A homeowner who sued a lot seller and builder for damages for cracks in the foundation of his home built by builder, allegedly caused by construction on stable fill material and first discovered in 2006, cannot sue defendants a theory ...

Tagged with: Contract Judge Robert P. Doherty Jr. Roanoke County Circuit Court Virginia Circuit Courts

A pre-drafted form rental agreement that required a tenant to indemnify the landlord for damages caused by the landlord’s negligence is a contract of adhesion and unenforceable under the Virginia Residential Landlord & Tenant Act, and a Roanoke County Circuit ...

Tagged with: Judge Robert P. Doherty Jr. Landlord/Tenant Roanoke County Circuit Court Virginia Circuit Courts

A bank that holds a note secured by a credit line deed of trust on property that owes back taxes and that he bank wants to redeem prior to sale loses its challenge to attorney’s fees the county treasurer wishes ...

Tagged with: Judge Robert P. Doherty Jr. Roanoke County Circuit Court Taxation Virginia Circuit Courts

A search warrant for power tools, copper and accelerants was not supported by an affidavit that recounted facts such as a convicted felon’s recent delivery to the residence and his purchase of a possible accelerant, but the Salem Circuit Court ...

Tagged with: Judge Robert P. Doherty Jr. Salem Circuit Court Search & Seizure Virginia Circuit Courts

Decedent, a member of a paving crew operating a dump truck filled with asphalt, who was struck and killed by two vehicles that entered the highway construction site and struck a front-end loader, pushing it back into the dump truck ...

Tagged with: Judge Robert P. Doherty Jr. Negligence Roanoke County Circuit Court Virginia Circuit Courts

Although a landowner’s initial claim about an adjacent landowner’s failure to provide lateral support may have originated more than five years ago, with a prior owner, the duty to provide lateral support is ongoing and a Salem Circuit Court judge ...

Tagged with: Judge Robert P. Doherty Jr. Real Estate Salem Circuit Court Virginia Circuit Courts

Although a couple’s golfing buddy personally signed the original promissory notes he gave to the couple on loans, his contract for a novation given after the couple lost the original notes indicated debtor signed on behalf of his insurance company, ...

Tagged with: Creditor's Rights Judge Robert P. Doherty Jr. Virginia Circuit Courts

A Salem Circuit Court says husband is not entitled to credit for making post-separation mortgage payments on the marital home occupied by wife, because the parties agreed he would continue such payments in lieu of a pendente lite hearing for ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Judge Robert P. Doherty Jr. Salem Circuit Court Virginia Circuit Courts

Family business ventures face plenty of pitfalls. The familial trust can work against family members, if they fail to start as a formal business instead of as family. A new decision from Roanoke County shows what happened when two brothers ...

Tagged with: Judge Robert P. Doherty Jr. Roanoke County Circuit Court

A couple who, for religious reasons, home-schooled their seven children and depended solely on husband’s income as an engineer, are ordered by the Salem Circuit Court to divide the marital share of the home, which husband still occupies with the ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Judge Robert P. Doherty Jr. Salem Circuit Court Virginia Circuit Courts