All incumbent judges certified

The Chancellor has left the building

By Peter Vieth
Published: March 14, 2011
Tags: Bar Associations, Justice Lawrence L. Koontz Jr., Supreme Court of Virginia News

ROANOKE—Virginia Supreme Court Justice Lawrence L. Koontz Jr., who retired Jan. 31, says lawyers should be on the lookout for what he sees as the court’s increasingly technical scrutiny of appeals. Koontz said he has observed the court become gradually stricter on procedural issues, such as the need for explicit contemporaneous objection to preserve a [...]

Courts committees set process for filling judicial vacancies

By Alan Cooper
Published: March 11, 2011
Tags: General Assembly, Judge Clifford R. Weckstein, Judge Gary Hicks, Judgeships, Justice Lawrence L. Koontz Jr., Supreme Court of Virginia News, Virginia State Bar

David B. Albo, chairman of the House Courts of Justice Committee, has asked the Virginia State Bar to vet additional candidates to fill two vacancies on the Supreme Court of Virginia. Karen A. Gould, executive director of the VSB, said the agency’s judicial nominating committee would attempt to do so, despite a schedule that would [...]

Homeowner has negligence claim, despite contract

By Alan Cooper
Published: March 9, 2011
Tags: Justice Lawrence L. Koontz Jr., Supreme Court of Virginia News, Tort

A homeowner whose home was treated with the wrong pesticide can sue for negligence, even if the service was covered by a contract, according to a new case from the Supreme Court of Virginia. In October 2006, a technician for All American Pest Control Inc. treated the Kaltman home in the Wolf Trap area of [...]

No Specific Intent for Shooting-At-Building Offense

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 9, 2011
Tags: Criminal, Justice Lawrence L. Koontz Jr., Supreme Court of Virginia

A defendant need not have the specific intent to shoot at a particular building in order to be convicted of discharging a firearm at or against any occupied building in violation of Va. Code § 18.2-279, and the Virginia Supreme Court affirms the conviction of a man who was shooting at another man when two [...]

Homeowners Have Tort Claims for Pesticide Use

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 9, 2011
Tags: Justice Lawrence L. Koontz Jr., Negligence, Supreme Court of Virginia

Homeowners who allege a pest control company and its unlicensed technician caused them personal injury and economic harm by applying a pesticide not meant for residential use, can sue for negligence and negligence per se, but not for willful and wanton conduct, the Supreme Court says. In 2008, the couple each filed individual complaints against [...]

Co-Tenants Get Title By Adverse Possession

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 19, 2011
Tags: Justice Lawrence L. Koontz Jr., Real Estate, Supreme Court of Virginia

Although co-tenants had interests in a Bristol property, appellees showed that for more than 15 years they improved and maintained the property, paid the property taxes and leased the property to tenants who were in open occupation, while the co-tenants made no effort to ascertain the condition of the property, to take responsibility for its [...]

Court Should Have Allowed Plea Withdrawal

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 19, 2011
Tags: Criminal, Justice Lawrence L. Koontz Jr., Supreme Court of Virginia

A contractor should have been permitted to withdraw his plea of guilty to construction fraud when he made a timely motion, based on his new attorney’s additional research showing he could demonstrate a lack of intent to commit fraud in his work renovating a home and a church; the Supreme Court of Virginia reverses the [...]

Contractor’s Malicious Prosecution Win Upheld

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 19, 2011
Tags: Justice Lawrence L. Koontz Jr., Supreme Court of Virginia, Tort

The Supreme Court of Virginia affirms a judgment for a contractor in his malicious prosecution action against owners of a commercial building who hired the contractor for renovations of the building and then complained to the sheriff’s office about construction fraud after they disagreed over damage to the building’s roof and completion of the job. [...]

Court clears the way for deferred judgment

By Alan Cooper
Published: January 14, 2011
Tags: Alexandria Circuit Court, Criminal, Immigration, Judge Lisa B. Kemler, Justice Charles S. Russell, Justice Donald W. Lemons, Justice Lawrence L. Koontz Jr., Supreme Court of Virginia News

The Supreme Court of Virginia appeared to clear the way Thursday for judges to defer judgment in criminal cases and enter a finding of not guilty even when they find the law and facts sufficient for a finding of guilt. The ruling in Commonwealth v. Hernandez (VLW 011-6-002) stops short of fully endorsing the practice, [...]