Civil / Business Law

How do I collect a small debt in Virginia?

Question:  I loaned an ex-friend $800 two years ago and she hasn’t paid back a penny. What process do I go about getting my money? Answer:  Unfortunately, it is time consuming and expensive to collect a small debt. First, one must file and serve a Warrant in Debt. Second, he must appear in court for either the civil return date, the trial date, or both. Third, if one successfully proves that he is owed the…

How do I collect a small debt in Virginia? Read More »

There is no “parent-child” privilege in Virginia.

There is no “parent-child” privilege in Virginia according to a federal court.  This means that a son can be compelled to testify against his parent. The case is Under Seal v. United States, 13-4933 (4th Cir., June 17, 2014). By contrast, there is an “attorney-client,” “clergy-communicant,” and “interpreter privilege for both civil and criminal cases.  There is also, for civil cases only, a “physician-patient” privilege.  The rules are set forth in the Virginia Rules of

There is no “parent-child” privilege in Virginia. Read More »

Many Small Employers Now Subject to Sarbanes-Oxley

Last week, the United States Supreme Court released its opinion in Lawson v. FMR, LLC, 571 U.S. ___ (2014), a decision that reaffirmed the breadth and force of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s whistleblower protection provision.  As a result, millions of private businesses are now potentially subject to claims of whistleblower retaliation that had previously been reserved for a few thousand publicly-traded companies. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“SOX” or the “Act”) was enacted by Congress after

Many Small Employers Now Subject to Sarbanes-Oxley Read More »

New Virginia ABC Laws Enacted by the Legislature

Here is a List of Likely New ABC Laws in Virginia for 2014 (All the following bills have passed the House & Senate.  The Governor must sign them for them to actually become law on July 1, 2014.) SB 596: Alcoholic beverage control; state and local license taxes on certain brewery licensees. Imposes a state license tax of $350 and a local license tax of $250 for breweries that manufacture no more than 500 barrels

New Virginia ABC Laws Enacted by the Legislature Read More »

4th Circuit Vacates Dismissal: Former Employee Can Cure Defective Service of Process After Defendant Removes Case to Federal Court

Under Virginia law, service of process should be perfected on defendants within one-year of the date a plaintiff files a lawsuit.  A plaintiff’s failure to timely serve often leads to dismissal of the plaintiff’s case with prejudice.  In a recent case, a plaintiff’s former employee waited more than one year to serve her former employers with service of process in her harassment lawsuit, and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia dismissed

4th Circuit Vacates Dismissal: Former Employee Can Cure Defective Service of Process After Defendant Removes Case to Federal Court Read More »

Scroll to Top