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Editors' Picks

Supreme Court of Virginia building
Sep 25, 2023

‘We need the cases’: Virginia’s high court issuing fewer opinions

Appellate practitioners and others who monitor Virginia’s jurisprudence have noticed a long, steady decline in the number of opinions released by the Supreme Court of Virginia.

Jury observing court proceeding
Sep 25, 2023

Attorney’s conduct results in mistrial

After a California attorney’s “unprofessional conduct” during the trial of his client’s negligence claim resulted in prejudice that couldn’t be cured by a cautionary instruction, an Eastern District of Virginia judge declared a mistrial and revoked the out-of-state attorney’s pro hac vice status.

Bottle of wine being removed from case
Sep 25, 2023

Wine shipper must have separate licenses for each shipping location

Distributors of alcoholic beverages in Virginia must have a separate license from the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, or Virginia ABC, for “each separate place of business” that ships beverages straight to customers, the Court of Appeals of Virginia has held.

Business meeting
Sep 25, 2023

Mandatory pre-dispute arbitration: Have its best days passed?

Historically, courts were hostile to pre-dispute arbitration agreements. To address this hostility, Congress enacted the Federal Arbitration Act, 9. U. S. C. §1, et. seq., or FAA, that placed arbitration agreements on the same footing as other contracts. Virginia has its own arbitration act. (See, Va. Code Ann. §§ 8.01-577, et. seq.)

Sep 25, 2023

New date set for state bar’s annual meeting

Attorneys, mark your calendars: the Virginia State Bar 2024 Annual Meeting has a new date.

Fitting puzzle pieces together
Sep 18, 2023

‘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.

Reaching agreement
Sep 18, 2023

Contingency agreement not basis for fee award

A federal court awarded attorneys’ fees to plaintiff’s counsel in a case stemming from a disagreement between two attorneys.

Frustrated woman talking on phone
Sep 18, 2023

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.

Woman lying in hosital bed
Sep 18, 2023

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.

Surveying construction site
Sep 18, 2023

Running the numbers: structuring a commercial real estate investment

As a commercial real estate lawyer, I understand that my clients often rely on their financial analysts and their projections, forecasts and assumptions to determine whether to invest in a real estate venture. Whether a lawyer or a nonlawyer, it is helpful to understand what real estate investors may look at when evaluating and structuring potential investments and correlating strategies.

Traffic sign
Sep 10, 2023

‘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.

Wooden fence separating yards
Sep 10, 2023

Court erred creating new property boundary line

The Court of Appeals of Virginia reversed in part a decision from the Fairfax County Circuit Court, finding that the trial court erred in declaring a new boundary line between neighboring properties in a nuisance and trespass case.

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