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CAV: Marital share of company’s value matches ownership
The circuit court did not err in classifying only 30 percent of a litigation-support company’s increase in value during the course of an owner’s marriage as marital property. The court considered evidence as to whether the increase was due to the owner’s personal efforts as opposed to passive or market factors. Background Prior to the […]
CAV: Court had to value student loans as of couple’s split
For equitable-distribution purposes, the circuit court erred in failing to determine the amount of a husband’s student loans as of the date he and his wife separated. Under the circumstances, it was within its authority to re-open evidence on that issue. Background The parties married in 2006. That year, Husband started a five-year doctoral program […]
CAV: Bench warrant for revocation hearing was proper
Under Code § 19.2-306, the circuit court had jurisdiction to hear the case against the appellant when it revoked her “indefinite” probation and ordered her to serve 90 days of her previously suspended sentence. Background Appellant Dorothy Cilwa was convicted of grand larceny on March 19, 2008, and received a suspended sentence conditioned on one […]
CAV: Terry stop resistance supported probable cause
The trial court erred in granting the defendant’s motion to suppress evidence. His resistance to the efforts to handcuff him provided probable cause to arrest for obstruction of justice, thereby legitimizing the search of his person and the bundle he was carrying. Background In June 2017, Richmond Police Officer Kelly was dispatched in response to […]
CAV: Sentence enhancement for federal conviction improper
The trial court erred in finding that the federal statute underlying the defendant’s prior conviction for felony possession of a firearm was substantially similar to the state law under which the defendant was most recently convicted. Because the federal law encompasses conduct that would not constitute a violation of the state law, resentencing was required. […]
CAV: Court as factfinder could credit husband’s testimony
The circuit court’s equitable distribution and support determinations were not in error, and the wife didn’t proffer for the appellate record purported after-acquired evidence of additional property that could have merited reconsideration. Background The parties were married in 1999. Husband was a professional athlete but retired shortly after their second child was born in 2006. […]
CAV: Pro athlete’s line-of-duty benefits were like pension
For equitable distribution purposes, a retired professional athlete’s line-of-duty disability benefits were correctly evaluated similar to pension benefits under Code § 20-107.3(G), rather than personal injury compensation under subsection (H). Background The parties were married in 1999 and had two children. Husband was a professional athlete before and during the marriage but retired shortly [...]
CAV: Search proper pursuant to unchallenged warrant
The trial court should have denied defendant’s motion to suppress evidence found in a locked room in his house. Although officers entered the home without a warrant, they obtained one before entering the locked room. Background In March 2016, a Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office detective received information from an anonymous caller. The caller claimed that Appellee Clint Wayne […[...]
CAV: Trial court adequately investigated juror contact
Although security footage showed a juror talking with a member of the public who was later seen hugging the mother of the murder victim in the juror’s case, the trial court didn’t err in accepting the juror’s statement that they didn’t discuss the case. Background Appellant Stephen Rankin, a Portsmouth police officer, was charged with […]
CAV: Stolen item never found, but conviction upheld
Evidence was sufficient to support the concealment conviction of a man accused of stealing motorcycle gear from Walmart, even though the stolen gear was never recovered. Background Appellant Bronson Cunningham was in a Virginia Beach Walmart on the afternoon of September 30, 2015. After the store’s loss prevention officer, Christen Blake, noticed him carrying a […]
CAV: Claimed error in jury instructions harmless
Based on substantial evidence, the jury was not deprived of any discretion to decide whether a shooting victim had suffered a “permanent and significant impairment” based on implicit reference to a particular scar. Background Mario Vaughan was the victim of a shooting and immediately identified Appellant Kelvin Javon Watford as the perpetrator. As a result […]
CAV: Murder conviction upheld despite jury issues
Although the defendant sought to have his murder conviction set aside based on problems with the jury, the circuit court’s resolution of those issues was proper. Background Appellant James Willie Bethea’s 2015 trial for first-degree murder ended with a hung jury. He was retried in April 2016, and after deliberating for two days, the jury […]
Verdicts & Settlements
- Driver fell asleep, causing significant auto accident — $1M settlement
- Defense verdict returned for company in rear-end crash
- 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
