Virginia’s new codified Rules of Evidence became effective on July 1, 2012. In an article in Virginia Lawyers Weekly, five of the rules were highlighted. One of those highlighted rules was Rule 2:408, “Compromise and Offers to Compromise.” The terms of this rule differ from the terms of the Federal Rule of Evidence 408, but those differences will not be explored in this post. Instead, this blog post will review Virginia Rule of Evidence 2:408, and its possible implications for settlement discussions and mediation.

Continue reading “Do the Virginia Rules of Evidence change settlement negotiations and mediations?”

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The Virginia Supreme Court’s opinion in Tvardek, et al v. Powhatan Village Homeowners Association, Inc. highlights how critical it is to not only amend your HOA documents in compliance with the law and your existing documents, but to make sure that the amended document that gets recorded properly memorializes that you did so.

The Tvardeks filed a declaratory judgment action in 2013 against Powhatan Village Homeowners Association, Inc. (“Powhatan Village”) to challenge a 2008 amendment to the association covenants that included a provision restricting the owners’ ability to rent their homes. Powhatan Village filed a special plea in bar requesting dismissal of the action as untimely citing the one-year statute of limitations in Va. Code Ann. § 55-515.1(E). Declining to hear any evidence, the Circuit Court made a decision on the pleadings and argument of counsel, ruling in favor of Powhatan Village’s argument that the claim was time-barred. The Circuit Court also awarded Powhatan Village $12,000 in attorney fees.

The Tvardeks appealed the case. The Virginia Supreme Court reversed the Circuit Court’s ruling, determining that the case was not barred by the one-year statute of limitations. The attorney fee award was also reversed.

Continue reading “Make sure HOA Document Amendments are properly certified”

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Sometimes your dispute with your contractor goes all the way to court and you obtain a judgment. However, sometimes the contractor does not have the ability to pay the judgment, so financially, you are out-of-pocket your judgment damages plus your attorneys’ fees. You may have one last alternative to recover at least a portion of your losses through the Virginia Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund (the “Recovery Fund”).

Williamsburg Courthouse

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We have previously written a blog piece warning of increased email scam activity and sophistication. Expect more. Another victim of these email scams has come to light, and this victim was a lawyer. An article in Virginia Lawyer’s Weekly told the story of a lawyer victim of a successful email scam. This blog post provides another warning against these scams.

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Continue reading “Can an engineering firm limit its liability by contract?”

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I have often been struck by how much business counseling and marriage counseling can be alike.  “He said he was really good at marketing and was going to handle all the sales.  We haven’t seen a worthwhile sale in months.  All he does is drive around, I GUESS making sales calls, but mostly just spending money.”  “She said she was going to keep the books and handle the personnel issues.  I didn’t know that meant a row of shoe-boxes full of receipts and employee turnover at seventy percent!  This place is a disaster!”  “Turnover is at seventy percent because we don’t have enough sales to keep anyone employed.  If you did your job, then maybe I could do mine.”

Starting a Business

He said, she said.  And so it goes.  It is estimated that fifty-five percent of all first marriages fail and approximately 56% of new businesses fail within four years.  Here are some of the reasons most often given for start-up business failures.

Continue reading “How is starting a business like getting married?”

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It’s an unfortunate fact of life that you may get involved in a lawsuit. If you are at fault in an automobile accident, your auto insurance provides protection. For other types of cases, your homeowners insurance policy can protect you.

Recently our litigation lawyers counseled clients who had been sued. We routinely ask to review their insurance policies. As it turned out, this occurrence was covered by their homeowners policy, saving them tens of thousands of dollars in attorneys’ fees.

This insurance coverage issue was highlighted in a recent Virginia Supreme Court case, Copp v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. In that case, a Virginia Tech student was sued for his actions in a beer-pong game gone bad. His parents thought the costs for his attorneys should be covered by their homeowners policy or their umbrella policy, but Nationwide Mutual declined. On appeal, the Virginia Supreme Court held that because the student alleged he was “trying to protect person or property” when he caused bodily injury, “Nationwide has the duty under its umbrella policy to defend.”

You pay for your insurance policy, make sure that you use the coverage you paid for.

Tarley Robinson, PLC, Attorneys and Counsellors at Law

Williamsburg, Virginia

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Many of us have been paid by a check that includes the written endorsement of “payment in full.” By this endorsement, the maker (writer of the check) intends to settle any dispute once the payee (recipient of the check) deposits the check. The payee worries that by depositing the check, he is waiving any right to demand full payment for the service or supply provided. This blog post addresses Virginia law and each party’s rights with respect to the endorsement of “payment in full.”

Continue reading “Has your business been paid with a check endorsed as “Payment in Full?””

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We’ve mentioned already the abundance of news articles criticizing community associations. If these news stories are to be believed, then associations are unpopular indeed. But is it true that residents living in community associations are unhappy with their association? Research by the Community Associations Institute suggests that it is not. In fact, the research suggests that more people than ever are choosing to live in communities with associations, and the overwhelming majority of those people are happy with their association.

Statistics compiled by the Community Associations Institute show that the number of associations continues to grow. In 1970, just ten thousand communities, with a combined 2.1 million residents, were governed by associations. Today there are over 309,000 communities governed by associations. More than 62 million Americans live in associations. 1.75 million volunteers serve on community association boards, and a full 26 percent of the eligible U.S. population volunteers for an association at some point during a year, according to one estimate. That kind of service simply would not happen if associations were as widely disliked as has been portrayed.

Common Interest Communities

Continue reading “Benefits of HOAs Part 4: What do homeowners really think about their associations?”

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I read a story in the Virginia-Pilot in which it described an incident of Citizen’s Arrest. In the story, a fire inspector, using a flashing blue light on his car, stopped a female driver. He claimed the driver had been swerving, and he stopped her because of his concern she may have been drinking.

A Suffolk, Virginia detective witnessed the incident. After consultation with fellow police officers, the police department urged the Commonwealth’s Attorney to press charges against the fire inspector for impersonating an officer.

The Commonwealth’s Attorney declined. He cited a Virginia case, Hudson v. Commonwealth, for the legal principle that private citizens have a common law right to make a “Citizen’s Arrest.”

I will not go into all of the other complicating legal issues relating to a Citizen’s Arrest, like what obligations does a person have to obey the citizen making the arrest, what force can the citizen use to make the arrest, etc. No, my purpose is more of humorous nature, because the incident reminded me of my childhood, watching Mayberry RFD. In this particular episode, Gomer Pyle shows the proper way to make a Citizen’s Arrest of Deputy Barney Fife:

Tarley Robinson, PLC, Attorneys and Counsellors at Law

Williamsburg, Virginia

John Tarley

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