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Many kinds of incidents can lead to the pursuit of a personal injury claim in Virginia. Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that close to 40 million Americans visit the hospital each year due to suffering a personal injury. The Insurance Research Council reports that personal injury settlements were 40% higher when claimants were represented by an attorney.  Situations where a personal injury can occur include the following:    Car accidents;   Tractor Trailer Accidents;   Boating Accidents;   Slip and fall;   Dog Bites;   Household Products Causing Injury;   Commercial/Industrial Products Causing Injury; […]

When someone dies, their loved ones are often left overwhelmed. Decisions need to be made. Paperwork needs to be filled out. Funeral and burial arrangements need to be planned. Steps need to be taken to protect the deceased individual’s assets. Of equal importance – especially in cases where the death was caused by another’s negligence – considerations need to be made to protect the interests of the decedent’s statutory beneficiaries. Statutory beneficiaries are the individuals that may have the right to recover damages [CDM1] for their loved one’s wrongful death. The first question that needs to be determined is this […]

On May 1, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a field assistance bulletin, Wage and Hour Memorandum No. 2025-1, stating that it would no longer apply the 2024 Rule used to determine when workers are independent contractors or employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Instead, the DOL said it will enforce the FLSA in accordance with Fact Sheet #13 (July 2008) as informed by Opinion Letter FLSA2025-2, which involves service providers working in a virtual marketplace company. The Trump DOL did not rescind the regulations that created the 2024 Biden-Era Rule, it simply stated it plans to not […]

As Virginia personal injury and wrongful death attorneys, our clients often ask us—how much is my car worth? How do I negotiate the value of my vehicle with the insurance company? Am I still entitled to a rental vehicle from the at-fault driver even if my vehicle is a total loss? Surprisingly, the vehicle/property damage claim is the top priority for many clients and the injury claim is sometimes an afterthought. Even if the client suffers a catastrophic injury, they still worry about how their family will get from place to place without their primary vehicle. We represent clients who […]

Contracts are critical to commercial relationships, but unforeseen events, such as high tariffs, can disrupt performance. This article discusses how Virginia courts may handle doctrines like force majeure, commercial impracticability, and frustration of purpose, and explores related issues such as price adjustments, tariffs as taxes, and cost allocation.  It includes considerations that apply to contract drafting, contract interpretation and contract litigation. Doctrines to Excuse Performance Under a Contract in Virginia Excuse of performance obligations evidenced by a written contract is an option in light of extraordinary circumstances when renegotiation may not be an option. Courts often strictly interpret force majeure […]

The Governor took legislative action on over 960 bills laid on his desk from the 2025 General Assembly Session, including the budget. Governor Youngkin vetoed nearly 160 bills and made recommendations to just as many. In the budget bill, the Governor made 205 amendments and 8 vetoes. A complete list of the Governor’s amendments to the budget may be read here. The General Assembly will have a Reconvene Session on April 2 to respond to his amendments and vetoes. For bills which the Governor vetoed, the threshold for his veto to be overridden is a 2/3 vote of members present. […]

Article originally featured in the Legal Backgrounder, Vol. 40 No. 3 from the Washington Legal Foundation One may have missed the Executive Order issued February 19, 2025, entitled “Ensuring Lawful Governance and Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Deregulator Initiative” (“Executive Order”).[1]  It orders agency heads to identify regulations to target for deregulatory action.  Although that may be a substantial opportunity for certain heavily regulated industries, those same industries and their regulators should be careful that the unintended consequence is not more regulation at the state and local level.  The railroad industry is such an industry; the Federal Railroad […]

On March 21, 2025, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued an Interim Final Rule which serves as an update to reporting requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”). The update revised the definition of “reporting company” to only include entities formed under the laws of a foreign country AND that are registered to do business in the United States. Additionally, U.S. persons that beneficially own foreign entities do not need to report under the CTA. This update removed U.S. entities from the definition of “reporting companies,” removing any obligation of U.S. entities to file beneficial ownership reports under the […]

On March 14, 2025, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit granted the Trump Administration’s motion to stay enforcement of a district court’s preliminary injunction against three aspects of President Trump’s executive orders (EOs) banning “illegal” diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) preferences and programs. Key points of the ruling: The stay allows the Trump Administration to resume implementation of certain challenged aspects of EOs 14151 and 14173, i.e., the termination of equity-related grants or contracts, the ability to require certifications from government contractors that they do not operate programs promoting “illegal DEI” and to […]