Written Statement ‘Inadequate’ After 7-Day Trial, Judge Says

Driver hit couple’s car head-on, fled scene on foot – $225,000 Settlement

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: January 30, 2012
Tags: Personal Injury, Virginia Beach Circuit Court

This case involved a hit-and-run accident. The plaintiff and her husband were headed out to go hunting early in the morning. On the way out of their hometown, the defendant, likely drunk, ran into them head-on. The defendant fled the scene on foot and was never found by police. The plaintiff suffered a severe shoulder [...]

Condo owners pursue structural defect, warranty claims – $3,248,105 Verdict

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: December 26, 2011
Tags: Judge Leslie L. Lilley, Million-Dollar Verdicts, Real Estate, Virginia Beach Circuit Court

Sandbridge Dunes is a 74-unit, four-story condominium building on the oceanfront in Sandbridge. Following three years of fruitless attempts to have the project developer fix leaks and faulty construction in the common areas, the owner’s association retained experts and counsel to pursue statutory warranty claims, seeking over $4,000,000 to repair the defective work. Defects included [...]

OB/GYN turns back claim for failure to diagnose cancer – Defense Verdict

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: November 14, 2011
Tags: Judge Stephen C. Mahan, Medical Malpractice, Million-Dollar Defense Verdicts, Virginia Beach Circuit Court

Plaintiff had treated with the defendant OB-GYN practice since 1997 for regular annual exams and Pap smears to screen for cervical cancer. In September 1999 she had an abnormal Pap smear result, following which the defendant OB-GYN monitored her more closely with additional Pap smears and colposcopies. In December 1999 plaintiff had her first of [...]

Hampton Roads takes to judicial settlement program

By Peter Vieth
Published: September 29, 2011
Tags: Hampton Circuit Court, Supreme Court of Virginia, Virginia Beach Circuit Court

After eight years, Virginia’s Judicial Settlement Conference program remains popular in parts of the state, but gets little to no use in other areas. The free judicial mediation service is active and well accepted in the Hampton Roads area, court officials say, but little used in Northern Virginia and Southwest Virginia. Overall, for the second [...]

Patient develops infection after removal of wisdom teeth – Defense Verdict

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: June 20, 2011
Tags: Judge A. Bonwill Shockley, Medical Malpractice, Million-Dollar Defense Verdicts, Virginia Beach Circuit Court

The defendant oral and maxillofacial surgeon extracted two of the plaintiff’s wisdom teeth. Plaintiff alleged that defendant (i) failed to appropriately prescribe antibiotics both before and after the surgery, (ii) failed to detect the signs of an infection during his treatment of her, (iii) failed to timely order a CT or MRI scan or make [...]

Stop-sign crash leaves driver with fused ankle, broken leg – $1,000,000 Settlement

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: June 6, 2011
Tags: Million-Dollar Settlements, Personal Injury, Virginia Beach Circuit Court

Plaintiff was traveling in his car eastbound on Virginia Beach Boulevard when defendant failed to yield at a stop sign on a street from a residential neighborhood. A violent collision occurred and plaintiff suffered extensive orthopedic injuries. He underwent surgeries for a displaced closed intraarticular right calcaneus fracture, a left supracondylar femur fracture, a left [...]

No Chinese Drywall Coverage Under Policy Exclusions

By Deborah Elkins
Published: June 2, 2011
Tags: Insurance, Judge Patricia L. West, Virginia Beach Circuit Court, Virginia Circuit Courts

A Virginia Beach Circuit Court says homeowners who allege damage to their property and their family’s health from installation of Chinese drywall in their home built in 2005 are not entitled to coverage under their homeowners’ policy, as their losses are excluded under the policy’s multiple exclusions, including the pollution exclusion. Plaintiffs sued, naming several [...]

Former sanitation district employees say general manager defamed them – $155,000 Settlement

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: May 9, 2011
Tags: Defamation, Virginia Beach Circuit Court

Two former employees of the Hampton Roads Sanitation District alleged that they were defamed by statements the general manger of the district made to the media after disclosure that a new computer system had resulted in artificially high bills in 2008. Their claims were settled through mediation approximately two weeks before trial. In addition to [...]

Prohibition on stock voided noncompete

By Alan Cooper
Published: February 24, 2011
Tags: Employment, Judge Frederick B. Lowe, Virginia Beach Circuit Court

A Virginia Beach Circuit judge has struck a noncompete agreement after a medical company tried to enforce the covenant against a family nurse practitioner who sought to start another medical business. The key phrase that caused the agreement to fail: The document prohibited her from competing as a “shareholder.” That covenant would bar a former [...]