Free Newsletter
SCV: Birth mom didn’t allege knowing interference
After apparently consenting to adoption by an employee of the delivering hospital, a mother could not prevail on claims that the hospital, its doctors, and the employee’s attorney had tortiously interfered with her parental rights. She never alleged that these defendants knew or had reason to know that the adoption was against her will. Background […]
CAV: Termination of mom’s rights reversed
Evidence didn’t support the circuit court’s ruling that a mother failed to remedy past conditions of child abuse. The record also didn’t support affirmance on the alternate ground of inadequate parenting skills advance by the Department of Social Services. Background Appellant Daniela Sternberg and her son, D. (born in 2009), moved to Spotsylvania County in […]
CAV: No jurisdiction to review fee decision
The court of appeals could not review the trial court’s fee award because it arose out of the trial court’s unreviewable decision that a party was not in contempt. Background In 2013, the parties entered into a separation agreement, which was incorporated into their final decree of divorce. The agreement provided, in part: “The parties […]
Va. Cir.: Marital agreement not procured by fraud
Because a wife executed a property settlement agreement with her husband after deliberate negotiations, with assistance from a mediator and a Navy JAG officer, and without relying on any misrepresentations, her waiver of any share in her husband’s pension was unconscionable or procured by fraud. Background Husband and Wife married in 2009. Husband was on […]
CAV: Psychological report admission was harmless error
Even if the circuit court erred in admitting a psychological evaluation that had not been considered by the Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court, the totality of evidence supporting termination of parental rights made any such error harmless. Background In 2003, the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court awarded custody of Appellant Anita Simms’s 11-month-old child, T.T., […]
CAV: Father didn’t protect child from mother’s mental problems
The trial court didn’t err in terminating a father’s parental rights based in part on his responses to the child’s mother’s psychological problems, either abandoning the child with the mother during stressful moments or expecting the child to “get used to it.” Background Appellant Ivan Rucker and Jamillia Hansford are the biological parents of a […]
CAV: Termination upheld, despite mom’s addiction progress
Despite her negative drug tests and employment, the circuit court did not err in terminating a mother’s parental rights when she still had not obtained stable housing and had made little to no effort to see her children in several months. Background The Roanoke City Department of Social Services first became involved with Appellant Chyna […]
CAV: Court not required to award fees or explain denial
Although a husband did not prove adultery as a basis for divorce, a wife was not necessary the prevailing party in the proceedings, and even if she were, a fee award (or lack thereof) was within the trial court’s sound discretion. Background The parties were married on November 13, 1999 and had two children. During […]
CAV: Husband adequately alleged desertion
The circuit court erred in finding a husband’s divorce complaint insufficient based on the husband’s apparent acquiescence in the separation. To state a claim for desertion, only the deserting party’s intentions must be adequately pled. Background Husband and Wife were married on October 8, 2016. The parties had one child together. On February 27, 2017, […]
CAV: Emotional manipulation forfeited right to confrontation
By repeatedly violating a no-contact order to guilt his partner into refusing to testify against him, a domestic-abuse defendant forfeited his Sixth Amendment right to exclude her testimonial hearsay statements to law enforcement. Background Appellant Kevin Cody and Rebekka Weingarten have two young children together and have lived together for several years. On January 15, […]
CAV: Denied TPR continuance didn’t prejudice mother
The circuit court did not err in denying a mother’s request to continue a hearing to terminate her residual parental rights. She claimed she was unable to get the time off work, though her counsel appeared at the hearing without her. The court denied the continuance after termination evidence was presented and the mother’s counsel […]
CAV: Retirement balance properly assessed at separation
Although a retirement account partially containing marital property had a balance of zero by the time of the equitable distribution hearing, the circuit court properly applied the relevant statute in considering the account balance at the time the parties separated. Background The parties married in 2007 and separated on February 15, 2013. During the marriage, […]
Verdicts & Settlements
- Jury reaches defense verdict in $4M med mal action
- Dental hygienist tripped, fractured right wrist, foot — $190,000 settlement
- Couple contracted Hepatitis A after dining at restaurant — $5.5M settlement
- Elderly man suffers hip fracture after attack by neighbor’s dog — $350,000 settlement
- Motorcyclist injured when vehicle abruptly changed lanes — $300,000 verdict
- Passenger ejected from car in high-speed chase crash — $685,000 settlement
- Defense verdict reached in fraud suit
- 8-year-old killed in crash involving tractor-trailer — $1,100,000 settlement
- Plaintiff conceived child after vasectomy — $250,000 settlement
- Delay in diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy led to surgery — $283,432.18 settlement
- Golfer stepped in sinkhole, fractured ankle — $442,000 verdict
- Jury sides with woman injured in rear-end collision — $300,000 verdict
Viewpoint
- The promise and peril of artificial intelligence in patent law
- Keys to becoming an unfrazzled lawyer
- Confused about federal COVID-19 emergencies ending? You’re not alone
- Generative AI in law: New survey of lawyer perspectives and plans
- Four misconceptions about appeals
- Font choice exposes fabricated document
- USPTO launches first-time filer expedited exam pilot program
- In times of crisis, the ‘tug of war’ is over
- The ever-evolving Fourth Circuit
- Federal protections for pregnant, nursing employees coming
- It’s time for employers to embrace the ‘Big Quit’ and adapt
- Tell the whole truth? I’ll do better than that
Polls
Loading ...