If you like a good baseball movie (that coincidentally raises interesting legal issues), The Battered Bastards of Baseball is well worth watching. It is a 2014 documentary that tells the story of how Bing Russell created the only independent baseball team in America at that time in 1973. Bing Russell was a former ball player turned Hollywood actor (best known for playing Deputy Clem on “Bonanza”) and also incidentally Kurt Russell’s father. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battered_Bastards_of_Baseball. [Source: Library of Congress] Described as “one… Read More

On March 2, 2021, Governor Ralph Northam signed the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (“VCDPA”) into law, making Virginia the second state to pass comprehensive data privacy legislation. While this law does not take effect until January of 2023, let’s take a look at the basics of the act in order to prepare ourselves for the coming changes. Who is restricted by the VCDPA? The VCDPA applies to all entities that conduct business in the Commonwealth or those that produce… Read More

Predatory towing and excessive post-accident invoices are hot topics for many motor carriers in Virginia. This article will serve as a follow-up to Predatory Towing -Is There a Fix?, and will discuss recent efforts in Virginia to attempt to curb “predatory, aggressively overreaching, and illegal” towing practices, while also discussing potential solutions. The Virginia Trucking Association (VTA) is working toward a solution to the problems with non-consensual towing in the Commonwealth. In a recent telephone interview with VTA President Dale… Read More

I believe in big picture explanations. Understanding the broad picture helps understand why the details are important. It helps see where the puzzle pieces fit and why they are necessary. If a person does not understand why something is necessary, it is much easier to rebel against the directive. For instance, if you tell a child “because I said so” as the reason they should not do something, that does not create any incentive or understanding as to why they… Read More

VTA Safety & HR Council Presents: Impact of Virginia's New Marijuana Laws on Motor Carriers Thursday, June 3, 2021 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. With updated laws taking effect July 1, 2021, Steve Setliff of Setliff Law and Kim Claytor of Nationwide Testing Association, Inc. will guide you through what you need to know so you can understand the laws and how they may impact your substance abuse policies. Topics include: --Medical Marijuana vs. CBD Products – what is the difference?… Read More

According to a survey by The American Trucking Associations, truckers in some states are experiencing a rise in excessive overages for non-consensual or “predatory” tows following the scene of a crash. These predatory practices wreak havoc on motor carries and insurance companies who are responsible for paying these outrageous towing and storage charges. Since there is no federal law on this issue, this area is left open for state regulation; however, many states lack legislation (or have significant shortfalls) to… Read More

In May of 2020, the Commonwealth of Virginia decriminalized marijuana, reducing criminal penalties for possession of marijuana to civil offenses. This change in marijuana law comes just a few years after Virginia passed laws authorizing marijuana for medical use and establishing a licensing system for producers/processors in the Commonwealth. In early 2021, the Virginia legislature passed a bill to legalize marijuana. Specifically, the bill eliminates criminal penalties for simple possession, provides an expungement process for those with prior convictions, and… Read More

Virginia has some of the most landlord-friendly eviction proceedings available in the nation. Virginia permits a landlord (either commercial or residential) to pursue eviction and past due rent in a single combined action filed in General District Court, known as an “Unlawful Detainer.” To understand the odd nature of an Unlawful Detainer action, understand that Virginia’s legal history, as with the United States’s legal history generally, emerged out of the British legal distinction between courts of law (which awarded money… Read More