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Supreme Court of Virginia amends rule on emeritus class members
The Supreme Court of Virginia amended its rules to expand emeritus attorney eligibility, aiming to boost pro bono legal aid for underserved communities.
Chief Justice Goodwyn receives 2024 Carrico Award
Supreme Court of Virginia Chief Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn was honored with the 2024 Carrico Award for exceptional service and leadership in Virginia’s judicial system.
Contract: Court declines to adopt ‘adequate assurance’ doctrine for all contractual disputes
Where the court was urged to adopt the doctrine of “adequate assurance” for all contractual disputes, it declined to do so. The General Assembly has adopted the doctrine of adequate assurance in limited circumstances, but it has stopped short of adopting the doctrine more broadly.
Constitutional: Virginia broadband installation statute is unconstitutional
Where a Virginia statute permitted broadband service providers to install fiber optic cables across railroad property without showing the installation is for the public use, that constitutes a taking of private property and is thus unconstitutional.
Supreme Court of Virginia bars nonrefundable advanced legal fees
Virginia Supreme Court amends Rule 1.5 to prohibit nonrefundable legal fees, impacting attorney fee agreements statewide starting July 15
Supreme Court of Virginia approves rule amendment on limited legal services
The Supreme Court of Virginia has amended Rule 6.5, easing conflict checks for court-appointed attorneys offering limited legal services.
School board immune from negligence suit
A school board was entitled to immunity from a negligence suit stemming from an alleged attack on an autistic child on a school bus because the plaintiff’s injuries did not relate to the operation of the bus, the Supreme Court of Virginia has held in reversing a Circuit Court decision.
Statutory separation required for divorce
In a case of first impression, the Supreme Court of Virginia held that a couple seeking a no-fault divorce under Va. Code § 20-91(A)(9) was required to show an intent to permanently live separate and apart throughout the statutory separation period.
Domestic Relations: Court resolves dispute over no-fault statute
Where the Court of Appeals held that a party seeking a no-fault divorce under Code § 20-91(A)(9) is not required to show that either party continuously maintained, throughout the statutory period, an intent to separate permanently, and that the intent to permanently separate need only exist at the very beginning of the separation period, it erred. There must be an intent to permanently live separ[...]
Tort: School Board immune from autistic student’s gross negligence claims
Where a lawsuit alleged a non-verbal autistic child was struck, insulted and allowed to leave a school bus partially unclothed, the circuit court erred when it denied the School Board’s sovereign immunity plea in bar. Although an exception applied where a vehicle owned, operated or insured by a school board was “involved in an accident,” the alleged incidents here did not fall within that ex[...]
Virginia February bar exam pass rate over 61%
Virginia’s February bar exam saw a 61.11% pass rate, a drop from 2024’s 66%. Top schools had strong showings. The July exam filing deadline is May 12.
Criminal: Man convicted for concealing a dead body
Where a man convicted of maliciously concealing a dead body argued the circuit court wrongly precluded his expert witness from testifying about his mental condition at the time of the offense, but her testimony would not have led to a different outcome, the claimed error was harmless and the conviction stands.
Verdicts & Settlements
- Motor Vehicle Negligence Rear-seat passenger injured when car hits telephone pole
- Motor Vehicle Negligence- Car crash after back surgery causes additional injuries
- Medical Malpractice – Jurors side with cardiologist over treatment of strokes
- Negligence and Tort- Ice pack use during tattoo removal causes frostbite
- Workers’ Compensation Struck by metal door at workplace, plaintiff sustains subdural hematoma
- Motor Vehicle Negligence Woman struck by vehicle loses senses of taste, smell
- Motor Vehicle Negligence – Pedestrian struck by car while in parking lot
- Motor Vehicle Negligence- Driver fractures right leg in tractor-trailer collision
- Motor Vehicle Negligence- Motorcyclist hit by car suffers two broken wrists
- Medical Malpractice – Young patient commits suicide while on psychoactive drugs
- Motor Vehicle Negligence- Art teacher’s hand injured in collision
Opinion Digests
- Criminal – Sentence for ‘unusually heinous’ conduct is affirmed
- Criminal – Sentence wasn’t unreasonable despite deportation consequences
- Appeals – Waiver in plea agreement forecloses most arguments on appeal
- Appeals – Appellant’s informal brief forfeited appellate review
- Employment – Failure to exhaust administrative remedies dooms Title VII suit
- Jurors – Dishonest juror didn’t violate defendant’s Sixth Amendment rights
- Criminal – Motion to suppress backpack denied where defendant abandoned item
- Civil Rights – Officer denied immunity in fatal shooting case
- Civil Rights – No qualified immunity on excessive force police K-9 claim
- Criminal – Probable cause includes dog’s positive alert for narcotics
- Criminal – Evidence supports obstruction of justice conviction
- Search & Seizure – Inventory search exception applies to warrantless search
