A circuit judge who believed he could not retroactively modify a pendente lite award of spousal support made a “mistake of law,” the Supreme Court of Virginia has ruled. Overruling both the circuit judge and the Court of Appeals, the ...

Tagged with: Judge Charles James Maxfield Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn Supreme Court of Virginia News

A liquidated damages provision in a real estate contract that would allow seller to keep buyer’s $50,000 deposit and seek additional remedies is unenforceable, a Fairfax Circuit Court holds. Seller and buyer entered into a real estate contract for a ...

Tagged with: Contract Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Charles James Maxfield Virginia Circuit Courts

The defendant admitted liability for this January 2012 rear-end collision in rush hour traffic on Interstate 95 in Fairfax County. Cars had slowed to a stop when the defendant hit the plaintiff’s vehicle at 50 miles per hour, setting off ...

Tagged with: Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Charles James Maxfield Personal Injury

Alleged critical comments about a Fairfax Police Department employee working unapproved overtime were “published” even though they were only communicated among department personnel directly involved in disciplinary matters; the Fairfax Circuit Court says plaintiff’s allegations of retaliation, ill will and ...

Tagged with: Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Charles James Maxfield Tort Virginia Circuit Courts

A police department employee may sue her supervisors for defamation for comments they made during a dispute over her extra hours. When the supervisors disciplined Jeannie Kuley for allegedly working unapproved overtime in violation of Fairfax County policy, she pursued ...

Tagged with: Defamation Employment Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Charles James Maxfield

An option clause in a real estate contract allowing the seller either to pursue actual damages or to seek liquidated damages cannot stand, a Fairfax Circuit judge has ruled in a case of first impression. The option undercuts the purpose ...

Tagged with: Contract Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Charles James Maxfield Real Estate

A Virginia personnel recruiter that is suing a foreign corporation for allegedly using its services to hire a candidate for a managerial position in the nuclear engineering industry has its suit dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction; the Fairfax Circuit ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Charles James Maxfield Virginia Circuit Courts

The plaintiff was a 32-year-old man who suffered a minor L-1 compression fracture as a result of an ATV accident. He was taken to the Loudoun Hospital emergency room where he came under the care of neurosurgeon Dr. Mudit Sharma, ...

Tagged with: Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Charles James Maxfield Medical Malpractice Million-Dollar Verdicts

Block billing. It’s a buzz phrase that can prompt a court to slash a lawyer’s fee request, anywhere from 10 percent to 35 percent. Lawyers know courts – and some clients – frown on the practice of lumping together lots ...

Tagged with: Attorneys Fees Fairfax County Circuit Court Federal Courts Judge Charles James Maxfield Judge James C. Cacheris Judge Rebecca Beach Smith

In a case of first impression, a Fairfax Circuit Court says a fee award in a subsequent lawsuit cannot include fees from the parties’ prior nonsuited case, even though the parties agreed to incorporate discovery from the nonsuited case into ...

Tagged with: Attorneys Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Charles James Maxfield Virginia Circuit Courts