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Legal aid group not barred from receiving attorney’s fees
Where a statute gave a court discretion to award attorney’s fees and costs on behalf of any party, the court was not barred from awarding such fees to a party who was represented by legal services and, as such, did not personally incur any fees or costs. Background Nadia Gihar Bahta and Mohammed Seid Mohammed […]
Jurors could be impartial despite family history of abuse
Where a defendant was charged with, among other things, sexual battery, the trial court was not required to strike jurors whose family members had experienced sexual abuse because there was no indication that the jurors could not remain impartial, and the defendant’s psychologist was properly precluded from testifying that the defendant did not fit the […]
CAV: Retroactive support modification can’t cure arrearages
The circuit court did not err in modifying a husband’s spousal support obligation from about $7,800 to $4,800 based on his ability to pay, but it also properly declined to make the modification retroactive. Background Husband and Wife married in 1989 and separated in 2015. They had three adult children and jointly owned a bed-and-breakfast […]
CAV: Two hit-and-run convictions not for same offense
A defendant’s constitutional right against double jeopardy was not violated by her convictions for both felony murder and felony hit-and-run. Background One morning in September 2014, a woman later identified as Defendant Sarah Flanders drove a red Dodge Durango onto a Dominion Power job site. She told a worker that somebody needed to call 911 […]
Court: Judges can advocate on courthouse issues
Two judges who vigorously advocated against a courthouse relocation referendum did not commit judicial misconduct, the Supreme Court of Virginia has ruled. The unanimous court dismissed judicial ethics charges against Senior Court of Appeals Judge Rudolph Bumgardner III and retired Circuit Judge Humes J. Franklin Jr., both Staunton area residents who supported preservation of the […]
Reversal in Track Coach’s ‘Computer Solicitation’ Case
Although defendant, a 40-year-old specialty track coach, sent a 16-year-old student flirtatious and sexually explicit text messages, including a graphic description of a dream in which he and the student engaged in a variety of sexual acts, his text messages did not cross the line from “words alone” to inducing or enticing the student; a […]
Limited Credit Awarded for Overpayment
The commission did not err in concluding employer was entitled to a credit of only $363.16 for overpayments made to claimant, a 51-year-old bakery manager at appellant wholesale club who received lifetime medical benefits. A divided commission held that employer was only entitled to credit for overpayments due to claimant’s failure to report her increased […]
Bar leaders, ACLU back judges’ right to advocate
A group of 23 former presidents of the Virginia Bar Association, as well as two civil liberties organizations, have come to the defense of two Virginia judges accused of improper political activity. The former VBA presidents filed a friend of the court brief in support of Virginia Court of Appeals Senior Judge Rudolph Bumgardner III […]
Prior Larceny Counts Before Conviction
A defendant can be convicted of petit larceny, third offense, where the prior larceny offense occurred before the current offense, even if the conviction post-dates the current offense, the Court of Appeals holds. Defendant admits she committed the current larceny but maintains a prior conviction could only enhance her punishment if it was pronounced before […]
Firearm Seller Knew Buyer Was Felon
The Court of Appeals affirms convictions of larceny of a firearm, larceny with intent to sell and selling a firearm to a felon, despite defendant’s claim of insufficient evidence. The trial court accepted the gun buyer’s testimony that he and defendant had discussed being in prison and that he had told defendant he had served […]
Moving Restaurant Employees Was ‘Abduction’
A defendant who participated in a robbery that started when a gunman grabbed a waitress who came outside to empty trash, and then moved inside the Hooters restaurant, forcing a cook to move to an office door, can be convicted of abduction; the Court of Appeals affirms defendant’s conspiracy and robbery convictions, as well as […]
Mother Loses Rights for Abandoning Children
The Court of Appeals affirms felony child neglect convictions for a mother who left her four children – ages 1, 3, 5 and 7 years old – alone in a hotel room for an extended period of time. A hotel employee called the police after discovering the children by themselves in the room at 2:00 […]
Verdicts & Settlements
- 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
- Excessive propofol caused death in dialysis patient — $850,000 settlement
- Pedestrian struck in crosswalk in hit-and-run incident — $300,000 settlement
- Navy veteran killed in collision with box truck — $1.85M arbitration award
- Motorcyclist ejected from bike in collision with SUV — $1.5M 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
