Foreclosure trustees have fiduciary duties that go beyond those enumerated by a deed of trust, the Supreme Court of Virginia has ruled in a split decision, reminding trustees that they must also consider their duty to serve as a neutral ...

Tagged with: Justice Cleo E. Powell Supreme Court of Virginia News Trustees

Even though a dog in appellant’s custody may have begun to attack a neighbor’s dog while on appellant’s property, the circuit court correctly ruled that the dangerous dog statute’s safe harbor provision does not apply. There was sufficient evidence to ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Justice Cleo E. Powell Supreme Court of Virginia

Where a trustee accepted a $20,900 bid at a foreclosure sale for property assessed at $436,800, the debtor has stated a claim for breach of implied fiduciary duties arising from a deed of trust. The circuit court erred by characterizing ...

Tagged with: Contract Justice Cleo E. Powell Supreme Court of Virginia

The Supreme Court of Virginia will not disturb an arbitration decision that absolved an Alexandria attorney of ethics accusations and slammed a plaintiff with more than $900,000 in sanctions. The decision by five justices could end a protracted battle over ...

Tagged with: Justice Cleo E. Powell Justice D. Arthur Kelsey Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan Justice Stephen R. McCullough Supreme Court of Virginia News

After granting a judgment debtor’s motion to reduce the amount of a confessed judgment, the circuit court erred in not setting the creditor’s objections to the modified amount for trial. Background On November 19, 2008, Appellee Hunter Mill West executed ...

Tagged with: Business Law Justice Cleo E. Powell Supreme Court of Virginia

The trial court did not err in concluding that Code § 56-49.01(A) allows a natural gas company to gain access to private property for the purpose of conducting surveys and other activities, even if it can show that these activities ...

Tagged with: Justice Cleo E. Powell Real Estate Real Property Supreme Court of Virginia Utilities

Pictures and associated data stored in a police department’s automatic license plate reader database are “personal information” under the Data Act, but further factfinding is required to determine whether the record-keeping process allows a license plate number to be linked ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Justice Cleo E. Powell Supreme Court of Virginia

One expert should have been heard; another was heard but fell short on linking negligence to damages. Those were the rulings from the Supreme Court of Virginia last month in two medical malpractice cases that help define standards for expert ...

Tagged with: Justice Cleo E. Powell Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn Supreme Court of Virginia News

Considering amendments to Virginia’s actual-innocence statutes, no rational factfinder would have found the petitioner guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Background In 1977, 12-year-old A.C. was brought to the emergency room by her mother. A.C. reported being raped by multiple assailants ...

Tagged with: Criminal Evidence Justice Cleo E. Powell Supreme Court of Virginia

The plaintiff’s medical expert, who was preferred only to opine on the standard of care in performing a hysterectomy, could not present testimony on whether and how the patient’s outcome would have been different had the defendant called for a ...

Tagged with: Evidence Justice Cleo E. Powell Medical Malpractice Personal Injury Supreme Court of Virginia Tort