The VLW Blog

The Memorial Day murder of a deputy’s ex-wife has led to a $20-million wrongful death lawsuit against Franklin County Sheriff Ewell Hunt. Former deputy Jonathan Agee, 32, is accused of gunning down his ex-wife Jennifer in Roanoke City and later wounding a state trooper who pursued Agee into Montgomery County. The family of Jennifer Agee [...]

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A farmhand who fell when he was grabbed from behind by a co-worker cannot collect workers’ compensation for a knee injury, the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission ruled Sept. 1. The deputy commissioner awarded benefits to Brandon Phipps, 22, who worked for a turfgrass farm in Franklin. But the full commission reversed, and said Phipps’ injury [...]

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A Charlottesville judge cut a husband’s wrongful death verdict by two thirds and ordered sanctions against the plaintiff and his lawyer in the aftermath of a hotly contested trial that produced a record overall jury award. A 32-page order from Circuit Court Judge Edward Hogshire also refers Charlottesville lawyer Matthew Murray to the Virginia State [...]

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The Bank of America is asking a federal judge to block Donald Trump’s claimed right-of-first-refusal to buy the embattled Albemarle House mansion near Charlottesville. Trump owns the front yard and other nearby properties formerly controlled by heiress Patricia Kluge, who has given up millions in assets after declaring bankruptcy in June. Trump says his claimed [...]

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Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul Ebert denies he violated the law or the Rules of Professional Conduct in the capital murder prosecution of Justin Wolfe. Wolfe was convicted of arranging the murder of a drug dealer, but his case now is subject to habeas corpus review based on a July opinion from U.S. District [...]

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A Henrico County judge rejected arguments that Kyle Leftwich’s diversion of social security fee checks should be viewed as no more than a civil dispute with her law firm. Leftwich, a former associate with Marks & Harrison, endorsed Social Security checks made out to her for representing disabled clients, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. But [...]

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Virginia Beach attorney John W. Hart has surrendered his license to practice law rather than face allegations that he misappropriated more than $85,000. According to Virginia State Bar documents, Hart became trustee of an irrevocable trust in 2004 and misappropriated at least $50,000 from the trust, although the total amount of the misappropriation is not [...]

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A Newport News jury has awarded $5,225,000 to a man who was injured after a retailer’s forklift ran over his foot. On July 22, 2006, Michael Chavis was at a Best Buy store in Newport News looking at a television on display. Nearby, a store employee had left a battery-powered forklift switched on. Another store [...]

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Elizabeth A. McClanahan had a terrific 52nd birthday present today: investiture as a justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. With the main courtroom packed and a crowd watching by television in three other rooms, McClanahan took the oath of office from a fellow Southwest Virginian, Chief Justice Cynthia D. Kinser. Read the full story [...]

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