After a landlord obtained a default judgment against a commercial tenant for unpaid rent, the circuit court erred in finding that the guarantor waived any objection to the validity of the default judgment by entering a general appearance during post-judgment ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Justice D. Arthur Kelsey Landlord/Tenant Supreme Court of Virginia

As the Supreme Court of Virginia considers ethical guidance regarding online attorney-client matching services, the leading such business announced last month it was closing its doors. Avvo Legal Services, a key player in the web legal marketplace, said it decided ...

Tagged with: Avvo Chief Justice Donald W. Lemons Supreme Court of Virginia

The “Important Opinions” that appear each week on the front page of Virginia Lawyers Weekly are those chosen by our editors as the most likely to impact law practice or a given subject area of law. Below is a listing, ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Administrative Banking Bankruptcy Civil Procedure Civil Rights Commercial Constitutional Consumer Protection Contract Corporate Criminal Domestic Relations Employment Evidence Federal Jurisdiction First Amendment Government Immigration Intellectual Property Personal Injury Real Property Search & Seizure Supreme Court of Virginia Traffic U.S. District Court - Eastern District U.S. District Court - Western District Virginia Circuit Courts Virginia Court of Appeals Wills & Trusts

The trial court did not err in concluding that Code § 56-49.01(A) allows a natural gas company to gain access to private property for the purpose of conducting surveys and other activities, even if it can show that these activities ...

Tagged with: Justice Cleo E. Powell Real Estate Real Property Supreme Court of Virginia Utilities

The owner of one unit in a condominium development stated a breach-of-contract claim against the Condominium Council, based on allegations that its Board unilaterally incorporated it into a non-stock corporation. Background According to her pleadings, Appellant Pammalla Uplinger is a ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Contract Corporate Per Curiam Opinion Supreme Court of Virginia

Petitioner Darryl S. Jackson Jr. seeks a writ of habeas corpus on grounds that his trial counsel inadequately challenged the sufficiency of the evidence that he possessed a firearm as a person convicted of a felony under Code § 18.2-308.2. ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Criminal Per Curiam Opinion Supreme Court of Virginia

The defendants’ convictions for perjury regarding their response to law enforcement inquiries were not impaired by lack of proof about the exact questions they had responded to. And even though the perjury occurred at the Albemarle County Courthouse in the ...

Tagged with: Criminal Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan Supreme Court of Virginia

After a $12 million jury award on breach-of-contract and fraudulent inducement claims, the circuit court did not err in vacating the verdict. Lost profits are not recoverable for a fraudulent inducement claim when they are premised on the unenforceable provisions ...

Tagged with: Business Law Contract Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan Supreme Court of Virginia

The circuit court erred in in dismissing the plaintiff’s derivative action on the ground that the plaintiff had failed to first make a demand for the limited liability company to take action. No such demand is required when it would ...

Tagged with: Business Law Corporate Corporations Justice Stephen R. McCullough Real Estate Real Property Supreme Court of Virginia

The circuit court did not err in confirming the constitutional validity of Virginia General Assembly legislative districts, which the plaintiffs alleged were drawn in violation of Virginia’s constitutional compactness requirement. Background The plaintiffs seek a declaratory judgment that the “State ...

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