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No witnesses: Plaintiff denied third-party witness, recording of medical exam
A personal injury plaintiff failed to satisfy the burden required to necessitate the recording of or having a third-party witness at her Rule 4:10 medical examination, a Fairfax County judge has held.
DUI cannot be expunged
Where defendant was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, or DUI, and the charge was later amended to reckless driving, the court denies his motion to expunge the DUI. “A separate and unrelated charge may be expunged[.]” Because the DUI and reckless driving charges in this case “share a common nucleus of operative […]
Third-party observer cannot attend Rule 4:10 medical exam
A personal-injury plaintiff’s husband cannot attend his wife’s Rule 4:10 medical examination over defendant’s objection. “The Court generally holds no party-selected third-party may observe a Rule 4:10 medical examination, and no party may record the examination, over the objection of the other party. “The Court retains the discretion, however, to select the proposed examiner. It [&helli[...]
Court lacks authority to seal name change record
Where this court entered an order 10 months ago allowing the movant to change her name, the court lacks authority to seal the name change order. Overview “Over ten months after the Court entered the name change order, on July 12, 2023, E.B.M. filed the present motion, citing no legal authority for the Court to […]
Statements negated ‘Miranda’ warnings given to defendant
Where defendant seeks to suppress his statements given in a custodial interrogation, the motion is granted. “The Court holds the police misadvised Defendant of his Miranda rights when a detective both promised him cooperation credit if he waived his right to have a lawyer present and threatened him with extra charges if he asserted that […]
Default judgment revived with fraud allegation
Where defendants defaulted in a case of alleged fraud, they can reopen the default judgment “up to two years after entry by simply alleging the plaintiff testified untruthfully to secure it. … [T]he defaulting party must then prove the plaintiff materially lied, defrauding the court.” Background Chung sued Kim and Cho, alleging fraud in the […]
$3M default case reopened based on fraud allegations
A circuit court has reopened a case more than a year after granting default judgment for $3 million because the defendants alleged that the plaintiff — now deceased — committed fraud on the court to procure the judgment.
Litigation line item: Deposing parties must pay expert travel, prep time
In what some could see as a shock to their litigation budgets, a Virginia circuit court judge has ruled that a litigant who chooses to depose an opponent’s expert witness must also pay for the expert’s reasonable preparation and travel time. Judge David A. Oblon of the Fairfax Circuit Court noted that, despite the frequency […]
Paying expert for time and expenses clarified
Where a court rule requires a litigant to pay “‘a reasonable fee for time spent and expenses incurred[,]’” when deposing an opposing expert witness, this includes the expert’s “reasonable fees incurred during the deposition itself, as well as the reasonable fees incurred for travel and reasonable fees for the expert’s preparation for the deposition.” Overview […]
Usurious lender may recover principal but not interest
Where a lender charged a usurious interest rate on a loan, the lender may recover the principal sum but not interest and fees. A second loan contract in this case is unenforceable due to lack of consideration. Loans Plaintiff Shannon and defendant Smalls met while both were in jail. After Shannon was released, he gave […]
Dead Man’s statute corroboration requirements
Where eight consolidated cases present opportunities to apply Virginia’s Dead Man’s statute, the court clarifies the statute’s corroboration requirements. Overview Estate of Lohman has been consolidated with Rosenthal/Bavely. The common thread is application of the Dead Man’s statute. “In Lohman, … Ms. Lohman [the decedent’s personal representative] seeks to exclude certain testimony[...]
No unilateral revocation of LLC voting rights
There is no statutory or common law right for a limited liability corporation member to unilaterally revoke an assignment of voting rights to another member. In the alternative, the court “holds that the assignee members in the present case assigned their voting rights coupled with an interest. Thus, if common law principal-agency principles applied in […]
Verdicts & Settlements
- Driver fell asleep, causing significant auto accident — $1M settlement
- Defense verdict returned for company in rear-end crash — Defense verdict
- Cauda equina syndrome developed after procedure — $625,000 settlement
- Passenger died months after sustaining multiple injuries — $725,000 settlement
- 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
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
