‘A new standard of liability’ in Virginia?

Rehearing petition may work, says court

By Peter Vieth
Published: April 30, 2013
Tags: Bar Associations, Judge Teresa M. Chafin, Justice Cynthia D. Kinser, Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan, Virginia State Bar

ABINGDON – If the Supreme Court of Virginia denies your client’s petition for appeal, take a serious look at a second try, members of the high court said at an April 26 “town hall meeting” on appellate practice. Chief Justice Cynthia D. Kinser, joined fellow Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan and Court of Appeals Judge Teresa [...]

No Brady Error in Sex Offense Case

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 29, 2013
Tags: Criminal, Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan, Supreme Court of Virginia

At defendant’s trial for various sex offenses against his seven-year-old stepdaughter, he had enough time to make use of a recorded interview with the victim that disclosed potentially inconsistent statements, and the Supreme Court of Virginia says the Court of Appeals erred in reversing defendant’s convictions for the alleged error under Brady v. Maryland, 373 [...]

Toughen up to seek tough job as judge

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 17, 2013
Tags: Bar Associations, Judgeships, Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan

Being elected as a judge in Virginia may look like a genteel affair, compared to the hurly-burly of direct election as used in other states. But it doesn’t necessarily feel that way to the would-be judges. You need to develop “skin as thick as an armadillo,” said Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan. She appeared [...]

No Pay-Backs for Developer’s Proffers

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 13, 2013
Tags: Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan, Real Estate, Supreme Court of Virginia

Although a trial court said a real estate developer did not have to pay an extra $4,000 per subdivision unit as part of its “proffer” under the prior owner’s agreement with the county, the developer was not entitled to restitution for payments it made, which fall under the “voluntary payment” doctrine; the Supreme Court of [...]

Contractor Has Viable Defamation Claim

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 5, 2013
Tags: Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan, Supreme Court of Virginia, Tort

Plaintiff contractor may sue a competitor for defamation for asserting to plaintiff’s client that the contractor told the competitor he was going to “screw” the client, just like he did a prior client; the Supreme Court of Virginia reverses the trial court’s dismissal of the claim as based on “opinion,” and says whether the competitor [...]

District court could amend DWI charge

By Peter Vieth
Published: January 17, 2013
Tags: Hernandez, Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan, Supreme Court of Virginia News, Traffic Offenses

The Supreme Court of Virginia has refused — again — to tie the hands of trial court judges who want to control disposition of criminal charges in some cases. The latest pronouncement in a string of decisions since the touchstone Hernandez case reinforces the idea that general district judges may modify criminal charges as they [...]

Failure-to-warn rule tightened in van case

By Peter Vieth
Published: January 17, 2013
Tags: Justice Cleo E. Powell, Justice Donald W. Lemons, Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan, Justice LeRoy F. Millette Jr., Justice William C. Mims, Products Liability, Supreme Court of Virginia News, Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys, Wrongful Death

A change of heart by a single justice has brought an end to a short-lived “relaxed” standard for failure-to-warn claims under Virginia products liability law. After rehearing a products liability case, Virginia Supreme Court Justice LeRoy F. Millette Jr. switched his position on the standard for use of similar incidents in product failure cases, dashing [...]

High court reinstates full verdict in ‘Lester’

By Peter Vieth
Published: January 10, 2013
Tags: Charlottesville Circuit Court, Judge Edward Hogshire, Justice Cleo E. Powell, Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan, Million-Dollar Verdicts, Supreme Court of Virginia News, Wrongful Death

The Supreme Court of Virginia has reinstated the full jury verdict of $6,227,000 on Isaiah Lester’s wrongful death claim based on the loss of his wife in a car accident in 2007. The court’s ruling closes the book on a high-profile, high-dollar personal-injury case in Albemarle County. The trial judge had reduced the jury’s award [...]

Getting to the jury on ‘capacity’ for will

By Peter Vieth
Published: November 14, 2012
Tags: Alexandria Circuit Court, Justice Cleo E. Powell, Justice Cynthia D. Kinser, Justice Donald W. Lemons, Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan, Justice LeRoy F. Millette Jr., Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn, Justice William C. Mims, Supreme Court of Virginia News, Wills & Trusts

Call it a finger on the scale of justice. The law sometimes gives an advantage to one side in a lawsuit, allowing a legal “presumption” about some key fact in the case. Presumptions can be overcome, but how much weight it takes, who gets to make the call, and what happens afterward have been open [...]