Supreme Court of Virginia Decisions 2011
Date: November 4, 2011
Docket Number: 100350
Justia Opinion Summary: The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) entered into an agreement, pursuant to the Rail Enhancement Fund created by Va. Code Ann. 33.1-221.1:1.1, to grant funds to Norfolk Southern Railway…
Date: November 4, 2011
Docket Number: 100967
Justia Opinion Summary: After Wife filed a complaint for divorce from Husband, the trial court conducted an equitable distribution hearing, pursuant to which it determined that, because Wife exercised some of the options with separate funds,…
Date: November 4, 2011
Docket Number: 101102
Justia Opinion Summary: Kasey Landrum sued Defendants, Chippenham and Johnson-Willis Hospitals and Dr. John Deitrick, for medical malpractice. Because Landrum did not identify her expert witnesses in accordance with the circuit court's…
Date: November 4, 2011
Docket Number: 101209
Justia Opinion Summary: Jeffrey Ruhlin filed a complaint against Mariam Samaan, seeking damages for injuries he suffered in an automobile accident with Samaan. The jury found in favor of Ruhlin and awarded him $5,000 in damages. Ruhlin…
Date: November 4, 2011
Docket Number: 101278
Justia Opinion Summary: Dewey Monroe, a member of a limited liability company, died. Through his will, Dewey bequeathed his entire estate to his daughter, Janet. Janet asserted that Dewey transferred his membership in the company to her. Lou…
Date: November 4, 2011
Docket Number: 101316
Justia Opinion Summary: Wife sought to collect installments of child support that were due between the years 1967 and 1982. The circuit court determined the total amount of support arrearages due Wife was $73,629. The court of appeals affirmed.…
Date: November 4, 2011
Docket Number: 101837
Justia Opinion Summary: Employee of a pest control company signed an employment agreement containing a provision stating that he would not engage in similar business within two years after he ceased employment. After resigning and within the…
Date: November 4, 2011
Docket Number: 102246
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant James Bevel was convicted in a jury trial for having sexual relations with his daughter. Bevel's counsel filed a notice of appeal, after which Bevel died. Counsel filed a motion to abate conviction ab initio,…
Date: November 4, 2011
Docket Number: 102398
Justia Opinion Summary: A grand jury indicted Smith for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. Two days later, Smith applied for the purchase of a semi-automatic pistol. Smith answered that he was not under indictment for a felony…
Date: November 4, 2011
Docket Number: 102471
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Calvin Bowman was found guilty of robbery, abduction, and two counts of use of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The court of appeals and Supreme Court affirmed. Bowman subsequently filed …
Date: November 4, 2011
Docket Number: 102477
Justia Opinion Summary: George Christian filed petitions for temporary injunction and declaratory relief, alleging that the clerk of the State Corporation Commission (SCC) failed to provide requested public records relating to all overpayments…
Date: November 4, 2011
Docket Number: 110069
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Jerry Anderson was found guilty of fellatio by force and sentenced to fifteen years' imprisonment. The court of appeals denied his appeal. At issue was whether prior consistent statements made by the…
Date: September 16, 2011
Docket Number: 092491
Justia Opinion Summary: A limited liability company (MIC) was formed for the purpose of building and operating a hotel. The original members of MIC were a revocable trust (the Trust), trustee Michael Siska, and Thomas, Jane, and Jason Dowdy.…
Date: September 16, 2011
Docket Number: 100285
Justia Opinion Summary: James Proffitt was convicted of a felony sexual offense involving a minor and was sentenced to a term of imprisonment. The circuit court, shortly thereafter, appointed Melissa Doud as Proffitt's guardian and conservator.…
Date: September 16, 2011
Docket Number: 100434
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Fox Rest Associates (Fox Rest) was formed to purchase Fox Rest Apartments. Defendants in this case were George Little, Fox Rest's legal counsel through his law firm, George B. Little and Associates (GBL&A),…
Date: September 16, 2011
Docket Number: 100764
Justia Opinion Summary: Kivalina, a native community located on an Alaskan barrier island, filed a lawsuit (Complaint) in a California district court against The AES Corporation, a Virginia-based energy company, and numerous other defendants…
Date: September 16, 2011
Docket Number: 100929
Justia Opinion Summary: Leslie Todd gave birth to a female child while incarcerated. Lucretia Copeland eventually became the baby's primary physical custodian. Approximately two years later, Copeland filed a petition to adopt the child without…
Date: September 16, 2011
Docket Number: 100981
Justia Opinion Summary: An employee of the general contractor on a construction site was allegedly injured by the negligent act of the employee of a subcontractor who carried no workers' compensation insurance. Plaintiff, the injured party,…
Date: September 16, 2011
Docket Number: 101004
Justia Opinion Summary: These appeals arose out of two cases brought after Mother was shot and killed by her only child, Clayton Lynn. Mother's will identified Lynn as the sole beneficiary of her estate. Lynn's daughters (Granddaughters) filed…
Date: September 16, 2011
Docket Number: 101031
Justia Opinion Summary: McCarthy Holdings filed a complaint against Vincent Burgher, seeking a declaratory judgment concerning an easement agreement. McCarthy, the owner of the dominant estate, sought a declaration that it had the right, as a…
Date: September 16, 2011
Docket Number: 101085
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a property owner within the Lee's Crossing subdivision, sought declaratory and injunctive relief and an award of monetary damages against Defendants, the Lee's Crossing Homeowners Association, the developer of…
Date: September 16, 2011
Docket Number: 101120
Justia Opinion Summary: After Roger Hudspeth's employment with the Bank of the Commonwealth was terminated, Hudspeth filed a complaint against the Bank, alleging the Bank failed to pay him compensation owed for his employment. The Bank filed a…
Date: September 16, 2011
Docket Number: 101128
Justia Opinion Summary: Lawton Rogers, an attorney, and three associates (Plaintiffs) formed a partnership (the Firm) by signing a partnership agreement. Each Plaintiff signed a note securing his indebtedness with his interest in the Firm.…
Date: September 16, 2011
Docket Number: 101232
Justia Opinion Summary: Justine Critzer died intestate with, apparently, no spouse, siblings, children or parents to survive her. Nancy Donak, the administratrix of Critzer's estate, subsequently discovered that the Mary Kummer ("Mrs. Kummer"),…
Date: September 16, 2011
Docket Number: 101457
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury found Dustin Turner guilty of abduction with intent to defile and first-degree felony murder. Billy Brown, the other person implicated in the crime, later confessed in a signed affidavit that he alone killed the…
Date: September 16, 2011
Docket Number: 102314
Justia Opinion Summary: Derek Bell was declared by a jury in circuit court to be a sexually violent predator and was civilly committed to the custody of the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services for…
Date: June 9, 2011
Docket Number: 091047
Justia Opinion Summary: Police officers asked D'Angelo Brooks for permission to search his house for a weapon after someone reported shots fired. Brooks consented. During the search an officer opened a bag, in which he found cash and cocaine.…
Date: June 9, 2011
Docket Number: 092465
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008 the Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner of Virginia condemned the Taco Bell restaurant building located near a federal highway. Taco Bell argued that approximately 42 pieces of equipment used in the…
Date: June 9, 2011
Docket Number: 100199
Justia Opinion Summary: Robert Bennett signed a one-year employment agreement with Sage. That summer, Bennett communicated to Sage that he would require an increase of almost triple his salary or he would transition out of the company. When…
Date: June 9, 2011
Docket Number: 100333
Justia Opinion Summary: Gardiner Mulford purchased a tract of land after being advised by the seller that it might be landlocked and reviewing an appraisal that concluded an access easement would need to be acquired. Mulford began to use an old…
Date: June 9, 2011
Docket Number: 100347
Justia Opinion Summary: The City of Richmond provides a partial exemption from real estate taxes for qualifying rehabilitated property if a property increases in value by at least forty percent because of rehabilitation. According to the city…
Date: June 9, 2011
Docket Number: 100399
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2004, Campbell was involved in a motor vehicle collision with Kocher. In 2005, Campbell filed for bankruptcy and received a notice of discharge a year later. In 2006, Campbell filed two personal injury actions against…
Date: June 9, 2011
Docket Number: 100457
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005, Southwest Emergency Physicians, Inc. (SWEP) and Alldredge entered into a contract under which SWEP's physician-employees staffed Lewis-Gale's emergency department. The contract provided that it could be…
Date: June 9, 2011
Docket Number: 100499
Justia Opinion Summary: Barabara Rutter filed a wrongful death action in June 2000 against Oakwood, a living center, Prism Rehab, a company providing physical therapy services, and the president and employee of Prism Rehab. Dixon and Prism…
Date: June 9, 2011
Docket Number: 100632
Justia Opinion Summary: Fairfax County filed a petition in the general district court, seeking an order declaring Dolores Davis to be an unfit pet owner. The general district court entered the order, and Davis appealed to the circuit court. The…
Date: June 9, 2011
Docket Number: 100650
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005, David Eastlack was charged with malicious wounding. The circuit court found Eastlack not guilty by reason of insanity. In 2009, Eastlack filed a petition in the circuit court seeking expungement of the police…
Date: June 9, 2011
Docket Number: 100797
Justia Opinion Summary: Brenda Britt obtained a new car from a car dealership after completing and signing, among other documents, a buyer's order and a retail installment sales contract. After failing to obtain financing for the sale of the…
Date: June 9, 2011
Docket Number: 100841
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002, Pauline Dabney was attacked by two pit bull dogs owned by Elease Otey, who had recently died. Otey held an insurance policy issued by Augusta Mutual Insurance Company that contained a condition requiring the…
Date: June 9, 2011
Docket Number: 101866
Justia Opinion Summary: Harry Kelso was convicted in the Circuit Court of Hanover County of three counts of causing a juvenile to assist in the distribution of marijuana to a third party in violation of Va. Code Ann. 18.2-255(A)(ii). Kelso…
Date: June 9, 2011
Docket Number: 101870
Justia Opinion Summary: Geoffrey Sanders was convicted by a jury of forcible sodomy, rape, object sexual penetration, and taking indecent liberties with a child. During the trial, the circuit court allowed the commonwealth's medical expert, a…
Date: June 9, 2011
Docket Number: 101933
Justia Opinion Summary: David McNeal was convicted in a bench trial in the circuit court for failing to return rented personal property within ten days after expiration of the rental period in violation of Va. Code Ann. 18.2-118. At trial, the…
Date: June 9, 2011
Docket Number: 102043
Justia Opinion Summary: Level 3 Communications is a telecommunications company providing wholesale Internet services to major Internet service providers. Level 3 filed applications to correct the amount of its gross receipts certified by the…
Date: April 21, 2011
Docket Number: 092501
Justia Opinion Summary: Prior to November, 2006, Grievant Tammy Estep worked for the Virginia Department of Corrections (DOC) as a Superintendent of the Central Virginia Correctional Unit. She had consistently been given good performance…
Date: April 21, 2011
Docket Number: 092561
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Corey Smith was a passenger in a vehicle stopped by Richmond police officers for a broken tail light. The officers asked the driver and Petitioner for identification, and processed that information using the…
Date: April 21, 2011
Docket Number: 092583
Justia Opinion Summary: In April, 2006, Charles Volpe drowned in the Maury River below a low-head dam during a visit to a park owned by the Appellant City of Lexington. His parents S. Charles and Kim Volpe (Appellees) brought suit against the…
Date: April 21, 2011
Docket Number: 100034
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal stems from an application made by the City of Virginia Beach to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC). The City sought to install a stormwater pipeline over state-owned bottomlands. After a public…
Date: April 21, 2011
Docket Number: 100048
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, the Board of County Supervisors filed a petition for condemnation in trial court against Appellee's Charles and Anna Dean, seeking to obtain the Deans' property to expand a bus maintenance facility and parking…
Date: April 21, 2011
Docket Number: 100052
Justia Opinion Summary: In December, 2002, Appellee Alyssa Chalifoux saw her family physician after experiencing headaches and other symptoms on the right side of her face. The doctor referred Appellee for an MRI with Appellant Radiology…
Date: April 21, 2011
Docket Number: 100068
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee John Jennings operates a commercial marina/boatyard. He challenged the local zoning board's authority to regulate the construction of additional mooring slips that would lie beyond the mean low-water mark of a…
Date: April 21, 2011
Docket Number: 100070
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant John Gordon suffered a compensible injury by accident while working at Appellee Ford Motor Company's production plant in 2000. Based on this injury, the Workers' Compensation Commission entered a series of…
Date: April 21, 2011
Docket Number: 100082
Justia Opinion Summary: Bataa Baasanjav rented an automobile from Appellant Enterprise Leasing Company (Enterprise). Baasanjav declined to purchase supplemental liability insurance for the rental. The lease agreement contained an…
Date: April 21, 2011
Docket Number: 100108
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Sara Forbes (Trustee) created a trust to convey a parcel of real estate to the City of Newport News in which she acted as trustee. The trust provisions prohibit the trustee from selling the property except to a…
Date: April 21, 2011
Docket Number: 100149
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1925, the owner of a parcel of land adjacent to the James River obtained the right to construct a wharf and pier extending into the river and adjacent to public land, then owned by the Isle of Wight County. Over time,…
Date: April 21, 2011
Docket Number: 100157
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee Shawn Necaise was arrested on warrants charging felonious disregard of a police officer's signal to stop, and feloniously assaulting an officer engaged in public duties. The court records show the charges were…
Date: April 21, 2011
Docket Number: 100260
Justia Opinion Summary: Dunn, McCormack & MacPherson (Dunn), a Virginia law firm, served as legal counsel to the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority for thirty years. Dunn worked for the Authority on an at-will contract for legal…
Date: April 21, 2011
Docket Number: 100287
Justia Opinion Summary: From March 2005 to November 2007, Appellee Wilma Ruby entered into a total of 33 payday loan agreements with Appellant Cashnet, Inc. The amount of each loan increased over time. Appellee failed to pay her last loan. In…
Date: April 21, 2011
Docket Number: 100303
Justia Opinion Summary: On appeal, the Supreme Court reviewed whether the circuit court erred in its interpretation of a management agreement between Condominium Services, Inc. (CSI) and First Owners' Association of Forty Six Hundred…
Date: April 21, 2011
Docket Number: 100305
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee Donald Gunter originally filed an action against Appellant Robbie Martin individually and in her capacity as administrator of the estate of George Martin in 2005. Gunter alleged that the decedent died intestate.…
Date: April 21, 2011
Docket Number: 100332
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1999, Thomas Laffey was injured when his car was hit by a car owned by Sharon Bass. Sharon's daughter Krystal was the car's primary user; Steven Parent was driving the car at the time of the accident. Sharon had a…
Date: April 21, 2011
Docket Number: 100338
Justia Opinion Summary: While sitting in the driver's seat of his parked truck talking with a customer on his cell phone, Appellee Michael Lewis was approached by a ten-year-old child and asked for a ride home. Appellee did not know the child,…
Date: April 21, 2011
Docket Number: 101282
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee Winston Burton was convicted for abduction in violation of state law. The victim brought her car to Appellee for service. Appellee asked the victim for "help" while he examined the car; after five to ten…
Date: April 21, 2011
Docket Number: 101289
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Marquis Byrd was indicted for first-degree murder, aggravated malicious wounding of another, and for the use of a firearm in both offenses. At a jury trial, he was convicted of second-degree murder and the…
Date: January 13, 2011
Docket Number: 091934
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