Contract case tests birth-injury coverage

Fraud Claim Survives in Modular Home Suit

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 14, 2013
Tags: Contract, Judge Thomas D. Horne, Loudoun County Circuit Court, Virginia Circuit Courts

A plaintiff who alleges shoddy craftsmanship, structural deficiencies and an absence of oversight in the installation of a modular home may pursue her fraud claim against a single defendant, but her other claims are barred by the economic loss rule, says a Loudoun County Circuit Court. Plaintiff alleges that on May 5, 2011, she entered [...]

Loudoun judgeship unfilled after lawyer grilled on abortion

By Peter Vieth
Published: April 8, 2013
Tags: Judgeships, Loudoun County Circuit Court

Republican lawmakers have raised a howl in Loudoun County after a Democratic Senator allegedly blocked election of Leesburg lawyer William H. Atwill Jr. to a circuit court judgeship. Based on questions from legislators last week, Atwill may have run afoul of concerns about his stance on abortion. At his interview before members of the General [...]

Costco employee denies striking plaintiff with pallet jack – Defense Verdict

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: April 8, 2013
Tags: Judge Herman A. Whisenant Jr., Loudoun County Circuit Court, Personal Injury

Plaintiff was shopping with his father at a Costco store in Sterling on June 4, 2009. Plaintiff alleged that while he was in the produce isle, Costco employee Jose Fonseca pushed a pallet jack containing a stack of grapes into his foot and ankle. Plaintiff sued for $500,000 and made demands before trial of $260,000 [...]

Developer Wins Limited Declaratory Relief

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 20, 2013
Tags: Judge Thomas D. Horne, Loudoun County Circuit Court, Real Estate, Virginia Circuit Courts

In this dispute over a developer’s alternative plans to provide water and sewer service to a proposed development after the localities changed plans to share that responsibility, a Loudoun County Circuit Court orders limited declaratory relief and holds that a determination of rights regarding whether the tract may be developed with an Alternative Onsite System [...]

Despite $500 jury award, judge gives consumer lawyer $8K in fees

By Peter Vieth
Published: March 12, 2013
Tags: Attorneys Fees, Consumer Protection, Judge Thomas D. Horne, Loudoun County Circuit Court

A Virginia consumer lawyer says a judge’s hefty fee award in an otherwise small-value used car case will encourage lawyers to stand up for consumers even when the stakes are small. Loudoun County Circuit Judge Thomas D. Horne awarded $8,000 to the car buyer’s attorney even though a jury decided the buyer was entitled to [...]

Assembly trims judge funding plans

By Peter Vieth
Published: February 27, 2013
Tags: Fairfax County Circuit Court, General Assembly, Gov. Bob McDonnell, Judgeships, Loudoun County Circuit Court, Virginia Bar Association, Virginia Beach Circuit Court

The budget approved by the General Assembly Saturday provides money for unfreezing only five extra judgeships in addition to the 15 proposed in Gov. Bob McDonnell’s proposal. Earlier this month, the House and Senate introduced budget plans that were far more generous to the judiciary. The House proposed filling an extra 17 judgeships and the [...]

Loudoun judge approves predictive coding results

By Correy E. Stephenson
Published: February 22, 2013
Tags: Discovery, Judge James H. Chamblin, Loudoun County Circuit Court, Technology

In the first case to approve the use of predictive coding over a party’s objection, a Loudoun Circuit Court judge has signed off on the defense’s computer-assisted review results in a document-heavy case. Computer-assisted review made headlines over the past year after U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew J. Peck of the Southern District of New York [...]

Computer-assisted review becomes more popular

By Correy E. Stephenson
Published: February 1, 2013
Tags: Discovery, Judge James H. Chamblin, Loudoun County Circuit Court, Technology

The pace for adoption of predictive coding in discovery is accelerating, say lawyers familiar with using computers for mass document review. One Virginia court was an early adopter. In April 2012, Loudoun Circuit Judge James H. Chamblin issued a two-page order allowing the use of computer-assisted review over the objection of plaintiff’s counsel, in Global [...]

Dismissal Denied for Defamation Claims

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 7, 2013
Tags: Judge Thomas D. Horne, Loudoun County Circuit Court, Tort, Virginia Circuit Courts

A Loudoun County Circuit Court denies a plea in bar filed by defendants to plaintiff’s defamation suit, based on plaintiff’s allegations that defendants arranged for photographs of plaintiff being arrested for embezzlement and for further dissemination of those photos, even though plaintiff, their former residential property manager, was acquitted of the alleged embezzlement. Plaintiff Deanne [...]