A Roanoke lawyer is defending collection actions on a six-figure judgment after alleged lapses in a divorce action and a resulting legal malpractice lawsuit, according to his client’s new lawyer and Virginia State Bar allegations. Charles “C.J.” Covati undermined his ...

Tagged with: Attorney discipline Judge Robert M.D. Turk Legal Malpractice Montgomery County Circuit Court

The court grants husband’s motion to dismiss wife’s divorce complaint based on evidence of wife’s condonation and resumption of cohabitation, even though husband cannot “precisely identify and disclose with particularity and detail each and every act of adultery.” Overview “On ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Judge K. Mike Fleenor Jr. Montgomery County Circuit Court Virginia Circuit Courts

A plaintiff suing for $4.75 million on a groundless defamation claim is liable for a proportion of the defendant’s litigation fees and costs. The plaintiff’s attorney was not subject to sanctions, as she relied on her client’s information until she ...

Tagged with: Attorneys Attorneys Fees Civil Practice Judge H. Lee Harrell Montgomery County Circuit Court Sanctions Tort Virginia Circuit Courts

A lawyer who sued under the newly recognized tort of “interference with parental rights” barely managed to escape an award of sanctions after the client’s allegations proved untrue. The client was not so fortunate. The plaintiff – a Blacksburg woman ...

Tagged with: Judge H. Lee Harrell Montgomery County Circuit Court

A Montgomery County judge ordered a hospital to turn over its peer review reports to lawyers pursuing a wrongful death medical malpractice claim after concluding the hospital had waived the privilege protection through discovery lapses. The judge ruled that hospital ...

Tagged with: Judge Marcus H. Long Jr. Montgomery County Circuit Court

A personal injury plaintiff avoided disaster this month when a Montgomery County judge ruled that his last-minute lawsuit was not too late, even though the check to cover the filing and process fees was a dollar short. The deadline passed ...

Tagged with: fees Judge Robert M.D. Turk Montgomery County Circuit Court Supreme Court of Virginia Thomas R. Scott

The operator of a Blacksburg combination theater-bowling alley and restaurant was allowed back into its building last month after a judge criticized the premises owner’s padlocking the doors amid a rent dispute. The theater company admitted it was behind on ...

Tagged with: D. Patrick Callahan Frank Theatres Gregory D. Habeeb Judge Marcus H. Long Jr. Montgomery County Circuit Court

A defendant car seller’s false repre­sentation that a vehicle conformed to a particular description and quality as being a “numbers matching” vehicle, which he sold to plaintiff for $45,000, when the vehicle was not a “numbers matching” vehicle and thus ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection Montgomery County Circuit Court

A car deal gone wrong combined with a vengeful victim produced a punishing verdict against an ac­cused dishonest dealer last month. Gary Duncan took it personally when he found out his regular supplier of clas­sic cars had taken him for ...

Tagged with: Judge David B. Carson Montgomery County Circuit Court

Plaintiff alleged that Medical Associates of Southwest Virginia though its agent physician breached the standard of care when an angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor (ACE inhibitor) was prescribed to treat her high blood pressure in February 2010. The plaintiff claimed that Ramipril, the ...

Tagged with: Medical Malpractice Montgomery County Circuit Court