The Library

Gentry Locke for the Defense Supreme Court of Virginia Gentry Locke attorney Monica Monday represented FCi Federal, Inc., the appellee, in an appeal involving a dispute between government contractors. On June 27, 2018, the Supreme Court of Virginia affirmed the circuit court’s decision to set aside a multi-million dollar jury verdict. This case provides guidance on breach of contract claims arising out of teaming agreements. Additionally, the Supreme Court also addressed a question of first impression, holding that lost profits for fraudulent inducement are not recoverable when they are based on the terms of an unenforceable agreement. CGI Federal, Inc. entered into a […]

Gentry Locke for the Defendant City of Winchester Circuit Court The City of Winchester circuit court has reduced a $125,000 jury verdict to $50,000 due to a defect in the plaintiff’s Complaint. The Complaint contained an ad damnum seeking the amount of damages sought. It specifically sought “not less than $50,000” in compensatory damages, “plus punitive damages.” The jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff for $50,000 in compensatory damages and $75,000 in punitive damages. The defendant retained Gentry Locke after the jury verdict to handle post-trial motions. The defense moved the court to set aside the entire […]

Gentry Locke for the Plaintiffs Henry County Circuit Court Our clients, a married couple, lost their home in a house fire. They entered into a written real estate contract to purchase another home. They would pay cash using their homeowners insurance payment from the fire loss. The parties signed the contract, set a closing date, and completed the home inspection. The sellers performed a septic cleaning and inspection and had a termite inspection done. The sellers then purported to terminate the contract. They cited a provision in the contract requiring the buyers to show proof of funds to close. They buyers had submitted a USAA […]

Gentry Locke for the Defendant Campbell County Circuit Court Gentry Locke attorneys Kevin Holt, Amanda Morgan and Glenn Pulley represented a crane, rigging and erection service company in a breach of contract and quantum meruit case. The plaintiff, a former company vice president, alleged that our client breached a 1994 Split Dollar Life Insurance Agreement that involved $500,000 in life insurance coverage, plus the payment of monthly post-retirement benefits for 15 years based on the policy’s cash value.  The written agreement was terminated pursuant to its terms in 2012, but then was allegedly reinstated in 2013 in a conversation between the […]

Gentry Locke for the Defendant United States District Court, Eastern District of Virginia We represented a large national bank in a long-term disability (LTD) claim arising under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).  The plaintiff was a bank employee until she ended her employment due to physical disabilities. She was paid LTD benefits until the results of an independent medical examination revealed that her current symptoms no longer supported a finding of total disability. Accordingly, her LTD benefits were terminated. The plaintiff brought a claim for breach of fiduciary duty under ERISA against the bank in addition to a more […]

Gentry Locke for the Plaintiff Roanoke City Circuit Court There are two important rules in the practice of radiology: (1) a radiologist must communicate all pertinent anatomy and diagnoses on imaging studies; and (2) a radiologist must clearly and effectively communicate, leaving no room for misunderstandings by clinicians. If a radiologist does not do both of these things, patients will suffer misdiagnoses that will cause serious injury and/or death. On August 16, 2016 our client presented to the LewisGale Medical Center Emergency Department with abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting after having undergone a colonoscopy the day before. Our client’s clinicians […]

Gentry Locke for the Plaintiff Warren County Circuit Court In May of 2016, our client traveled northbound on Interstate 81 in Warren County, Virginia. When our client approached an interstate crossover, a work truck for an asphalt and paving company illegally used the crossover to go from I-81 South to I-81 North. This resulted in a substantial crash which caused our client’s vehicle to catch fire. The driver of the work truck was charged with reckless driving and illegal use of a crossover, and was ultimately found guilty of both charges. Our client suffered a broken leg which required surgery, extensive […]

Gentry Locke for the Defendant United States District Court, Western District of Virginia After being informed that our client intended to file a trade secret misappropriation case in Ohio on behalf of its business, the opposing company filed a declaratory judgment action in Franklin County Circuit Court seeking a ruling that it had not misappropriated any of our client’s trade secrets. Gentry Locke attorneys Kevin Holt and Alicha Grubb then removed the Virginia case to Federal Court and moved to have it dismissed.  The Virginia Federal Court granted the motion, finding that the opposing company had improperly filed the declaratory judgment action first in “an improper attempt […]

Gentry Locke for the Defendant Fairfax County Circuit Court Gentry Locke attorneys successfully defended a large, residential real estate brokerage firm in a breach of contract case.  The plaintiff, a North Carolina consulting firm, designed new commission plans for our client’s thousands of real estate agents in the mid-Atlantic region. The plaintiff contended that it was owed $1.4 million in cumulative incentive payments based on improvement to the brokerage’s “company dollar” percentage, or profit margin, over the five-year period following adoption of the plans. However, under a plain reading of the contract and the brokerage’s financial performance, no incentive payments were […]