Where appellant sought a partition of a home she and her siblings inherited, the trial court correctly ruled that she could not obtain an attorney’s fee under the partition statute from her unrepresented siblings. Background In 2012, despite their deceased ...

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

Where a school bus driver and a bus aide assaulted a special needs student while he harnessed to a bus seat, no uninsured motorist coverage is due from a policy defendant issued to the student’s mother. There was no causal ...

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

Where a woman sitting in a car was struck and killed by one of four shots appellant fired down a city street without justification, the necessary malice to sustain a second-degree murder conviction is implied by appellant’s actions. “The concept ...

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

George Mason University Foundation, a private, nonprofit corporation that raises funds and manages donations to George Mason University, is not subject to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. Overview Appellant, Transparent GMU, filed a VFOIA request with GMU and the ...

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

Evidence of the probability that appellant’s farmland would be rezoned for commercial use was admissible in this condemnation case to determine the compensation due for land taken to construct a highway interchange. Background The highway commission sought to take a ...

Tagged with: Justice Cleo E. Powell Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn Justice Stephen R. McCullough Real Estate Supreme Court of Virginia

The Supreme Court of Virginia offers a tutorial on Batson challenges to jury strikes while affirming a first-degree murder conviction in a case decided last month. The justices split 5-2 on whether a prosecutor’s race-neutral explanation for striking a juror ...

Tagged with: Justice Cleo E. Powell Justice D. Arthur Kelsey Supreme Court of Virginia News

Lawyers need to choose their medical experts with care. That’s a key lesson from a new Supreme Court of Virginia decision, one lawyer said. The justices refused to overturn a patient’s verdict even though the jury was told that a ...

Tagged with: Chief Justice Donald W. Lemons Justice Cleo E. Powell Justice Stephen R. McCullough Legal Experts Supreme Court of Virginia News

Where counsel made a Batson challenge after the Commonwealth used a peremptory strike to excuse an African-American juror from defendant Bethea’s retrial on a first-degree murder charge, the lower courts correctly determined the strike was not racially motivated. Defendant’s conviction ...

Tagged with: Criminal Justice Cleo E. Powell Justice D. Arthur Kelsey Supreme Court of Virginia

Even though appellant altered her assignments of error after her appeal petition was granted, the appeal will be heard. The original assignments of error were adequately addressed on brief. As to the merits, the circuit court incorrectly delegated its authority ...

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

The circuit court should have set aside a $3 million award in this business dispute because it did not instruct the jury on appellant’s statute of limitations defense. Background Ferguson distributes Trane heating and cooling equipment. Ferguson made a rebate ...

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