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Unmarketable title case headed to jury
Robust litigation will proceed to a jury trial on damages in December after the Eastern District of Virginia found a title insurer was liable for breaching its policy by denying a landowner’s claim that unclear property descriptions created an unmarketable title and stymied a sale.
‘Hyperbolic opposition’ to vaccine views not actionable
A doctor’s claims that a Washington Post article defamed him have been dismissed by the Western District of Virginia because the challenged statements regarded a matter of public concern and weren’t made with actual malice.
Celebrating the Class of 2023 Leaders in the Law and Up & Coming Lawyers
Practitioners from across the commonwealth came together with family and friends for Virginia Lawyers Weekly’s Leaders in the Law and Up & Coming Lawyers awards program.
Virginia Law Foundation hosts inaugural wellness institute
The Virginia Law Foundation recently presented its inaugural Wellness Institute at The Barns at Wolf Trap in Vienna
Banks named VLW’s 2023 ‘Leader of the Year’
When Donna R. Banks earned her law degree from Howard University School of Law, she invited her parents to Richmond to watch her formal admission to the Virginia bar.
Court vacates millions in damages
Damages awarded by a jury to a student loan servicer under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, were vacated after an Eastern District of Virginia judge found the defendants’ telephone consumer protection claims were neither shams nor manufactured.
Mutual insurance company is ‘corporation’ for diversity
The Eastern District of Virginia has found that a mutual insurance company was a Michigan corporation and refused to remand the case after the insured plaintiff argued that his membership in the company destroyed diversity jurisdiction.
No excessive force used in arrest of 14-year-old girl
The Western District of Virginia has dismissed claims against a city and arresting officers after a 14-year-old girl was injured during an arrest when she refused officers’ commands and fought back while police were dealing with teenagers fighting in a mall.
Blocked: School principal’s Twitter account not a public forum
A high school principal’s Twitter account wasn’t a public forum and he didn’t violate the First Amendment by blocking the school board chair from the public account, the Eastern District of Virginia has held.
Filing lis pendens is not a ‘process’
In a matter of first impression, a Virginia circuit court has dismissed a malicious abuse of process claim grounded solely in the filing of a lis pendens after finding that it wasn’t a “process” reachable by the claim.
Will bars adult child from moving into widow’s home
A trial court correctly applied a prior Virginia Supreme Court ruling to bar a decedent’s adult child from moving into the family home where he allowed his widow to live, the Court of Appeals of Virginia has held.
Conviction for false allegation of law firm forgery upheld
The Court of Appeals of Virginia has upheld the conviction of a man who falsely reported to police that his former attorney had forged his signature on a retainer agreement just days after being ordered to pay the law firm its unpaid fees.
Verdicts & Settlements
- Woodshop incident leads to amputation of fingers — $1.3M settlement
- Motorcyclist’s foot amputated in collision — $7M settlement
- Contractor rear-ended on interstate on way to wedding — $825,000 settlement
- Man suffers back injury in crash with out-of-state driver — $530,000 settlement
- Driver crossed center line, struck 89-year-old’s vehicle — $1.2M settlement
- Jury returns defense verdict in favor of gastroenterologist
- Teens killed in T-bone collision with officer — $3.1M settlement
- Man sustained subdural hematoma in rear-end collision —$1.15M settlement
- Adequate anesthesia not provided during C-section — $2.5M verdict
- Tenant fell ill from mold in apartment — $588,000 verdict
- Woman suffers nerve injury, pain after dental procedure — $550,000 settlement
- Driver struck child exiting school bus — $750,000 settlement
Opinion Digests
- Suit over historic mansion and estate dismissed
- Former employee’s claims survive motion to dismiss
- Equal Pay Act doesn’t apply to applicant
- Court rejects invocation of attorney-client privilege
- Evidence supported competency determination
- Appellees had power to remove business manager
- No continuance after witnesses failed to appear
- No actual or constructive eviction in warranty case
- Gas distribution pipeline exempt from ZBA regulation
- Improper venue in air pollution regulation matter
- No benefits awarded in unemployment comp case
- No immunity for judge who personally oversaw search
