Where plaintiffs filed a late response to facts alleged in several paragraphs in defendants’ answer to the complaint, the allegations will not be deemed as admitted under Va. Sup. Ct. R. 1:4(e) because the allegations did not raise “new matters” ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Bruce D. White Virginia Circuit Courts

Where defendant was sued for defamation and has asserted counterclaims, some claims survive plaintiff’s demurrers while others are barred by the statute of limitations. Background In the underlying suit, filed on March 1, 2019, plaintiff John C. Depp sued defendant ...

Tagged with: Defamation Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Bruce D. White Virginia Circuit Courts

A Fairfax County circuit judge has removed some of the defamation claims against actor Johnny Depp filed by ex-wife Amber Heard, but her principal accusations and a demand for attorneys’ fees remain alive as the litigation moves toward a lengthy ...

Tagged with: Amber Heard Defamation Fairfax County Circuit Court Johnny Depp Judge Bruce D. White

An arbitration clause in a revocable trust agreement cannot be enforced because the trust is best understood as a donative instrument rather than a written contract. Further, the present controversy did not exist when the trust was executed. Finally, plaintiff ...

Tagged with: Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Bruce D. White Virginia Circuit Courts Wills & Trusts

A Fairfax County circuit judge has declined to uphold an arbitration clause in a trust agreement, and refused to send a dispute over the actions of a trustee to arbitration. Finding the controversy over the trustee’s actions had not arisen ...

Tagged with: Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Bruce D. White Wills & Trusts

The Fairfax County executive properly determined that firefighter captains are not entitled to invoke grievance procedures to challenge changes to county policies governing promotions and filling vacancies in the Fire and Rescue Department. Overview In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ...

Tagged with: Employment Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Bruce D. White Virginia Circuit Courts

Where plaintiff, John C. Depp, claims defendant, Amber Heard, defamed him in a Washington Post op-ed, three of the four complained-of statements are actionable under a defamation by implication theory. Background Plaintiff’s defamation claim arises from four statements in an ...

Tagged with: Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Bruce D. White Personal Injury Tort Virginia Circuit Courts

A limited partner’s demand to inspect partnership records must state a proper purpose for doing so. Overview Plaintiff is a limited partner of defendant Arrowhead Apartments. Plaintiff petitioned to inspect partnership records after becoming concerned about declining profitability, mismanagement and ...

Tagged with: Business Law Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Bruce D. White Virginia Circuit Courts

Relying on what he termed a “relaxed” Virginia standard for pleading defamation by implication, a Fairfax County judge has allowed actor Johnny Depp’s libel lawsuit against his ex-wife to go forward. Circuit Judge Bruce D. White said three statements in ...

Tagged with: Defamation Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Bruce D. White

Virginia is the proper forum for plaintiff’s defamation suit because under the lex loci delicti rule, the cause of action arose where the last act for publishing the allegedly defamatory essay took place; in this case, when a newspaper uploaded ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Bruce D. White Virginia Circuit Courts