Where appellant argues that a county’s approval of a plan to develop a daycare center violated appellant’s due process rights, there was no error when the board of supervisors delegated the authority to approve the plan to the planning director ...

Tagged with: Judge Stuart A. Raphael Municipal Law Virginia Court of Appeals

Where police detained appellant while investigating a domestic assault, even assuming without deciding that she was arrested, the police had probable cause to do so upon information that she allegedly was the “primary aggressor.” Her attack of a police officer ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Stuart A. Raphael Virginia Court of Appeals

A challenge to inspection fees assessed by a homeowners’ association in a large development has succeeded after the Court of Appeals of Virginia found that the individual fees weren’t expressly authorized by the association’s declaration. The appellate court was unpersuaded ...

Tagged with: Judge Clifford L. Athey Jr. Judge Stuart A. Raphael Real Estate Virginia Court of Appeals

Where a residential owners association president claimed other owners defamed him in a letter, the complained-of statements lack the necessary “sting” to be considered defamatory. Narrowing the issue “We exercise de novo review of the circuit court’s decision sustaining the ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Judge Stuart A. Raphael Virginia Court of Appeals

Where appellant was sentenced in 1998 to 58 years for first-degree murder and a firearm offense, the trial court correctly ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to reconsider the sentencing order. Claims on appeal “Dobson’s assignments of error consist of three ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Stuart A. Raphael Virginia Court of Appeals

Where a statute provides fees and charges must be authorized expressly by statute or a condo association’s “declaration,” appellee condo association’s annual lot inspection fee is invalid because the fee is not authorized by the declaration and does not relate ...

Tagged with: Judge Stuart A. Raphael Real Estate Virginia Court of Appeals

The Court of Appeals of Virginia has affirmed a lower court’s ruling to enforce a contingent-fee agreement between two Virginia attorneys after they disagreed over the percentage of the contingency fee. The prevailing attorney argued the proper percentage was one-third ...

Tagged with: Contract Judge Stuart A. Raphael Virginia Court of Appeals

Where appellant lawyer engaged appellee, a lawyer who appellant supervised at the firm where they both worked, to represent him in a civil matter, the parties’ contingent-fee agreement is enforceable. Statement of the case “Appellant Stephen Moncrieffe hired appellee Adam ...

Tagged with: Contract Judge Stuart A. Raphael Virginia Court of Appeals

A party’s discovery delays resulted in a default judgment and an award of more than $80,000 in compensatory and punitive damages to its opponent. On appeal, the sanctioned party argued that the harsh sanctions were an abuse of discretion because ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Judge Stuart A. Raphael Sanctions Virginia Court of Appeals

Where the trial court entered a default judgment and awarded compensatory and punitive damages against appellant as a sanction for not responding to discovery requests, even though the court ordered appellant to do so, there was no abuse of discretion. ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Judge Stuart A. Raphael Virginia Court of Appeals