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Landlord and Tenant: Tenant awarded almost $590,000 for damages from moldy apartment
Where the tenant lived with mold or black mold or both in the apartment from 2018, became seriously ill from mold-related maladies in March 2019 and left the apartment with his children only after the ceiling collapsed in August 2019, exposing even more black mold and ruining many of his belongings, and his health problems have persisted, he was awarded almost $590,000 in damages.
Evidence: Trial court wrongly admitted FaceTime recorded conversation
Where Va. Code § 8.01-420.2 prevents admission of a telephone conversation unless all parties consent, this prohibition applied to a FaceTime audio-video recorded conversation.
Tort: $1 million defamation verdict is vacated
Where a jury awarded $1 million to a man accused of being a “SEXUAL PREDATOR/HARASSER,” the verdict was vacated. The protected opinions were based upon and derived from fully disclosed facts.
Crosswalk lawsuit no exception to coming-going rule
Court of Appeals of Virginia affirms denial of workers' comp to woman injured in a crosswalk, ruling it was not part of employer's extended premises.
Workers’ compensation: Woman denied benefits for off-premises injury
Where a woman sought workers compensation benefits, after she was injured while traversing a crosswalk on a public street that separated her employer’s building from a public parking lot, the Workers’ Compensation Commission’s decision denying her benefits was affirmed.
Contract: Policyholder prevails in suit over premiums
Where the circuit court granted a policyholder’s motion to strike a suit brought by a carrier seeking premiums, the carrier’s argument that that the circuit court failed to properly view the evidence in the light most favorable to it lacked merit.
Freedom of Information: Recordings of county board closed meetings exempt from disclosure
Where requesters sought audio recordings of a closed session of the Augusta County Board of Supervisors, the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to require disclosure, after finding that the audio recording “contains information and statements that at times specifically identified county employees, and contained information and statements that would lead to a high probability [...]
Parent and child: Guardian ad litem was not required in close relative adoption
Where the circuit court heard evidence from mother regarding the medical needs and current course of treatment of a minor child with autism and a communication disorder, as well as father’s testimony regarding the efforts he had made to educate himself on the child’s condition, it was well within the circuit court’s discretion to not appoint a guardian ad litem for the child in the close rel[...]
Domestic Relations: Wife waited too long to challenge reason for divorce
Where the wife argued that she should have been granted a divorce on grounds of husband’s adultery, instead of based on the one-year separation as granted by the circuit court, but she failed to timely appeal the divorce decision, the appellate court lacked jurisdiction to consider the issue.
Employment: Attack on arbitration decision foreclosed by approbate-reprobate doctrine
Where a company moving to compel arbitration argued the arbitrator had the authority to decide “issues of arbitrability” under the agreement, and the circuit court sent the case to arbitration, the company’s later assertion that the circuit court must determine the scope of arbitration was barred by the approbate-reprobate doctrine.
Freedom of Information: Litigant fails to compel production of emails between law clerks and GALs
Where the Arlington County Circuit Court Clerk was not required to “maintain” emails from law clerks to guardian ad litems, a mandamus petition seeking production of those documents was properly dismissed. Circuit court clerks cannot produce records that they do not have. Nor does statute impose a duty for circuit court clerks to obtain those records once requested.
Criminal: Man sentenced to good behavior for life
Where a man argued the circuit court exceeded its statutory authority when it sentenced him to good behavior for life, the court rejected this argument.
Legal Tech
- AI in practice: How new technology is affecting litigation practice
- Experts foresee legal malpractice risk for those who eschew AI
- Legal Decoder launches AI-powered billing analytics interface
Verdicts & Settlements
- Negligence and Tort – E-bike collision leads to neck injury, psoriasis flare
- Motor Vehicle Negligence – ‘Daydreaming’ driver hit plaintiff walking by road
- Motor Vehicle Negligence 92-year-old dies after being hit by vehicle
- Motor Vehicle Negligence – Motorcyclist suffers severe injuries in vehicle accident
- Medical Malpractice – Patient dies after alleged improper medicine admin
Opinion Digests
- Criminal – Doctor convicted of unauthorized distribution of oxycodone
- Tort – Assault and battery claims against postal employee are dismissed
- Immigration – Petitioner failed to connect fear of persecution to PSG
- Civil Procedure – District court won’t revisit three-year old decision
- Bankruptcy – Pro se debtor’s myriad motions and challenges are denied
- Criminal – Firearm possession sentence was not substantively unreasonable
- Appeals – Inmate’s untimely appeal is dismissed
