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Res Judicata Bars P.I. Suit Revival
Although plaintiff contends it inadvertently inserted the words “with prejudice” into a dismissal order submitted in its wrongful death action filed earlier in Newport News Circuit Court, granting that dismissal with prejudice bars plaintiff from converting this personal injury action asserting nearly identical claims into a wrongful death action in the Norfolk Circuit Court; plaintiff[...]
No Suppression for Consensual Encounter
A police officer’s consensual encounter with defendant who was walking with a companion near property owned by the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority, and who came over to the police car and voluntarily produced identification and agreed to be patted down for weapons, was not an illegal seizure and did not require suppression of the […]
Stop of Pickup Truck Was Illegal
Observing defendant stop his pickup truck at 11:38 p.m. near a multi-unit housing complex and leave quickly after a man opened the passenger-side door, leaned in quickly, shut the door and ran back, did not provide a reasonable articulable suspicion that defendant had engaged in a drug transaction that would allow officers to stop defendant’s […]
Lost Indictment Not ‘Fraud on Court’
A Norfolk Circuit Court denies an incarcerated murder defendant’s motion to Set Aside Judgment for Fraud on the Court based on his allegation that the clerk’s office has lost the order book that would have recorded his indictments. An affidavit of the chief deputy clerk of this court indicates the order of which petitioner complains […]
Bar May Be Liable for Security Contractor
A plaintiff who alleges she was injured while a patron at The Palace, a Norfolk entertainment venue, by a “John Doe” employee of an independent security contractor has stated claims for negligence and vicarious liability in her amended complaint against The Palace, says a Norfolk Circuit Court. The court finds that plaintiff, by amending her […]
Pro Se Calls Appointment Denial ‘Malpractice’
A plaintiff who alleges she sought a partial knee replacement with a Makoplasty but was “blocked” by defendant physician and medical practice from making an appointment for surgery has her pro se suit dismissed by the Norfolk Circuit Court. Plaintiff’s complaint alleges defendants owed her the duty to provide the least risky, least costly, most […]
Suing your own carrier
An injured driver can sue her own auto insurance company for dragging its feet before trial on resolving an underinsured motorist claim, a Norfolk circuit judge has ruled. Insurance companies contend Virginia law imposes no duty whatsoever for handling a UIM claim until the injured accident victim obtains a judgment against a negligent driver. But […]
Assignee May Not Pursue Third-Party Claim
A plaintiff who, as part of its settlement of contract and warranty claims against defendant KBS Inc., was assigned KBS’ rights against third-party defendant The Phoenix Corporation, cannot amend its complaint to assert those derivative third-party claims against TPC, but may file an independent action to assert those claims, says a Norfolk Circuit Court. The […]
Pointing Gun at Passenger Not Illegal
A police officer did not violate defendant’s constitutional rights when, after stopping a vehicle for a partially obscured inspection sticker and seeing the driver and one passenger exit the vehicle and flee on foot, the officer approached the remaining passenger with his weapon drawn and asked if there were any weapons in the car; the […]
Grabbing Hand at Window Was Legal
Exigent circumstances justified an officer grabbing defendant’s hand as it protruded from the rear window of an apartment under investigation for the smell of marijuana and the officer’s moving the blinds to peer inside the apartment to view defendant; the Norfolk Circuit Court denies defendant’s motion to suppress evidence arising from the warrantless seizure. Defendant […]
Only One Neck Tattoo in Photo Lineup
Although the photo of defendant in a photographic lineup was the only one showing a neck tattoo, the photographic lineup was not unduly suggestive and the photographic identification made by a pawnshop owner is admissible, a Norfolk Circuit Court says. Defendant argues that photographs of the tools allegedly stolen and subsequently pawned – which were […]
Court Refuses to Release Appeal Bond
In a case in which three defendants appealed from the general district court to the circuit court and filed a single civil appeal bond, and the circuit court dismissed the appeals of two defendants who had appeared without counsel in the GDC and plaintiff nonsuited the third defendant, the Norfolk Circuit Court denies plaintiff’s motion […]
Verdicts & Settlements
- Plaintiff injured in crash with oncoming vehicle — $235,000 settlement
- Driver killed in rear-end collision with tractor-trailer — $1.5M settlement
- Man died from pancreatic cancer after delayed response — $1.8M settlement
- Worker fell off roof, rendering him a paraplegic — $1.25M settlement
- Driver sustained permanent hearing loss after traffic collision — $240,000 settlement
- Plaintiff suffered concussion in rear-end collision — $81,000 verdict
- Builder misrepresented home status to buyers — $675,000 verdict
- Low potassium led to cardiac arrest, death of patient — $1M settlement
- Excessive propofol caused death in dialysis patient — $850,000 settlement
- Pedestrian struck in crosswalk in hit-and-run incident — $300,000 settlement
- Navy veteran killed in collision with box truck — $1.85M arbitration award
- Motorcyclist ejected from bike in collision with SUV — $1.5M settlement
Opinion Digests
- Company owner dodges breach of contract suit
- Employee’s own allegations doom minimum wage claim
- Federal government defeats former employee’s claims
- Principal wasn’t entitled to exclusively remote work
- USPTO properly redacted info in responsive documents
- Untimely lawsuit allowed to proceed
- Engineering consultant dismissed from suit
- Rule 60 motion was filed too late
- Nonprofit directors immune from ex-employees’ claims
- City, employees immune from whistleblower claims
- Experts excluded in condemnation damages suit
- Judgment entered against company for horse’s death
