LLC is ‘Necessary Party’ in Derivative Suit

Lawyer, Client Sanctions Upheld

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 18, 2012
Tags: Civil Procedure, Justice Donald W. Lemons, Supreme Court of Virginia

In this case of a falling-out between a real estate agent and defendant clients and the agent they later hired to sell a property belonging to a living trust, the first agent, a realty company and their lawyer, all were properly sanctioned under Va. Code § 8.01-271.1 for pursuing three versions of a complaint alleging [...]

‘Competition’ Not Needed for Trade Secrets Claim

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 17, 2012
Tags: Employment, Justice Donald W. Lemons, Supreme Court of Virginia

A government contractor that does “geonames” mapping work can sue its former employee who allegedly breached an employment agreement when he used plaintiff’s trade secrets with a new employer; the Supreme Court of Virginia reverses the trial court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s claims under the Virginia Trade Secrets Act because the trial court erred in striking [...]

No Habeas for Bank Robber’s DNA Claim

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 10, 2011
Tags: Criminal, Justice Donald W. Lemons, Supreme Court of Virginia

A convicted bank robber’s objections to how his trial lawyer handled the issue of DNA evidence related to the crime and the crime scene do not warrant a grant of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, the Supreme Court of Virginia says. Relying on Napue v. Illinois, 360 U.S. 264 (1959), petitioner Calvin [...]

Out-of-State Lawyer Loses Experts, Case Dismissed

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 10, 2011
Tags: Justice Donald W. Lemons, Medical Malpractice, Supreme Court of Virginia

In a medical malpractice case, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding plaintiff’s expert designations as untimely and invalid without signature of local counsel, and in granting summary judgment for defendant after excluding plaintiff’s expert testimony on the standard of care, the Supreme Court of Virginia holds. This court employs an abuse-of-discretion [...]

Med-mal case dismissed, out-of-state lawyer at fault

By Peter Vieth
Published: November 10, 2011
Tags: Justice Cynthia D. Kinser, Justice Donald W. Lemons, Justice LeRoy F. Millette Jr., Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn, Justice William C. Mims, Medical Malpractice, Supreme Court of Virginia News

Missteps by a Missouri lawyer cost a Virginia medical malpractice plaintiff the chance to prove her claim against a Richmond hospital in a case decided this month by the Supreme Court of Virginia. The court offered no remedy for the patient whose lawsuit was dismissed because her out-of-state lawyer was derelict in disclosures about experts [...]

No ‘actual innocence’ writ for Navy Seal trainee

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 26, 2011
Tags: Criminal, Justice Donald W. Lemons, Supreme Court of Virginia News

The Supreme Court of Virginia on Sept. 16 unanimously turned down the appeal of Navy Seal trainee Dustin Turner, who sought a writ of actual innocence after a codefendant confessed to the murder of a young woman the two had met in a Virginia Beach nightclub in 1995. The high court found conflicts in the [...]

‘Actual Innocence’ Writ Denied to Ex-Seal Trainee

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 22, 2011
Tags: Criminal, Justice Donald W. Lemons, Supreme Court of Virginia

The Supreme Court of Virginia unanimously rejects the appeal of Navy Seal ex-trainee Dustin Turner, who sought a writ of actual innocence after a codefendant confessed to the murder of a young woman the two had met in a Virginia Beach nightclub in 1995; the high court found conflicts in the codefendant’s recantation testimony, and [...]

‘Slayer’s’ Daughters Can’t Inherit

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 22, 2011
Tags: Criminal, Justice Donald W. Lemons, Supreme Court of Virginia

The daughters of a man convicted in 2009 of murdering his mother in 2005 cannot claim their grandmother’s estate under the laws of intestate succession, because the 2005 version of the Slayer Statute bars claims from a person who claims through the slayer; the Supreme Court of Virginia declines to apply the 2008 version of [...]

Adoption Did Not Violate Due Process Right

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 20, 2011
Tags: Domestic Relations, Justice Donald W. Lemons, Supreme Court of Virginia

A trial court did not need the consent of a birth mother to adoption of her child by the woman who cared for the child since she was born in 2003 while the mother was in jail, but the appellate court erred in overturning the adoption on the ground that the birth mother’s due process [...]