Where the Virginia Employment Commission gave incorrect advice to an unemployment benefits claimant, resulting in a denied claim, petitioner waited too long to appeal the denial after the commission provided her with correct information, including how to perfect her appeal. ...

Tagged with: Employment Judge Stephen C. Shannon Virginia Circuit Courts

Where plaintiff alleges defendant misappropriated plaintiff’s leadership materials, plaintiff’s claim for fraudulent inducement of a contract does not defeat a forum selection clause that requires litigation of fraud and misappropriation of trade secrets in a Maryland court. Background Boxer Advisors ...

Tagged with: Contract Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Stephen C. Shannon Virginia Circuit Courts

Where appellant seeks to appeal  the general district court’s denial of preliminary protective orders, the circuit court lacks appellate jurisdiction because there is no final order in this matter. Not final “When the Circuit Court exercises its appellate jurisdiction in ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Stephen C. Shannon Virginia Circuit Courts

An insurer’s vehicle policies unambiguously prevent stacking of underinsured coverage for bodily injury. As a result, the available coverage for the injured party is limited to $25,000, instead of a greater amount he claims is available. Policies Fafa was involved ...

Tagged with: Fairfax County Circuit Court Insurance Judge Stephen C. Shannon Virginia Circuit Courts

Petitioner is entitled to have her plea-based petit larceny conviction vacated because counsel did not advise her of the consequences the plea could have on her immigration status. Facts Petitioner, born in El Salvador, became a lawful permanent United States ...

Tagged with: Criminal Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Stephen C. Shannon Virginia Circuit Courts

A Fairfax County judge has overturned a woman’s shoplifting conviction in a decision that highlights a defense lawyer’s obligation to understand the immigration consequences of a criminal plea deal. As a result of an ill-advised plea agreement, a one-time lawful ...

Tagged with: Criminal Fairfax County Circuit Court Immigration Judge Stephen C. Shannon

Virginia Code §20-91(A)(9)(a), which allows a husband and wife to obtain a divorce if they live separate and apart without cohabitation and without interruption for one year, applies equally to same-sex married couples. In this case, a same-sex married couple ...

Tagged with: Fairfax County Circuit Court Family Law Judge Stephen C. Shannon Virginia Circuit Courts

Once again, a Fairfax County judge has extended rights available under the Virginia Code to a same-sex couple who otherwise would be barred from benefits conferred by state statutes. Circuit Judge Stephen C. Shannon ruled that the two women had ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Stephen C. Shannon

The U.S. Supreme Court in 2015, in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges, gave full marriage rights to same-sex couples. This month, in two different courts in Virginia – the Court of Appeals and a Fairfax Circuit Court – jurists ...

Tagged with: Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Stephen C. Shannon Virginia Court of Appeals

Virginia’s assisted-conception statute, which creates a presumption that a gestational mother’s husband is the father of the conceived child, is unconstitutional as written because it provides parental rights to husbands but not wives, the court held. In 2006, Plaintiff Valerie ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Stephen C. Shannon Virginia Circuit Courts