The VLW Blog

Michael Hash of Culpeper, who spent nearly 12 years in prison before his capital murder conviction was overturned by a federal judge, has filed suit against the people who prosecuted him. Hash’s suit in Charlottesville federal court names five law enforcement officials and a jailhouse snitch. He claims the law enforcement officials, including former Culpeper [...]

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A Williamsburg custom home builder can go back to court to prove his claim that a competing builder infringed his copyrighted design when he built a Georgian-style home for a couple who had visited a model home in the Ford’s Colony subdivision. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals revived a copyright claim filed by [...]

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Chronic tardiness is not the way to win points with a judge. After a recent showdown in a federal court in South Carolina, the court and the offending litigant each came away with an appellate win. The plaintiff, who repeatedly showed up late to court and then cursed a judge after she left the courtroom, [...]

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Federal and state government lawyers are trumpeting the formal resolution of a $1.6-billion case against pharmaceutical giant Abbott Laboratories Inc. for off-label marketing of its anti-seizure drug Depakote. A federal judge in Abingdon approved a criminal sentence for Abbott today. Various states and the federal government charged Abbott with illegally promoting the use of Depakote [...]

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A Richmond federal court has rejected a “simply shocking” request for nearly $1 million in attorney’s fees sought by two shareholders who sued to halt the sale of Massey Energy Company to Alpha Natural Resources Inc. U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr. could not see what the plaintiffs, Benjamin Mostaed and William Perkins, had [...]

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Three former mental health staffers will share a “finders fee” of $1.37 million for their help in uncovering billing fraud at a residential treatment unit for boys. The three were the first to alert government officials to phony Medicaid claims at the Keystone Marion Youth Center. After an investigation, the owner of the facility agreed [...]

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A dog trainer who claimed he was defamed by online accusations of animal abuse was entitled to tell a jury how many people “liked” the offending Facebook page, a federal judge has ruled. Nevertheless, U.S. District Judge James Cacheris said the jury’s “grossly excessive” $60,000 punitive damages verdict in favor of the dog trainer should [...]

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Washington, D.C. lawyers who won a pro bono voter records case can’t expect to recoup fees at D.C. rates, a Norfolk federal judge said last week. Lawyers from the D.C. office of Boston-based Ropes & Gray went to bat for Project Vote, who alleged that students at Norfolk State University had problems registering to vote [...]

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An actor who made his reputation playing a slightly sleazy TV lawyer can tell a jury he did not violate a morality clause in his contract to be a celebrity spokesperson for a legal marketing campaign. Virginia Beach-based Innovative Legal Marketing LLC hired Corbin Bernsen to promote its “BIG CASE” TV advertising campaign. Bernsen gained [...]

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A 4th Circuit panel refused to disturb lower court findings that prosecutors denied due process rights for the Prince William County man accused of arranging the murder of a competing drug dealer. The three-judge panel Thursday affirmed the conclusions of U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson who pointedly criticized Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul Ebert and his staff [...]

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