News & Publications

Mike Gladstone to Speak on Uranium Mining Case at IADC Regional Virtual Meeting

Mike Gladstone, civil litigation attorney and member of the McCandlish Holton trial team that successfully represented the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia in Wise County Circuit Court on behalf of the Commonwealth in defense of the moratorium on uranium mining, will present ‘‘RIP: A Very Short History of Virginia’s Uranium Litigation from Richmond, Virginia’’ at the IADC Mid-Atlantic Virtual Regional Meeting held in Richmond, Virginia on October 28, 2021.

October 26, 2021

Tags: News, Government Law, Litigation, Business Law, webinar, events, Attorneys

Supreme Court of Virginia Refuses to Hear Virginia Uranium’s Request for Appeal

Outcome Obtained by Trial Team Becomes Final

On September 30, 2021, the Supreme Court of Virginia announced their refusal to hear an appeal from Virginia Uranium Incorporated (‘‘VUI’’) seeking review of the July 30, 2020 decision from the Wise County Circuit Court. The Supreme Court determined: “The court is of the opinion there is no reversible error in the judgment complained of,” ending this round of litigation which first began in 2015.

October 25, 2021

Tags: News, Government Law, Litigation, Business Law, Attorneys

McCandlish Holton Trial Team Successfully Defends Commonwealth’s Uranium Mining Moratorium Against Constitutional Challenge

McCandlish Holton, PC Directors Cameron Beck, Michael Gladstone and Audra Dickens obtained a significant and noteworthy trial outcome on behalf of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the matter of Virginia Uranium Inc., et al, v. Commonwealth of Virginia, et al, heard recently in the Circuit Court of Wise County, Virginia. Following a four-day trial in July of 2020, the trial court upheld Virginia’s uranium mining moratorium. The outcome is significant because of its statewide implications for the human and environmental health of Virginians.

Background of the Litigation

After unsuccessful efforts lobbying the legislature to reverse the General Assembly’s 1983 temporary uranium mining moratorium, Virginia Uranium Inc. and land owners of a uranium deposit in rural Pittsylvania County, Virginia, filed lawsuits in federal and state court in 2015 to remove the Commonwealth’s uranium mining moratorium. The Plaintiffs

August 25, 2020

Tags: News, Government Law, Litigation, Business Law, Attorneys

Defense Verdict Obtained for Concrete Pumping Company and Driver

Trial attorney James Snyder and his team obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a concrete pumping company and its driver in a Virginia Circuit Court jury trial. The plaintiff, a passenger in a vehicle her husband was driving, filed a $1,000,000 lawsuit against the defendants, alleging the concrete pump truck operator failed to keep a proper lookout and, by doing so, caused a T-bone accident. The defendants, however, asserted the plaintiff’s host vehicle failed to yield to the oncoming concrete pump truck and pulled in front of the truck, leaving the driver with no time to avoid the accident, despite his best efforts.

The injuries to the plaintiff were significant and not contested at trial. The plaintiff

November 12, 2019

Tags: Litigation, verdicts, Trucking/Transportation Law

Virginia Legislative Alert: SB1619 Virginia's New Spoliation Law

New Section Added to Virginia Code §8.01-379.2:1

On March 7, 2019, the Virginia legislature passed S1619, which added a new section to the Virginia code addressing spoliation at § 8.01-379.2:1. Governor Ralph Northam signed the new legislation into law on March 21, 2019.

S1619 creates an affirmative duty to preserve evidence that a party should reasonably foresee as being relevant to a future lawsuit. The law instructs courts to examine all of the circumstances when determining when the duty to preserve evidence is triggered. Courts must evaluate when the party in possession of the evidence (1) had notice litigation was likely, and (2) realized that the evidence in question would be relevant to the lawsuit.

The Legislature Provides Two Different Spoliation Remedies

The legislature also provided two different spoliation remedies. First, S1619 provides that when

March 26, 2019

Tags: Government Law, Litigation, Virginia Legislative Alert, spoliation, evidence

Virginia Legislative Alert: SB1486 Allows Depositions to be Used in Support of Summary Judgment - Not Quite

Amendment to Virginia Code §8.01-420.

On February 21, 2019, the Governor signed a Bill amending Virginia Code Section 8.01-420. Virginia Code Section 8.01-420 expressly states that depositions cannot be used in support of a Motion for Summary Judgment. The recently enacted amendment to this statute allows depositions to be used, but only in the limited situation where the

March 14, 2019

Tags: Litigation, Insurance Coverage, Virginia Legislative Alert

Virginia Legislative Alert: Bad Faith Bill SB1117 Stuck in Committee, But Virginia Bill SB1293 Sent to Governor.

Bill SB1117 Stuck in Committee

In reaction to the Supreme Court of Virginia’s 2017 decision in Manu v. GEICO Cas. Co., 293 Va. 371 (2017), a bill was introduced to the General Assembly in 2018, seeking to impose bad faith on UM/UIM insurance carriers. In 2018, the proposed legislation died in a Senate committee. In 2019, another substantively identical UM/UIM bad faith bill was proposed, SB1117.

February 21, 2019

Tags: Insurance Coverage, Virginia Legislative Alert

McCandlish Holton Attorneys Obtain Defense Verdict for Mutual Insurance Company in Jury Trial

Matthew Haynes and Brennan Morrissett obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a mutual insurance company in a Virginia Circuit Court jury trial. The plaintiff/insured filed a 1^st party suit against his homeowner’s insurer alleging breach of contract.

Plaintiff sought to recover more than $250,000 in alleged personal property losses and additional living expenses he claimed resulted from a fire that completely destroyed his residence. Plaintiff sought these amounts eighteen months after the fire, and in addition to

January 29, 2019

Tags: News, Litigation, Local Counsel, Updates, verdicts, Insurance Coverage

McCandlish Holton Attorneys Obtain Defense Verdict for Global Warehouse Retailer

Matthew Haynes and Brennan Morrissett obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a global warehouse retailer following a two day jury trial in the United States District Court in Baltimore, Maryland.

October 18, 2018

Tags: News, Litigation, Local Counsel, Updates

Brennan Morrissett Forces Plaintiff to Dismiss Case

Brennan Morrissett, an associate at McCandlish Holton, recently forced Plaintiff to dismiss his case after she obtained several favorable rulings from the Court. In this no contact motor vehicle versus pedestrian case, Plaintiff claimed he was exiting the post office when Defendant backed out of her parking space and caused him to jump out of the way to avoid being struck, injuring himself in the process. Plaintiff’s damages included not only incurred medical treatment, but alleged future treatment, loss of earning capacity, lost business earnings and costs for modifications to Plaintiff’s home. At trial, Ms. Morrissett successfully argued that each and every item of Plaintiff’s claimed damages either lacked foundation or Plaintiff failed to prove a causative link to the incident. The Court agreed and before the Court could strike Plaintiff’s case, Plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the claim.

May 22, 2018

Tags: News, Litigation, Updates

News & Publications

Mike Gladstone to Speak on Uranium Mining Case at IADC Regional Virtual Meeting

Supreme Court of Virginia Refuses to Hear Virginia Uranium’s Request for Appeal

Outcome Obtained by Trial Team Becomes Final

McCandlish Holton Trial Team Successfully Defends Commonwealth’s Uranium Mining Moratorium Against Constitutional Challenge

Background of the Litigation

Defense Verdict Obtained for Concrete Pumping Company and Driver

Virginia Legislative Alert: SB1619 Virginia's New Spoliation Law

Virginia Legislative Alert: SB1486 Allows Depositions to be Used in Support of Summary Judgment - Not Quite

Virginia Legislative Alert: Bad Faith Bill SB1117 Stuck in Committee, But Virginia Bill SB1293 Sent to Governor.

McCandlish Holton Attorneys Obtain Defense Verdict for Mutual Insurance Company in Jury Trial

McCandlish Holton Attorneys Obtain Defense Verdict for Global Warehouse Retailer

Brennan Morrissett Forces Plaintiff to Dismiss Case

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