The Library

Gentry Locke for the Defense Montgomery County Circuit Court, then Supreme Court of Virginia Gentry Locke defended two subcontractors, along with their performance bond surety companies, against a claim by a general contractor related to a construction project at Virginia Tech. The project was completed in the late 1990s. Virginia Tech pursued a claim for defective work against the general contractor and resolved that dispute for a $3 million settlement. The general contractor then pursued a claim for breach of contract and indemnification against several subcontractors and sureties. The Supreme Court of Virginia affirmed the trial court’s ruling that the statute […]

Our client was neurologically intact when he was admitted for evaluation to an acute care hospital for possibly unstable cervical fractures. An in-hospital fall caused tetraplegia (a type of paralysis) and a traumatic brain injury. Our attorneys were prepared to present evidence showing that the assigned nurses deviated from the standard of care by not identifying our client as a high falls risk, and by not putting in place high falls risk interventions and injury precautions, including a bed alarm set at the correct sensitivity level.

Gentry Locke for the Plaintiff County Circuit Court located in northern Virginia Gentry Locke represented a woman in her early 40s who underwent a wisdom tooth removal performed by a general dentist. She suffered a permanent nerve injury during the extraction, which she contended resulted from the dentist failing to refer her to an oral surgeon for the procedure. Our client’s experts contended that the removal was too complex for a general dentist to undertake and that the standard of care required referral to an expert in the field of extractions. Had such a referral been made, the tooth would have […]

Gentry Locke for the Defense U.S. District Court, Western District, Roanoke Division, VA The plaintiff sued her former employer, a non-profit, alleging sex discrimination, a hostile work environment, constructive discharge, and retaliation. All claims except for the hostile work environment were dismissed prior to trial. Our client, the employer, denied that harassment occurred and maintained that they were not notified of any harassment until shortly before the employee quit. After a three-day trial, the jury found that the plaintiff had been subjected to a hostile work environment by co-workers but not by the supervisor. The jury also agreed that the employer […]

Gentry Locke for the Appellee Circuit Court of Carroll County and the Court of Appeals of Virginia In a divorce appeal, the Court of Appeals of Virginia has affirmed a trial court’s ruling that the husband deserted the marriage. The desertion finding was supported by evidence that the husband belittled his wife, placed demands on her that she could not meet, and voluntarily left the marriage. The Court also refused the husband a credit for mortgage and car payments he made after the separation. Finally, the Court of Appeals granted our client’s request that the husband pay her attorney’s fees and […]

Gentry Locke for the Defense Giles County Circuit Court Gentry Locke successfully defended a multi-million dollar defamation lawsuit filed by a former Narrows High School principal against The Virginian-Leader, the local Giles County newspaper. The mayor of the Town of Narrows wrote a letter to the editor, in his private capacity, which was published by the The Virginian-Leader. In fall 2015, the former principal filed a 23 count lawsuit claiming, among other charges, defamation. Gentry Locke represented The Virginian-Leader; the mayor was represented by separate counsel. The Court found that the statements at issue were not defamatory, which was fatal […]

Gentry Locke for the Plaintiff Western District of Virginia, Abingdon Division On June 7, 2013, Shawn McKee presented to a hospital emergency department in Lebanon, Virginia. He was treated by Dwight L. Bailey who was, at the time, a licensed physician. Despite numerous signs and symptoms consistent with a potentially fatal condition known as a pulmonary embolus (“PE”), Mr. McKee did not undergo the required test to diagnose a PE, a CT scan. Dr. Bailey testified that the CT scanner at the hospital could not accommodate Mr. McKee’s size, which is why one was not done as he had ordered. […]

Gentry Locke for the Defense Roanoke County Circuit Court The plaintiffs sued their insurance company, claiming the insurance company wrongly denied coverage for replacement of an 8,800 square foot roof. They claimed their roof was irreparably damaged by a hailstorm. The insurer excluded the claim on the basis that the roof had eroded and was totally deteriorated prior to the hailstorm occurring, and therefore no hail damage was compensable. After a two-day trial, the jury came back with a verdict in favor of our insurance client.

Gentry Locke for a national wireless carrier Montgomery County Board of Supervisors After months of work by our Zoning and Land Use team, the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved eight special use permit applications that Gentry Locke filed on behalf of a national telecommunications carrier. The approvals granted by the Board of Supervisors authorize the carrier to upgrade existing wireless telecommunications equipment on eight cell towers located throughout Montgomery County, which will provide faster, 4G/LTE technology to consumers of two major wireless providers. Handling one such special use permit application can be challenging.  Having eight such applications pending at the same […]