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Court Strikes Punitives Claim in Auto Case
An assertion that defendant is a “life-long opiate addict” who knew his withdrawal symptoms during the 48 hours prior to his traffic accident would include confusion, distractability and “overall impairment of driving ability,” does not state a common law claim for punitive damages, an Augusta County Circuit Court says. We are dealing here with a […]
No punitives claim in ‘drug withdrawal’ case
Alleging a driver knew he was impaired due to drug withdrawal is not enough to sue that driver for punitive damages for rear-ending a school bus, an Augusta County Circuit Court has ruled. The driver was driving on a license suspended because of a marijuana charge, according to pleadings in the case. As a life-long […]
Judge is critical of restoration rights
An Augusta County circuit judge may have aided political foes of Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe with a critical review of McAuliffe’s executive order restoring civil rights for more than 200,000 convicted felons. The judge rejected a criminal defendant’s request to examine juror questionnaires in order to determine whether any felons with recently restored civil rights […]
Court Rejects Courthouse Move Petition
An Augusta County Circuit Court denies a petition filed by the county board of supervisors to hold a referendum pursuant to Va. Code § 15.2-1652 on moving the county courthouse from Staunton to the county government center complex in Verona, Virginia, as the cited cost of $11.5 million does not include moving the courts not […]
Lawyers speak out to save old courthouse
The floors creak as you walk downthe hallways. The woodwork is dark and old. Portraits of lawyers and judges from days gone by stare down from the walls. Inside the courtroom, the ceiling and doorways seem impossibly high. The room is large, but its inherent dignity commands quiet as a court session is gaveled to […]
Loss of nursing license keeps habeas claim alive
An Augusta County woman can pursue her habeas case, even though she completed her jail sentence. Judge Jay T. Swett ruled that her case was not moot, because her conviction resulted in suspension of her nursing license and loss of her job as a nurse. Because she won the habeas case, she expects to get […]
Administrative denial of adoption subsidy overturned – Verdict for Plaintiffs
Plaintiffs were the foster parents/ prospective adoptive parents of an infant child that had been placed in their home by local DSS days after the child’s birth in April 2009. The birth parents’ parental rights were terminated in March 2010, nearly a year after placement of the child in plaintiff’s home. In July 2010, plaintiffs […]
Family Gets Adoption Subsidy, Attorney’s Fees
An Augusta County Circuit Court overturns a state agency’s denial of an adoption assistance subsidy to a family that took in an infant, with the intent to adopt him, but who were stymied by the agency’s decision that the family could not seek a subsidy after the child became eligible for adoption because the child […]
Monday leads in bar nods for appeals court
Roanoke attorney Monica Taylor Monday is the leader in support from Virginia’s statewide bar groups for a seat on the Virginia Court of Appeals. Judge James J. Haley Jr. is retiring in March; leaders of the Senate and House of Delegates sought input from the bar groups on the pending vacancy. Eight statewide bar groups […]
Subpoena for Work Release Records Quashed
An Augusta County Circuit Court grants the commonwealth’s motion to quash a subpoena duces tecum for a regional jail’s records about use of inmate time, requested by the lawyer who is defending a contractor’s employee on charges that she embezzled money by using prison labor on work release for her personal benefit. Defendant requested information […]
Civil Procedure – Recusal – Attorney Sanctions
Although an Augusta County Circuit Court has sanctioned a lawyer $2,000 under Va. Code § 8.01-271.1, the judge declines to recuse himself from the case at issue, finding that to do so would be shirking his judicial duties. I believe the lawyer in question would agree that all our contacts prior to Dec. 28, 2009, […]
Attorneys – Sanctions Under Va. Statute – Tax Assessment Challenge
An Augusta County Circuit Court says a lawyer who misused legal process to challenge real estate tax assessments by suing local supervisors and the commissioner of revenue is sanctioned under Va. Code § 8.01-271.1, and must pay $2,000 for the county’s cost in defending against the frivolous litigation. In the first suit, plaintiff asked the […]
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
