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Owners’ Association Scores Attorney’s Fees
An Alexandria Circuit Court awards defendant condominium unit owners’ association $65,375 in attorney’s fees and $597 in costs under Va. Code Sec. 55-79.53(A), in a suit filed by an owner who sought compensation for property damage from a shower leak in her condo. On April 8, 2011, the circuit court granted summary judgment to the […]
Heirs challenge capacity of woman to leave estate to charity – Defense Verdict
Decedent was a 56-year-old female suffering from lung cancer that had metastasized to her brain. The will she executed on June 15, 2010 left her estate to three charities. She died on June 18, 2010. Her heirs-at-law were her two first cousins, who filed suit against the executor, Kenneth Labowitz, and the charities alleging decedent […]
Motorcycle hits garbage truck off Duke Street in Alexandria – Defense verdict
Plaintiff was riding a high-performance motorcycle, making a right turn from Duke Street onto Daingerfield Road in Alexandria when she struck defendant’s garbage truck, which was making a left turn into narrow driveway. The truck driver and a helper testified road was clear when they began the turn. Plaintiff testified she did not see the […]
Condo Association Not Liable for Shower Leak
A condo owner cannot recover from the unit owners’ association for damages from a shower leak in her unit, as the bylaws specifically limit the association’s liability for this kind of water damage; an Alexandria Circuit Court grants summary judgment to the association. For purposes of interpreting the contract between the parties arising out of […]
Man dies after delay in detecting bleeding – Defense Verdict
On Feb. 24, 2009, decedent underwent rotator cuff repair surgery. In the early hours of Feb. 25, decedent complained of severe abdominal pain and he was noted to be hypotensive. Decedent’s nurse notified the hospitalist who ordered Protonix and Maalox. After several hours, decedent’s severe abdominal pain persisted, and the nurse was unable to obtain […]
Man’s second wife, daughters battled over homes
Competing obituaries gave a hint of the family conflict that would emerge full blown after the 2009 death of Rear Admiral Peter DeMayo, U.S. Navy (Ret.), of Alexandria. In one notice in The Washington Post, both of DeMayo’s wives are identified, as well as two daughters from his first marriage, which ended in divorce. DeMayo […]
Policy limits, availability of costs at issue in Alexandria crash – $182,000 Verdict
The plaintiff was not feeling well at work and called a cab to take her to the commuter lot in Spotsylvania County. The cab stopped for no apparent reason Interstate 95 just past Edsall Road and was rear-ended by a van in broad daylight despite relatively light traffic. The impact bruised plaintiff, knocked out a […]
Judgment interest over limits given, paid
A trial judge has ordered – and an insurance company has paid – interest on a tort judgment in excess of the insurer’s policy limits, a Loudoun County lawyer reports. Douglas K.W. Landau of Herndon said his client’s recovery in an Alexandria auto accident case demonstrates that lawyers can collect pre- and post-judgment interest, unusual […]
Court clears the way for deferred judgment
The Supreme Court of Virginia appeared to clear the way Thursday for judges to defer judgment in criminal cases and enter a finding of not guilty even when they find the law and facts sufficient for a finding of guilt. The ruling in Commonwealth v. Hernandez (VLW 011-6-002) stops short of fully endorsing the practice, […]
Alexandria to pay $36M to settle condemnation
The Alexandria Sanitation Authority will pay $36 million to resolve a three-year condemnation battle over a 10-acre site marked for expansion of a sewage plant. The owners of the tract hoped to sell it for $42 million in 2006 to a developer who planned a high-rise retail and office project. The plan was scotched, the […]
Dismissed party can’t be pulled back in appeal
A defendant dismissed from a general district court action can’t be pulled back into circuit court when a losing codefendant appeals, a Virginia Beach circuit judge has ruled. The new case creates a split in circuit court authority on the issue. In 2007, Alexandria Circuit Judge Lisa B. Kemler held the circuit court had jurisdiction […]
Repair vehicle, luggage tug collide at Reagan airport – $145,000 Settlement
This unique motor vehicle crash occurred within the baggage sorting area of Reagan National Airport on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Plaintiff was operating a yellow airport repair Cushman in the luggage distribution area, and the defendant was driving an airlines luggage tug headed outside to the air operations area to deliver the final baggage paperwork […]
Verdicts & Settlements
- Plaintiff injured in crash with oncoming vehicle — $235,000 settlement
- Driver killed in rear-end collision with tractor-trailer — $1.5M settlement
- Man died from pancreatic cancer after delayed response — $1.8M settlement
- Worker fell off roof, rendering him a paraplegic — $1.25M settlement
- Driver sustained permanent hearing loss after traffic collision — $240,000 settlement
- Plaintiff suffered concussion in rear-end collision — $81,000 verdict
- Builder misrepresented home status to buyers — $675,000 verdict
- Low potassium led to cardiac arrest, death of patient — $1M settlement
- Excessive propofol caused death in dialysis patient — $850,000 settlement
- Pedestrian struck in crosswalk in hit-and-run incident — $300,000 settlement
- Navy veteran killed in collision with box truck — $1.85M arbitration award
- Motorcyclist ejected from bike in collision with SUV — $1.5M settlement
Opinion Digests
- Company owner dodges breach of contract suit
- Employee’s own allegations doom minimum wage claim
- Federal government defeats former employee’s claims
- Principal wasn’t entitled to exclusively remote work
- USPTO properly redacted info in responsive documents
- Untimely lawsuit allowed to proceed
- Engineering consultant dismissed from suit
- Rule 60 motion was filed too late
- Nonprofit directors immune from ex-employees’ claims
- City, employees immune from whistleblower claims
- Experts excluded in condemnation damages suit
- Judgment entered against company for horse’s death
