The VLW Blog

A seaman claiming injuries stemming from a fateful shore leave in Korea may have to retry his case against a Norfolk shipping company. The decision by the Supreme Court of Virginia ends the seaman’s hope to reinstate a $25-million jury verdict. The seaman claimed his employer, the shipping company, failed to provide sufficient medical help [...]

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A Newport News jury returned a $25 million verdict this morning against Exxon Corp. for a ship repair supervisor who contracted mesothelioma after working on the company’s ships from 1966-77. Rubert Minton, 72, of Isle of Wight County, was working for Newport News Shipbuilding at the time. Minton’s attorney, Bobby Hatten, said Minton worked in [...]

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A company that has recovered and preserved thousands of artifacts from the sunken wreck of the R.M.S. Titanic has won the right to be well compensated for its efforts. But an opinion this week from Norfolk U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith does not resolve the means of compensation – a decision on that issue [...]

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It was a good day in the Supreme Court of Virginia for the holders of big verdicts. The court affirmed seven-figure judgments in four cases with nothing in common other than the size of the awards. In Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner v. Target Corp., the court upheld an award of $3.3 million in damages to the [...]

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