The VLW Blog

A home buyer who thought he was getting a “mother-in-law apartment” is suing the seller and a realty company for false advertising. Darrell Brown and his wife bought the Sterling, Va., home in 2009 from Michael Labelle, according to a Fairfax Circuit Court opinion in Brown v. Labelle. Labelle was both owner and listing agent [...]

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Fairfax County Circuit Judge Leslie Alden says she will retire from the bench next year. Alden confirmed in an email she will step down when her term expires on July 31. She has served on the court since 1996. Alden is a member of the 2010 class of VLW’s Influential Women of Virginia. She has [...]

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Here’s the scoop on the poop. The dog poop case in Fairfax, that is. In Fairfax yesterday, a woman charged with violating a county pooper-scooper ordinance was found not guilty by a jury after a day-long trial. Why did this case take a full day of court time and require the empanelling of a jury? [...]

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It may be just a tiff over dog poop left behind on a neighbor’s yard, but the case is going to a Fairfax County jury. Kimberly Zakrzewski stands accused of letting her four-legged friend, Baxter, leave his business behind at a condominium development. Zakrzewski claims it wasn’t her. According to The Washington Post, the jury [...]

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A company that screens job applicants is facing a negligence claim for allegedly missing the “extensive” criminal record of a leasing agent hired by a Falls Church apartment complex. The company, Liberty Screening Services Ltd., allegedly did the background check on Mark Lawlor before he was hired as a leasing agent for Prestwick Apartments, a [...]

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A Fairfax Circuit Court says the “public duty” doctrine does not extend to firefighters, to protect them from a gross negligence lawsuit filed by the sons of a woman who died in a townhouse fire. The suit filed by the sons of Debra Chiles alleges she died after calling the fire department and reporting that [...]

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The Fairfax Bar Association’s convention last week at The Tides Inn in Irvington provided an opportunity for banter and good humor not always present when one of the county’s 15 circuit judges is in earshot. At least one was in hearing distance when an attorney commented about the “30 or 45 personalities on the court.”

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The Fairfax Bar Association is urging members to tell county supervisors not to cut money for five circuit court law clerks. A proposed letter to the county leaders warns of “draconian” delays in case handling if the proposed budget cut goes through. According to a memo prepared by the FBA, the court is considering reducing [...]

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The Fairfax delegation to the General Assembly has selected General District Judge Lorraine Nordlund and substitute judges Michael F. Devine and Brett A. Kassabian to fill pending vacancies on the county circuit court. Del. David Albo, the Republican who chairs the House Courts of Justice Committee, said members of the delegation interviewed candidates for the [...]

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Following a new U.S. Supreme Court case, Fairfax Circuit Judge Jane Marum Roush on Friday dismissed DUI charges against a man who allegedly had a BAC of 0.11. The reason: In June, the high court decided Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, a case generally holding that lab analysts must appear in court rather than merely submit their [...]

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