January 18, 2018
Comments Off on Chamber move sparks flurry of litigation bills
Three business-friendly tort reform measures offered at the 2018 General Assembly triggered a trial-lawyer counter-attack this month with bills that would remove the cap on punitive damages, allow claims for loss of consortium, and open avenues of recovery for crime ...
Tagged with: General Assembly Supreme Court of Virginia
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January 17, 2018
Comments Off on Assembly returns 46 judges to the bench
Virginia legislators re-elected 46 incumbent trial court judges in the first round of judicial selection at this year’s General Assembly. One new circuit judge was among those elected Jan. 16. One sitting judge was left off the list without explanation. ...
Tagged with: General Assembly Judge Clarence Phillips Judge Henry Vanover Judge J. David Rigler Judge Joel Branscom Judge Judith W. Jagdmann
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January 16, 2018
Comments Off on Use of stars’ photos was fair use, judge rules
A political organization that used two photographs of famous musicians on its website – without credit to the photographer – was not liable to the lensman despite a creative commons license that required attribution, a federal judge has ruled. The ...
Tagged with: Copyright Judge T.S. Ellis III U.S. District Court - Eastern District
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January 15, 2018
Comments Off on Fly me to the moon?
Harry McPike wanted to a spaceman, that’s what he wanted to be. McPike, a native of Austria who now lives in the Bahamas, is an adventurer, a rich man who likes to push life to the limit. McPike is the ...
Tagged with: Judge T.S. Ellis III U.S. District Court - Eastern District
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January 15, 2018
Comments Off on Bill: Allow damages for loss of consortium
A Virginia lawyer-legislator wants the state to allow a cause of action for loss of consortium. Virginia has long refused to allow a tort plaintiff to recover damages for loss of intimacy with a spouse or related damages. Virginia Code ...
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January 15, 2018
Comments Off on How to recognize and avoid robocalls
Sometimes it can be difficult to tell the difference between a trustworthy telemarketer and a scammer who uses the phone to lure people in. With the help of internet software, callers are able to operate from just about anywhere in ...
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January 12, 2018
Comments Off on Father is entitled to custody, not grandmother
A Norfolk Circuit judge has denied a grandmother’s petition for physical custody of a 9-year-old girl who had lived with her for her entire life. Instead, the judge granted custody to the girl’s father, over the objections of the girl’s ...
Tagged with: Judge David W. Lannetti Norfolk Circuit Court
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January 11, 2018
Comments Off on Employer must show reasons for pay disparity actually used
In an Equal Pay Act case, an employer offering reasons for pay disparities between men and women must show it actually applied those reasons in the wage decision process to avoid liability, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ...
Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Barbara Milano Keenan Judge Henry F. Floyd Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III
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January 10, 2018
Comments Off on High court backs doctor’s med-mal jury instruction
A long running clash in the medical malpractice arena brought a win for doctors at the Supreme Court of Virginia last month, but lawyers for patients say the battle may continue at local courthouses. The issue is how to tell ...
Tagged with: Supreme Court of Virginia
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January 9, 2018
Comments Off on Court rejects challenge to breath-test refusal
In its first opportunity to address new federal law on warrantless blood-alcohol tests, the Supreme Court of Virginia rejected three challenges from a driver convicted of refusing to give a breath sample. Despite those new rulings, the Virginia court has ...
Tagged with: Justice Cleo E. Powell Supreme Court of Virginia
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