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A Debate Reemerges: The Virginia Supreme Court Splits 4-3 Over Life Sentence for Juvenile Convicted

On February 2, 2017, the Virginia Supreme Court decided the case of Donte Lamar Jones v. Commonwealth of Virginia, Record No. 131385 (“Jo...

A Personal Injury Plaintiff’s Nightmare: Zero Dollar Verdict Affirmed

The Virginia Supreme Court issued a decision on January 19, 2017, affirming a jury’s “zero dollar verdict” in a personal injury case. As...

International Custody Litigation in Virginia’s Courts: A Case Study

The Court of Appeals of Virginia recently issued an interesting panel decision in Coe v. Coe, 66 Va. App

The Law of Land Conveyances, Possibility of Reverter, and Virginia’s Common Law Heritage

On June 23, 2016, the Virginia Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Fairfax County Circuit Court (“trial court”) in the case styled, Ha...

Eminent Domain: Condemnation Damages Waiver in Subdivision Plat Binds Successor in Title

The Virginia Supreme Court handed down a unanimous decision on April 28, 2016, in the case of City of Chesapeake v. Dominion Securityplus...

A Debate within the Virginia Supreme Court: De Facto Life Sentences for Juveniles and the Eighth Ame

On February 12, 2016, the Virginia Supreme Court handed down its decision in two consolidated appeals, Darien Vasquez v. Commonwealth of ...

Timber Trespass, and a Modern Primer on Virginia Principles of Statutory Interpretation

On December 30, 2015, the Virginia Supreme Court issued its to-be-published decision in Chacey v. Garvey, 2015 Va. LEXIS 185. The litigat...

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Insurance Under Va. Code §38.2-2206: Simultaneously “Occupying”

On September 17, 2015, the Virginia Supreme Court announced a split-vote decision in the case styled, Bratton v. Selective Ins. Co. of Am...

Pirates and the Rule of Law: Mandatory Life Sentences

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a piracy-related opinion on August 13, 2015. The decision in United Sta...

Virginia Appellate Rule Changes Effective July 1, 2015– What’s Now Different?

The first of July each year normally represents the “effective date” of the General Assembly’s newly enacted laws. This year, that date ...

Coal Mine Voids: The Pitched Battle for Ownership of Virginia's Deep, Dark Depths

On April 16, 2015, the Virginia Supreme Court exercised its power under the Virginia Constitution, and its own Rule 5:40(a), to answer tw...

Common Sense Limitations on Sanctions Awards Under VA. Code §8.01-271.1

On February 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of Virginia issued a unanimous decision that discussed, and set boundaries upon, sanctions awards...

The Perilous Relationship Between Civil Filing Fees and the Expiration of a Statutory Limitations Pe

A recent unpublished order of the Supreme Court of Virginia explored the relationship between payment of required civil filing fees and t...

Appeal Bond for Former-Governor Bob McDonnell: Why All the Controversy?

In the aftermath of his conviction and sentencing in U.S. District Court, Virginia’s former-Governor Bob McDonnell filed a motion for rel...

PUNITIVE DAMAGES: A PROPER DETERRENT TO DRUNK DRIVERS

Coalson v. Canchola, 287 Va. 242, 754 S.E.2d 525 (2014) In Coalson, the Virginia Supreme Court reversed a trial court’s remittitur of a j...

TORT LAW PROTECTIONS FOR RETURNING VETERANS

Metzgar v. KBR, Inc., 744 F.3d 326 (4th Cir. 2014) In KBR, the Fourth Circuit explored an emerging area of tort law. The case arose incid...

COLLATERAL ESTOPPEL IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS: THE COMBINED MISDEMEANOR TRIAL AND FELONY PRELIMINARY H

Davis v. Commonwealth, 63 Va. App. 45, 754 S.E.2d 533, aff’d en banc, 64 Va. App. 70, 764 S.E.2d 724 (2014) Often, when a district court ...

TRIAL ATTORNEYS AND APPELLATE ATTORNEYS: A BREED APART

Good trial attorneys spend years developing considerable professional expertise in their courtroom practices. They hone their skills to a...

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Norman A. Thomas, PLLC

Virginia Appellate Law Practice