The VLW Blog

A Norfolk federal court has awarded reimbursement for experts’ travel time to depositions, but at a rate that is half the hourly charge for time actually spent in deposition. Senior U.S. District Judge Norman K. Moon, who sits in Charlottesville, was called to Norfolk to hear the federal government’s condemnation case involving 1.604 acres 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’s clear Bernard Madoff was not the only “investment advisor” to rely on an old-fashioned Ponzi scheme to offer great returns. In a case closer to home, a small family-owned tractor sales company in Purvellville lost a hefty chunk of its 401(k) profit-sharing plan when it invested in U.S. Capital Funding, which the 4th U.S. [...]

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Being linked to “developers” is not defamatory in Chesterfield County. Chesterfield County Circuit Judge Herbert C. Gill has dismissed a local businessman’s $1.35 million defamation suit against residents who opposed a sewer line the businessman supported by saying the businessman was “being paid by developers.” This claim and other statements occurred in letters the residents [...]

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A tug of war over disability plan documents has been remanded to an Alexandria federal district court for the second time by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. AT&T denied long-term disability benefits under the company’s ERISA plan to employee Margaret Mullins, who suffered from carpal tunnel syndrome. The district court upheld the denial [...]

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An employee who claims his 401(k) account lost value can sue the plan administrator for failure to follow the employee’s investment instructions. On Feb. 20, the U.S. Supreme Court said in LaRue v. DeWolff, Boberg & Associates Inc. that the employee’s allegations stated a claim for breach of fiduciary duty in violation of § 502(a)(2) [...]

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Property owners who lived near Chesapeake Airport have won the right to damages for noise and vibration that they say has ruined the once quiet, rural setting of their West Landing Estates neighborhood. In operation since 1977, the airport completed its last runway extension in 1999. George and Margaret Osipovs bought their home in March [...]

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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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Elder law is a growing field of practice, and we all know why. What lawyers don’t always know is how to balance the different hats they may have to wear when serving elderly or incapacitated clients. A new Fairfax case highlights one issue of concern: Should a lawyer appointed as a guardian and conservator draft [...]

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Lawyers’ business clients have used arbitration for years to resolve commercial disputes. But there’s business, and then, there’s bidness. Senior U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar had a case in Norfolk federal district court last month, Al-Haddad Commodities Corp. v. Toepfer Int’l Asia PTE Ltd. (VLW 007-3-147), that pitted an international commodities trader against an [...]

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