A Virginia judge has reduced the $200,000 in punitive damages awarded by a jury for defamation where the jurors only awarded $1 in compensatory damages. The defendant argued that the punitives award didn’t result from a fair and impartial decision ...

Tagged with: Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Michael F. Devine Virginia Circuit Courts

Where a jury awarded $1 in compensatory damages and $200,000 in punitive damages on a defamation claim, a motion for remittitur is granted. The award is reduced to $25,000. Background The parties are both dentists. Brown hired Grundy in 2013 ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Michael F. Devine Virginia Circuit Courts

Where defendants have filed a motion craving oyer for documents used to transmit two insurance policies and endorsements, the motion is appropriate but it is denied because the documents will not help the court decide a choice of law issue ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Michael F. Devine Virginia Circuit Courts

In a court battle in which one dentist is suing another for defamation and for firing him, a circuit judge has ordered the defendant dentist to pay $140,554.65 in attorneys’ fees and costs for deleting digital records requested in discovery. ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Defamation Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Michael F. Devine Spoliation Virginia Circuit Courts

Where husband’s income from his chiropractic practice has declined, this is a material change in circumstances that justifies a reduction in his support payments to plaintiff wife. Background Dr. Wichin, upon reaching full retirement age and experiencing a reduction in ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Michael F. Devine Virginia Circuit Courts

Where the parties’ contract provided plaintiffs with a 15% hardship uplift of their pay for working in Afghanistan and neither party knew that Department of State regulations permitted a 35%  maximum, plaintiffs’ claim for the higher uplift is rejected. The ...

Tagged with: Contract Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Michael F. Devine Virginia Circuit Courts

The civil forfeiture of a truck valued at $53,000 that was used to unlawfully distribute $200 worth of cocaine would violate the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment and 14th Amendment’s Due Process Clause. Overview In the underlying criminal ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Michael F. Devine Virginia Circuit Courts

The plaintiff in this divorce case must respond to an interrogatory and a request for admission concerning misdemeanor acts of adultery despite invoking his right against self-incrimination. Facts The parties were married in 1996. Plaintiff sued for divorce in January ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Michael F. Devine Virginia Circuit Courts

On Feb. 18, 2015, plaintiff’s decedent, a 28-year-old male with history of “slipped” laparoscopic gastric band presented to Inova Fairfax Hospital’s emergency department for symptoms consisted with band complications. The patient was worked up by the emergency department staff, had ...

Tagged with: Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Michael F. Devine Medical Malpractice Million-Dollar Defense Verdicts

This litigation arose over the rental of a single-family home in McLean, Virginia. In January 2016, the Evans family decided to relocate to McLean from Texas for Mrs. Evans’ employment. Because they had not yet sold their home in Texas, ...

Tagged with: Contract Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Michael F. Devine Virginia Circuit Courts