Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly

A defendant on the hook for almost $2 million in compensatory and punitive damages for conversion is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, since the plaintiffs’ conversion claim was based entirely on losses covered by the parties’ contract. ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Business Law Contract Evidence Judge Diana Gribbon Motz Tort

A long-term commercial lease with neither a common-law seal nor statutory seal substitutes was effectively month-to-month after a five-year term, and the trial court erred in focusing on “substance not form” to enforce the 15-year term. Background In 2000, a ...

Tagged with: Business Law Contract Justice D. Arthur Kelsey Landlord/Tenant Supreme Court of Virginia

Deciding that its prior contract interpretation had relied on a definition provided by an inapplicable article of the agreement, the court reconsidered its ruling granting partial summary judgment as to the plaintiff’s substantial breach-of-contract claim. Background In December 2007, Meritage ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Contract Judge Michelle J. Atkins Norfolk Circuit Court Virginia Circuit Courts

A Yelp reviewer who successfully defended against defamation claims couldn’t claim attorneys’ fees under Va. Code § 8.01-223.2 because 2017 amendments weren’t retroactive, a Virginia circuit court held. Background Defendant Jeremiah Jones retained Plaintiff Will Nesbitt Realty LLC to assist him in renting a ...

Tagged with: Attorneys Fees Business Law Civil Practice Contract Defamation Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy I. Bellows Tort Virginia Circuit Courts

Although written documents were unclear as to whether a therapy service contract transferred to a subsequent facilities operator, the successor’s acceptance of therapy services as if the service contract applied created a contract implied-in-fact, with the same payment terms as ...

Tagged with: Attorneys Fees Business Law Civil Practice Contract Judge Jackson L. Kiser U.S. District Court - Western District

When the Department of Justice published in the Federal Register a group effort by table saw manufacturers to develop a new safety component, a company already marketing such a component was on sufficient notice that the manufacturers were working together ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Antitrust Business Law Judge G. Steven Agee

Regarding its use of the mark “Backyard Grill,” genuine issues of material fact should have prevented the trial court’s conclusion as a matter of law that Walmart was liable for infringement damages of approximately $32.5 million, plus attorneys’ fees and ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Business Law Intellectual Property Judge Henry F. Floyd

A U.S. Department of Health & Human Services contractor that used an auto-dialer to send pre-recorded messages about the availability of health insurance enjoyed derivative sovereign immunity for what may have otherwise been a TCPA violation. Background The Affordable Care ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Business Law Judge Henry F. Floyd Telecommunications

After reports of sexual misconduct appeared in the Washington Post, a private school sued its former executive director for allegedly sharing sensitive documents with the paper, and she counterclaimed based on the circumstances of her resignation. No reasonable jury could ...

Tagged with: Business Law Contract Corporate Education Judge Claude M. Hilton Tort U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Notwithstanding his claims that bank representatives misled him, the president of a Richmond-based energy company signed loan agreements and guarantees that clearly stated his personal liability for his company’s obligations. Background In 2009, Defendants Dominion Energy Management Inc. and its ...

Tagged with: Business Law Contract Corporate Judge David J. Novak U.S. District Court - Eastern District