to the trial [...]