A Salem Circuit Court says a contractor who did not require written change orders as he built a $1.3 million home for defendant owners cannot now rely on explicit contract language that required written change orders to get payment for ...

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

A guarantor on a restaurant’s lease is liable only for the value of two years’ rent, not for remodeling costs, late payments or advertising for a new tenant, because the lease’s ambiguity in the term “rent” is construed against the ...

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

A Roanoke County Circuit Court says a landowner who hired an independent contractor to dig a hole in one lane of a four-lane highway (with the required permit) for installation of a new water line, is not liable for contribution ...

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

A defendant driver in this auto-accident case does not have to give plaintiff statements defendant made to her liability insurance carrier that prompted the carrier to open an investigation file; a Salem Circuit Court says the documents requested were work ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Judge Robert P. Doherty Jr. Salem Circuit Court Virginia Circuit Courts

In this first-impression case, a Salem Circuit Court says inserting the handwritten phrase “subject to approval of financing” into a real estate contract’s clause on the closing date makes the purchase contingent on the buyer’s ability to obtain financing. There ...

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

Whether the Salem Circuit Court applies the 2011 statute governing apportionment of marital debt or prior case law, the result is the same: a husband’s student loan for his engineering degree is marital debt, but he must pay the entire ...

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

A divorce court said a husband’s student loan used to finance his engineering degree was “marital debt,” but only the husband had to pay the entire $50,289 balance of the loan. Application of the 2011 marital debt amendments to Virginia’s ...

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

A Salem Circuit Court sustains a creditor’s demurrer to a borrower’s counterclaim alleging the creditor committed fraud when it foreclosed on the borrower’s property after its agent allegedly assured defendants they would work with them and allow late note payments ...

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

Plaintiffs may amend their complaint filed June 26, 2009, alleging defendant executrix/beneficiary exercised undue influence over a testatrix in the execution of her will, to also allege failure to comply with Va. Code § 64.1-49’s requirements for execution of a ...

Tagged with: Judge Robert P. Doherty Jr. Roanoke County Circuit Court Virginia Circuit Courts Wills & Trusts

The commonwealth has not presented affirmative evidence that defendant understood her Miranda rights and a Roanoke County Circuit Court grants her motion to suppress her confession in this case of forgery and uttering. Upon receiving her Miranda warning, the officer ...

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