The Library

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 […]