Although plaintiff and decedent husband divorced in 1995 and in 2000, decedent designated defendant, his widow, as beneficiary of his federal Thrift Savings Plan benefit, that designation was invalid because it could not be witnessed by defendant who was a ...

Tagged with: Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy I. Bellows Virginia Circuit Courts Wills & Trusts

In a new decision on a highly charged issue, the Supreme Court of Virginia has taken a broad view of a trial judge’s inherent authority to consider different outcomes for those who plead guilty to criminal charges. The high court ...

Tagged with: Criminal Fairfax County Circuit Court Hernandez Judge Randy I. Bellows Justice Cynthia D. Kinser Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan Justice William C. Mims Supreme Court of Virginia News

A Fairfax Circuit Court finds defendant not guilty of driving a motor vehicle in a designated High Occupancy Vehicle lane under Va. Code § 33.1-46.2, as the HOV lane was not appropriately marked and the terms of the HOV restrictions ...

Tagged with: Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy I. Bellows Traffic Offenses Virginia Circuit Courts

A motorist who said he was misled by a confusing highway sign has managed to beat a traffic ticket for driving solo on a Northern Virginia high occupancy highway. In a 12-page opinion, Fairfax County Circuit Judge Randy I. Bellows ...

Tagged with: Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy I. Bellows Traffic Offenses

Although a rabbi who performed a couple’s wedding ceremony received and signed their marriage license two weeks after the ceremony, their marriage is void, says a Fairfax Circuit Court. A marriage ceremony without a marriage license has no legal effect. ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy I. Bellows Virginia Circuit Courts

In 2002, a couple in Northern Virginia were married, or at least they thought they were married. In 2011, the wife filed for divorce and for the next two years, they battled through the courts with numerous hearings, discovery dustups ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy I. Bellows

A construction company sued by an insurance carrier that covered homeowners’ fire loss allegedly caused by a faulty light fixture cannot bring cross-claims for breach of warranty against the manufacturer of the light fixture’s light switch; the Fairfax Circuit Court ...

Tagged with: Fairfax County Circuit Court Insurance Judge Randy I. Bellows Virginia Circuit Courts

An employee who was unhappy with working more than 40 hours in a week without overtime pay and who quit instead of complying with her supervisor’s request to complete a “paid time off” form after taking a sick day, did ...

Tagged with: Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy I. Bellows Virginia Circuit Courts

A Fairfax Circuit Court says the federal DUI statute to which defendant pled guilty substantially parallels Virginia’s DUI statute, Va. Code § 18.2-266, and the court rejects the driver’s petition asserting it was error for Virginia to revoke his Virginia ...

Tagged with: Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy I. Bellows Traffic Offenses Virginia Circuit Courts

Judging from the recent buzz, it looks like Virginia lawyers are just beginning to grapple with the difference the new Virginia Rules of Evidence, effective July 1, will make at trial. The new Rules represent a “sea change” in trial ...

Tagged with: Bar Associations Judge Randy I. Bellows Rules of Evidence