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Student crushed by motorized partition — $3,500,000 settlement
Decedent was a 10-year-old student at a Northern Virginia public school. During an after-school program, he was asked by a teacher to help operate a motorized partition that separated two rooms. To better hear the teacher on the other side of the sound-proof partition, the child placed his head close to the partition. When the […]
Man had seizure, killed woman in head-on wreck – $1 Million Settlement
This wrongful death case settled at mediation two weeks prior to trial with no offers being made until the mediation. On March 7, 2017, the defendant had a medical event that caused him to cross over the grassy median and strike the decedent’s car head on, resulting in her death. The defendant’s passenger described the […]
Case of shoulder dystocia delivery settled – $1,100,00 Settlement
Plaintiff, a minor, and his mother, filed suit alleging that an obstetrician mismanaged a shoulder-dystocia delivery. Plaintiffs alleged that an inexperienced obstetrician incorrectly performed maneuvers to release the dystocia, and as a result, the child suffered a severe brachial plexus injury that included total avulsion of several nerves. Subsequent microsurgery to repair the injury was [&hell[...]
Roush’s future on high court remains uncertain
Ignoring GOP warnings of a cloud over her continued service and a looming political showdown over a full term, Justice Jane Marum Roush continued to hear cases at the Supreme Court of Virginia this month. Roush sat on the high court Nov. 3-5, hearing appeals with her colleagues, despite insistence by Republicans in the General […]
Long-term Supreme Court choice remains in limbo
A resolution to questions about the future of Virginia’s newest Supreme Court justice was nowhere in sight this past week with Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe locked in a stalemate with Republican legislators. McAuliffe on Aug. 26 affirmed his determination to reappoint his choice for the Supreme Court seat, former Fairfax Judge Jane Marum Roush, despite […]
Judge approves $3.86M fee award in corporate merger case
Lawyers who won $9.4 million for an aircraft manufacturer burned in a merger deal also scored what may be a record fee award in Virginia courts. In her last court hearing as a Fairfax County circuit judge, now-Supreme Court Justice Jane Marum Roush allowed $3,864,835 in fees and expenses for the legal team representing Airbus […]
Roush appointed to high court
Gov. Terry McAuliffe appointed Fairfax Circuit Judge Jane Marum Roush to the Supreme Court of Virginia Monday. She will succeed Justice LeRoy F. Millette Jr., whose retirement is effective Friday, July 31. Roush has served on the Fairfax bench since 1993. In recent years the high court frequently has asked her to handle high-profile trials. […]
No Severance of Multiple Murder Charges
A Fairfax Circuit Court denies defendant’s motion to sever and says his charges for a murder committed in 2003 will be tried with his charges for similar murders committed in 2013 and 2014; the commonwealth’s proffered evidence suggests the defendant’s common plan was to exact revenge on the “elites” of the city of Alexandria because […]
Patent Firm Did Not Breach Standard of Care
A client whose legal malpractice complaint alleges it did not follow defendant law firm’s advice about its patent application that was “buried” within an amendment to a draft response to a patent examiner has not alleged the firm breached the standard of care for patent attorneys, and the Fairfax Circuit Court dismisses its complaint. To […]
Client rejected advice, claimed malpractice
Lawyers who have given sound advice may think they need not worry about being sued by clients. Not necessarily. Giving sound advice is one thing. Getting the client to follow the advice is another. A disappointed client sued a law firm after the client failed to win approval of a patent for a low-calorie “dough […]
Seven seek seat on high court
Seven people – four judges, two lawyers in private practice and a law professor – have been seeking bar endorsements for a pending seat on the Supreme Court of Virginia. Justice LeRoy F. Millette Jr. will be retiring from the court July 31. Gov. Terry McAuliffe set a June 15 deadline for applications for his […]
Company-paid expenses are ‘income’ for father
A father’s “perks” from a family home-building business – rent-free quarters and a company car – counted as income when calculating support for his three children, a Fairfax Circuit Court decided after a four-day trial that delved into company accounts. Living rent-free does not automatically count as income in figuring support, under Virginia law. Because […]
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
