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Buyer Recovers from Motor Vehicle Fund
A vehicle purchaser can recover $41,600 from the Motor Vehicle Recovery Fund, based on the default judgment he won against a vehicle dealer who took the buyer’s money and repeatedly misrepresented that he was acquiring a vehicle for the buyer, only to disappear with the money; the Court of Appeals upholds the circuit court judgment […]
Reversal for Repair Cost Hearsay
At defendant’s trial on burglary and related charges, the trial court erred in admitting hearsay testimony on the cost of repairs to correct damage to the burgled house and the Court of Appeals reverses defendant’s conviction for damage of property over $1,000 in violation of Va. Code § 18.2-137 and remands for a possible new […]
Head Injury-Related Benefits Denied
A claimant who initially received benefits for injuries from an auto accident while working for KFC did not raise her head-injury claim before the deputy commissioner and did not prove a more recent hospitalization was attributable to her work-related accident, and the Court of Appeals affirms the denial of benefits. We find claimant did not […]
Remand for Review of Employer Issues
The Court of Appeals reverses an award of temporary partial disability benefits to a claimant who suffered injury from an electrical shock to his left arm; because the commission did not address employer’s appeal of the deputy commissioner holding that claimant suffered from a condition causally related to his industrial accident, the case is remanded […]
Circuit Court Could Certify Former GDC Record
A defendant may not overturn his conviction for failure to appeal with a claim that the general district court record of a subpoena to his preliminary hearing had to be certified by that court and not by the circuit court; after defendant’s grand larceny charge was certified to the grand jury, the Court of Appeals […]
Unlawful Arrest Instruction Not Supported
A majority of the Court of Appeals affirms defendant’s jury trial conviction and six months’ sentence for assaulting a deputy sheriff who was arresting him for public intoxication; defendant’s arguments are procedurally defaulted by waiver—he does not argue his arrest was unlawful on appeal and he failed to present below his arguments about excessive force […]
Expert ‘Side-Switching’ on Insanity Allowed
The “side-switching” doctrine does not bar a court-appointed psychologist who initially said defendant was insane at the time he abducted his family at gunpoint, from revising her findings and later testifying for the prosecution; the Court of Appeals affirms defendant’s conviction of abduction and use of a firearm. Defendant argues the side-switching doctrine barred Dr. […]
Employer Cannot Recoup Payments Before Sentencing
The Court of Appeals affirms the decision of the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission denying employer’s request to terminate benefits prior to employee’s sentencing; Va. Code §§ 65.2-510.1(A) and -708(A) authorize prospective relief and we decline to exercise our equitable powers to award employer credit for 20 months employee was incarcerated before sentencing. Employee suffered a [[...]
Continuance Request Admitted Prior Convictions
Defendant is not entitled to reversal of his probation revocation for lack of evidence, the Court of Appeals says; his counsel admitted his subsequent convictions in requesting a continuance. In 2008, defendant was sentenced to thirteen years with all but two months suspended for possessing cocaine with intent to distribute and possessing ecstasy. In 2012, […]
Firearm Sale Cancelled, But Conviction Sticks
A convicted felon who did not fully complete a form asking about prior felony convictions before ordering a firearm and who returned to cancel the sale after being told by store personnel that his purchase had been denied, still can be convicted of attempted possession and transport of a firearm after a prior felony conviction, […]
Dishonesty Bars New Claim
The Court of Appeals affirms the commission’s denial of disability benefits to a trucker terminated for receiving light duty pay and temporary total disability benefits 50 percent higher than his regular salary for 10 weeks before employer discovered the error; employee was terminated for justified cause and forfeited his rights to compensation benefits under case […]
Soft-Tissue ‘Injury’ Supports Felony Hit & Run
Although defendant contends there was insufficient evidence that anyone was injured when she rear-ended another car and then ran away into the woods as emergency vehicles approached, the Court of Appeals holds that a soft-tissue injury such as muscle pain constitutes an “injury” under the felony hit-and-run statute, and affirms defendant’s conviction under Va. Code […]
Verdicts & Settlements
- Driver fell asleep, causing significant auto accident — $1M settlement
- Defense verdict returned for company in rear-end crash — Defense verdict
- 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
