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Recent Articles from Nick Hurston
‘Akin to an asset’: Wrongful death payments not income for child support
Annuity payments received by a woman as a structured settlement for her mother’s wrongful death shouldn’t be included as gross income for purposes of calculating child support, a Virginia circuit court has held.
No private action against bank for failure to prevent elder exploitation
An elderly woman scammed out of more than $130,000 has no private cause of action under federal and state laws that impose a permissive duty to deny or report transactions that it may suspect are elder financial exploitation, the Court of Appeals of Virginia has held.
No witnesses: Plaintiff denied third-party witness, recording of medical exam
A personal injury plaintiff failed to satisfy the burden required to necessitate the recording of or having a third-party witness at her Rule 4:10 medical examination, a Fairfax County judge has held.
‘Too stringent’: Court tosses precedent, joins other circuits on attorneys’ fees for injunction wins
Joining every other circuit to decide the issue, a divided 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has overruled its precedent that preliminary injunctions can’t convey “prevailing party” status to a plaintiff, which precluded awards of attorney’s fees.
Exclusive remedy: Workers’ Compensation Act bars COVID-19 death claim
A wrongful death suit alleging that workplace conditions caused a grocery store employee to die of COVID-19 was barred by the Workers Compensation Act, the Court of Appeals of Virginia has held.
Sharing husband’s social media posts exposes wife to tort liability
A woman’s assault, defamation and malicious prosecutions allegations against a Virginia attorney and his wife have survived dismissal.
Tased horseman’s excessive force claims clear bar
A man on horseback sufficiently alleged excessive force claims against a Lynchburg police officer who tased him when he fled the attempted service of a permitted warrant, the Western District of Virginia found.
University must hand over student records from physician assistant program
A university must hand over educational records about other students to a former Physician Assistant Studies student so he can determine if they are valid comparators to prove his claims of racial and disability discrimination, according to a ruling from the Western District of Virginia. Last year, U.S. District Judge Thomas T. Cullen denied the […]
State court had ‘potential jurisdiction’ to validly nonsuit man’s federal claim
Finding that a Virginia state court had “potential jurisdiction” to validly nonsuit a plaintiff’s employment-related federal claim and toll the statute of limitations pursuant to Code 8.01-229(E)(3), the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals revived a dismissed case.
Officer didn’t have ‘immediate physical ability’ to make arrest
A police officer was too far away from a defendant and didn’t have the “immediate physical ability” to arrest him, the Court of Appeals of Virginia has held, reversing the defendant’s conviction.
Ex-wife entitled to life insurance proceeds
A postnuptial property separation didn’t clearly indicate that a widow’s ex-spouse intended to remove her beneficiary status from a $300,000 life insurance policy before his death, the Western District of Virginia has held.
Attorney subpoenaed client’s former counsel, gets sanctions
A circuit court properly sanctioned a family law attorney who issued a witness subpoena to his client’s former counsel who couldn’t testify without violating the attorney-client privilege, a panel of the Court of Appeals of Virginia has held.
Verdicts & Settlements
- Worker fell off roof, rendering him a paraplegic — $1.25M settlement
- Driver sustained permanent hearing loss after traffic collision — $240,000 settlement
- Plaintiff suffered concussion in rear-end collision — $81,000 verdict
- Builder misrepresented home status to buyers — $675,000 verdict
- Low potassium led to cardiac arrest, death of patient — $1M settlement
- Excessive propofol caused death in dialysis patient — $850,000 settlement
- Pedestrian struck in crosswalk in hit-and-run incident — $300,000 settlement
- Navy veteran killed in collision with box truck — $1.85M arbitration award
- Motorcyclist ejected from bike in collision with SUV — $1.5M settlement
- Jury rules in plaintiff’s favor in defamation suit with city — $300,000 verdict
- Woman missed step on walkway, rupturing Achilles tendon — $160,000 settlement
- Court dismisses suit in hit-and-run death of 2-year-old
Opinion Digests
- Debtor fails to show that signatures were forged
- Alleged defect in service of process excused
- Sales reps defeat injunction motion by former employer
- Court refuses to strike damages expert’s report
- Company can’t dismiss securities class action
- Defendants sued for not repaying loan
- No claim for ACA retaliation outside employment arena
- Plaintiffs awarded $33K in damages, $324K in fees
- Bank dodges claim for customer’s in-person transfer
- Jury to decide who is on hook for $207K loss
- Woman claims hospital did not offer appropriate exam
- Board members accused of political patronage
