Where plaintiffs alleged tort and contract claims arising from defendant’s construction of a home and  post-construction attempts to repair leaks and remediate the resulting mold, the trial court erred by granting defendant’s demurrers and dismissing all claims. Overview The appeal ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Justice D. Arthur Kelsey Supreme Court of Virginia

A homeowner association’s seasonal decoration guidelines exceeded its declaration of restrictive covenants and are thus unenforceable. The circuit court’s judgment, which upheld fines imposed against appellant property owners for violating the guidelines, and which awarded attorney fees and costs, is ...

Tagged with: Justice D. Arthur Kelsey Real Estate Supreme Court of Virginia

Defendant’s actions while seated in his car – digging between and beneath the seats and behind him with his hands – gave police a reasonable suspicion that he was reaching for a weapon, which justified removing defendant from his car ...

Tagged with: Criminal Justice D. Arthur Kelsey Justice LeRoy F. Millette Jr. Justice William C. Mims 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

Where the trial court ruled, without hearing any evidence on the matter, that a nursing assistant was within the scope of his employment when he molested and raped an elderly nursing home resident, the trial court erred by removing this ...

Tagged with: Justice D. Arthur Kelsey Justice Stephen R. McCullough Personal Injury Supreme Court of Virginia

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

The case of a nursing home patient raped by a staff member split the Supreme Court of Virginia in its position on vicarious liability. The justices largely agree that an employer’s liability under the doctrine of respondeat superior is best ...

Tagged with: Chief Justice Donald W. Lemons Criminal Judge Cheryl V. Higgins Justice D. Arthur Kelsey Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn Justice Stephen R. McCullough Supreme Court of Virginia News

A Loudoun County couple that displayed strings of holiday lights around the clock for at least 300 days a year has won their court battle with a neighborhood homeowners association that sought more than $40,000 in fines, fees and costs. ...

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

The Supreme Court of Virginia has recognized a church’s “special relationship” duty to protect children from a known dangerous employee. The new opinion also offers a host of guidance in other aspects of pleading a case. The decision builds on ...

Tagged with: Criminal Employment Justice D. Arthur Kelsey Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan Supreme Court of Virginia News

Plaintiff , a young sexual abuse victim, has adequately pleaded that there was a special relationship between her and defendants, a local church and its national denomination, which created a duty to protect her from a church deacon who defendants ...

Tagged with: Justice D. Arthur Kelsey Personal Injury Supreme Court of Virginia