Virginia courts are taking a close look at questionable estate plans. A Virginia jury this month decided that a widow’s will – leaving the bulk of her estate to the lawyer who wrote her will – was procured through undue ...

Tagged with: Judge John M. Tran Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn Supreme Court of Virginia News Wills & Trusts

Where a durable power of attorney authorized a mother to sell and convey her son’s personal and real property, this did not include the power to make gifts. The circuit court erred by ruling that the mother validly gifted most ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn Supreme Court of Virginia

The Virginia Code does not prevent a court from retroactively modifying a temporary spousal support award. Facts Tawes sued to divorce her husband, Everett, and moved for temporary spousal support and a pendente lite hearing on the matter. The trial ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn Supreme Court of Virginia

Where an agreement obligated a bar to indemnify the city of Richmond for claims arising from the employment of city police officers, the indemnity clause was not triggered when plaintiff sued an officer working at the bar as an individual ...

Tagged with: Contract Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn Order Supreme Court of Virginia

A circuit judge who believed he could not retroactively modify a pendente lite award of spousal support made a “mistake of law,” the Supreme Court of Virginia has ruled. Overruling both the circuit judge and the Court of Appeals, the ...

Tagged with: Judge Charles James Maxfield Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn Supreme Court of Virginia News

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

A loan servicing company was not in privity with the law firm that represented it in a foreclosure action against a property owner. As a result, when the property owner named only the law firm in an unsuccessful petition to ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn 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 ruling by the Supreme Court of Virginia that lawyers are not considered in privity with their clients means a former homeowner gets a second chance to challenge a foreclosure. The court’s holding comes in a matter of first impression, ...

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

A driver tagged with a $1.5 million car-crash verdict is not entitled to a setoff for the settlement the injured driver reached with her underinsured motorist carrier, the Supreme Court of Virginia has held. While the Virginia Code allows for ...

Tagged with: Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn Motor Vehicle Accident Supreme Court of Virginia News