The VLW Blog

Former Virginia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harry L. Carrico died Sunday at age 96. Justice Carrico was the longest serving justice and chief justice in the court’s history. He served 42 years on the court, 22 as chief justice. Retiring in 2003, he continued to serve as a senior justice. Justice Carrico’s death was confirmed [...]

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A father can seek to establish legal parentage of a child conceived through in vitro fertilization, the Supreme Court of Virginia has ruled in L.F. v. Breit. Virginia Beach lawyer Billy Breit and the mother of his daughter conceived through assisted conception and never married, but they drew up a number of agreements, including an [...]

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The Supreme Court of Virginia has reinstated the full jury verdict of $6,227,000 on a Isaiah Lester’s wrongful death claim based on the loss of his wife in a car accident. The court’s ruling in Allied Concrete Co. v. Lester closes the book on a high-profile, high-dollar p.i. case. Lester and his wife’s parents recovered [...]

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The Supreme Court of Virginia acted swiftly Friday to overturn a lower court’s takedown order directing a disgruntled consumer to remove critical online postings about a contractor. The high court vacated a Dec. 7 order from Fairfax Circuit Judge Thomas A. Fortkort ordering Jane Perez to delete certain accusations about Dietz Development LLC from postings [...]

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Despite a series of circuit court opinions frowning on the practice, the so-called “speaking objection” during a deposition has never been expressly barred under Virginia court rules. That situation will change Jan. 1 with a package of rule changes approved by the Supreme Court of Virginia. Rule 4:5, governing depositions in circuit court civil actions, [...]

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What’s your lawsuit about? It should be easier to tell with the new cover sheet published by the Supreme Court of Virginia. Attorneys filing circuit court civil actions are asked to use the new cover sheet form available at the court’s website. The court modified the uniform cover sheet at the behest of the 2012 [...]

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With many government offices closed in the wake of the storm, including administrative offices of the Supreme Court of Virginia, the court nevertheless is in session and will be hearing its schedule of oral arguments today (Tuesday). The essential personnel required to support the court session should report as planned, the court advised on its [...]

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Sandy has put a crimp in Virginia’s Judicial System. The  administrative offices of the Supreme Court of Virginia are closed today, “due to inclement weather.” Virginia State Bar offices also are closed. However, the Virginia State Bar Admission Ceremony will take place as scheduled, the court reports in a note on its website. “Essential personnel [...]

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The Supreme Court of Virginia has refused to block the dissolution of a family-controlled company that runs a profitable kyanite mine in Buckingham County. In a terse order dated Tuesday, the court denied the motion by The Disthene Group Inc. for a stay of the dissolution order pending an appeal of the trial court’s decision. [...]

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Retired Virginia Supreme Court Justice Henry H. Whiting has died. He was 89. Justice Whiting served on the Supreme Court of Virginia from 1987 to 2002. He took senior status in 1995. Upon his retirement in 2002, Justice Whiting was honored by the court and bar as the court convened in Winchester for the first [...]

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