Richmond federal judge overturns Botox® verdict

Housing authority’s appraisal was not just compensation, jury rules – $3,756,250 Verdict

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: December 24, 2012
Tags: Eminent Domain, Judge Louis Allen Sherman, Million-Dollar Verdicts, Norfolk Circuit Court

Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority condemned a 50,000 square foot parcel of land at the corner of Killam and 39th Street in Norfolk, originally offering the property owner $2,080,000 as just compensation for the property. The land acquired by the housing authority is improved with a 35,000 square foot integrated manufacturing facility, where Norva Plastics, [...]

Judge choices dominate legal highlights for 2012

By Peter Vieth
Published: December 10, 2012
Tags: General Assembly, Judgeships, Lawyer Discipline, Million-Dollar Verdicts, Rules of Evidence, Virginia State Bar, Year in Review

Judges and judgeships again made headlines in Virginia legal news in 2012, with the General Assembly earning national attention with its rejection of an openly gay candidate for a general district court seat. The leading VLW story was a report that, in a year of austerity, legislators with access to the budget process managed to [...]

Dump truck driver struck and killed by train on private roadway – $2,500,000 Verdict

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: December 3, 2012
Tags: Million-Dollar Verdicts, Prince William County Circuit Court, Wrongful Death

The decedent was a dump truck driver carrying gravel to a worksite on private land reached by a private road within Prince William County. As the decedent traveled down a dirt road to an unmarked railroad crossing, his view to the right to see any oncoming trains was hindered by a stack of wood that [...]

High court hears record wrongful death appeal

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 31, 2012
Tags: Albemarle County Circuit Court, Judge Edward Hogshire, Justice Cleo E. Powell, Justice Donald W. Lemons, Million-Dollar Verdicts, Sanctions, Social Media, Supreme Court of Virginia News

A man should not keep a jury award for his wife’s death when he and his lawyer conspired to remove photos from his Facebook page and then lied about it to the court, a defense lawyer told the Supreme Court of Virginia on Oct. 30. Probing for prejudice the defendant might have suffered, several justices [...]

Sister wins $1.4M in suit against brother over mom’s estate – $1,422,523 Verdict

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: August 13, 2012
Tags: Fairfax County Circuit Court, Judge Brett A. Kassabian, Million-Dollar Verdicts, Wills & Trusts

Plaintiff filed suit naming three defendants: 1) plaintiff’s brother in his capacity as the administrator of their mother’s estate, 2) plaintiff’s brother individually, and 3) plaintiff’s sister-in-law. The case involved the defendant brother/son obtaining funds from his parents’ trusts in violation of the terms of the trusts. The court entered judgment in favor of the [...]

If you win a big verdict, just how do you collect on it?

By Sylvia Hsieh
Published: August 6, 2012
Tags: Million-Dollar Verdicts, Personal Injury

Ever wonder what happens after the headlines trumpeting the latest huge jury verdict are gone? Do the plaintiffs actually collect the amount the jury awarded? How often and how much? Rick Friedman, a Seattle attorney who lectures to trial lawyers on jury trials, estimates that 10 percent or less of personal injury verdicts are fully [...]

Worker’s leg crushed due to faulty dock plate – $1,100,000 Verdict

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: August 6, 2012
Tags: Fairfax County Circuit Court, Judge Leslie M. Alden, Million-Dollar Verdicts, Personal Injury

Plaintiff was injured while unloading a truck at Fort Belvoir. He was using a dock plate whose braking system failed, allowing it to rise up uncommanded, catching his leg between the dock plate and the pallet jack he was using. His leg was severely injured and he missed two years from work. The dock plate [...]

Wrongful death due to delay in lung cancer diagnosis – $2,000,000 Verdict

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: July 9, 2012
Tags: Judge Richard B. Potter, Medical Malpractice, Million-Dollar Verdicts, Prince William County Circuit Court

This wrongful death action was originally filed as a personal injury suit for failure to diagnose lung cancer. The plaintiff died during the pendency of the case, and it was amended to a wrongful death action, prosecuted by two adult children as administrators of the estate on behalf of the four adult children beneficiaries. The [...]

Newspaper defamed school principal and his son, jury finds – $3,000,000 Verdict

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: June 11, 2012
Tags: Chesapeake Circuit Court, Defamation, Judge Randall D. Smith, Million-Dollar Verdicts

On Dec. 18, 2009, The Virginian-Pilot published a news article, authored by Louis Hansen, about Phillip Webb, a public school assistant principal, and his son, a student in the same school system. Plaintiff alleged the defendant newspaper falsely implied that he had improperly used his position to obtain preferential treatment for his student son. In [...]