In this week’s paper, the final edition of Virginia Lawyers Weekly in 2011, we present the Most Important Opinions that we have featured from this year. You’ll find more than 320 cases highlighted, from January to December. See the list. “Important Opinions” show up on the cover of the paper each week and in a monthly recap [...]

When the captain of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers vessel fell asleep at the wheel and struck plaintiff’s 70-foot yacht, the Marquessa, docked at the pier at Ocean Marine marina in Portsmouth, the yacht was a constructive total loss based on two of three opinions in this battle of the experts, and the 4th [...]

The plaintiffs alleged direct copyright infringement by defendants Young Min Ro and Daewoo Video Inc. (and vicarious copyright infringement against Ro) for duplicating and distributing the plaintiffs’ copyrighted video content after the defendants had terminated their licenses. The infringement included illegally pirating video content from the Internet and distributing that pirated content through retail video [...]

The sledding accident happened at defendant’s residence in Halifax County. Plaintiff, an 11-year-old boy, was riding on an inner tube defendant was pulling behind an ATV in the snow. Defendant turned too quickly, throwing plaintiff off the inner tube and into the side of the house. Plaintiff was taken to Halifax Regional Medical Center and [...]

Plaintiff was a 41-year-old divorced man who worked as a highway construction inspector. Near midnight on July 1, 2010, the plaintiff positioned his work truck, a leased vehicle, in the safety zone of a VDOT work site on Interstate 295 in Henrico County. His truck was specially equipped with an amber flashing light, other lights [...]

Sandbridge Dunes is a 74-unit, four-story condominium building on the oceanfront in Sandbridge. Following three years of fruitless attempts to have the project developer fix leaks and faulty construction in the common areas, the owner’s association retained experts and counsel to pursue statutory warranty claims, seeking over $4,000,000 to repair the defective work. Defects included [...]

The plaintiff was driving straight through an intersection on a green light. The defendant, after having stopped for a red light, pulled through the red light, attempting to make a left through the intersection. Cars met with tremendous force in a t-bone collision. Defendant pled guilty to disregarding a red light. [11-T-174] Type of action: Personal injury [...]

The plaintiff sustained a mild traumatic brain injury and injuries to her neck and shoulder in a motor vehicle accident. Plaintiff’s brain injury resulted in numerous deficits. She experienced problems with short-term memory, inattention, executive dysfunction and mood dysfunction including depression, apathy and anxiety, all of which were further exacerbated due to chronic pain from [...]

Plaintiff’s decedent was a 2-year-old child who at the time of his death was the only child of his parents. He was born with a congenital problem known as Pierre Robin Syndrome, which produced some breathing difficulties necessitating a tracheostomy tube to assist with breathing. After corrective surgery, including cleft palate repair, and the child’s [...]

Plaintiff Sondra Cornwell filed a defamation per se case, alleging that she was defamed by four emails written and published by defendant James Ruggieri. The emails alleged that Cornwell had stolen homeowner association (HOA) funds five years earlier. Ruggieri was the president of the HOA at the time, and the emails were published in 2010. Ruggieri [...]