A driver on a public way who was permanently disabled when a tree fell from private property couldn’t sue for his injuries, because the landowners had no duty to prevent the accident if they didn’t create the danger, the Supreme ...

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

The Virginia Supreme Court has affirmed a ruling that the establishment of a commuter route did not trigger a shopping center owner’s obligation to contribute $500,000 under a zoning proffer for public transportation. “The County’s argument that voluntary conditional proffers ...

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

Where a transit proffer agreement conditioned a landowner’s liability for payments upon the county extending public transportation to the landowner’s development project, the agreement cannot be enforced. Although the county extended public transportation, there is no nexus between the extension, ...

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

Where a multistate corporation’s Virginia income is determined, in part, by the average value of real and tangible property owned and used in Virginia, a tobacco company’s storage and aging of leaf tobacco in Virginia warehouses is not “use” of ...

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

Where appellant received drugs from another person to trade for an automobile, the circuit court properly refused to instruct the jury “regarding the single-buyer/seller relationship exception to conspiracy liability.” The deal Harris agreed with Wade via text messages to trade ...

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

Where the parties’ indemnity agreement capped payments at $4.9 million, the trial court’s award of more than $1 million in attorney fees and costs to the prevailing party, which exceeded the cap, is reversed. The prevailing party is awarded $24,999.94 ...

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

The commonwealth has the authority to remove a state-owned monument from state owned property. The monument is a form of government speech. To the extent that the document conveying the property to the state and a legislative resolution accepting the ...

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

The trial court incorrectly granted defendants’ motion to strike plaintiff’s malicious prosecution claim after weighing the evidence and making findings of fact without viewing the evidence in a light favorable to plaintiff. Overview Appellant Dill was mistakenly identified as a ...

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

The circuit court correctly removed two brothers as co-executors of their mother’s estate and replaced them with a disinterested third party. The “strife and conflict between the brothers[,]” resulting in their inability to agree on even the most trivial matters ...

Tagged with: Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn Supreme Court of Virginia Wills & Trusts

Where plaintiff established a presumption of a fraudulent conveyance, the trial court erred by ruling that only the burden of production, but not the burden of persuasion, shifted to defendants to overcome the presumption. “On this issue of first impression, ...

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