The VLW Blog

An Abingdon federal jury decided a child car seat was not defective, closing the door on a $50-million claim for damages for an 8-year-old girl who suffered devastating brain damage in a 2009 auto accident.
The jury deliberated about six hours before returning a defense verdict Monday evening.
Lawyers for Samantha Musick argued her skull was fractured [...]

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A Suffolk circuit judge has tossed out a couple’s Chinese drywall claims against both a wallboard supplier and the real estate company that sold the damaged home.
Judge Rodham T. Delk Jr. found that neither Venture Supply Inc. nor Rose & Womble Realty Company could be liable under the allegations of the lawsuit brought by Paul [...]

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It may be too late to run for cover. One of America’s most notorious pro se “serial filers” recently hit Richmond federal court, where he did not get a very warm welcome.
A self-proclaimed “semi-professional litigator,” Arthur O. Armstrong has “no less than 349 separately assigned case numbers” in federal dockets with Armstrong as plaintiff, according [...]

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While lawyers continue efforts to determine what to do about homes afflicted with Chinese drywall and – more importantly – who must pay for remedial action, the 2011 Virginia legislature passed a pair of measures aimed at preventing more homeowners from falling victim to the tainted wallboard.
Senate Bill 1294 bars the sale of Chinese drywall, [...]

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A second panel of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit today upheld a special master’s finding that there is no connection between autism and a mercury-based preservative in the measles-mumps rubella vaccine.
The first panel issued its opinion in May. Judge Pauline Newman was the only judge on both panels, but she was [...]

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U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Urbanski recommends limiting attorneys’ fee to 33 1/3 percent for child and wrongful death claims arising from the Salmonella outbreak from products made by the Lynchburg-based Peanut Corporation of America.
A report and recommendation issued by Urbanski on Wednesday recommends approval of $12 million in settlements from a fund established to pay [...]

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Norfolk Circuit Judge Mary Jane Hall will allow small groups of plaintiffs to try their Chinese drywall cases together, rejecting defense arguments that disparate personal injury claims would make trial consolidation unfair.
Hall announced her decision in a June 23 letter opinion.
Hall already had consolidated scores of Chinese drywall lawsuits for pretrial rulings, including her March [...]

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A Chinese-owned company hit with a $2.6 million default judgment in favor of seven Virginia families has filed a notice of appeal in the federal case.
It’s the first known court appearance in the Chinese drywall litigation in this country by Taishan Gypsum Co., Ltd., a company owned by the Chinese government.
The notice of appeal was [...]

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Virginia officials are forming a state task force to advise the federal government what to do about defective Chinese drywall that has sickened residents and ruined homes in the Tidewater area.
The announcement comes today from Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Jim Cheng, who met with affected residents in early February. He said [...]

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A Florida judge said he plans to slash a $300 million verdict against Philip Morris, calling the jury award to a former smoker "excessive" and "shocking."
Broward Circuit Judge Jeffrey Streitfeld indicated Friday that he would reduce the award, according to the Daily Business Review . The verdict came in November in the case of an [...]

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