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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

In case you missed the news, Virginia is weighing potential locations for six casinos throughout the Commonwealth, including in Richmond - the first (legally authorized) casinos to ever be built in Virginia. Your first thought might be, “I thought casinos were in Vegas or on riverboats - when did gambling become legal here?” And no, this isn’t an article about the recent market volatility and use of risky options contracts to bet on the ebb and flow of the American… Read More

To say that environmental tort claims often (and perhaps usually) involve an irritant in the environment to which a plaintiff is exposed over a long period of time is hardly a remarkable insight – anyone who has ever dealt with claims of personal injury resulting from exposure to lead paint, asbestos, fuel leaks, radon gas, sulfurous off-gassing from drywall, or other environmental contaminants or irritants is well familiar with that fact. In such cases, it is not unusual for the… Read More

Sure, there are a lot of dangerous occupations, (i.e., logging, roofing, and construction). However, the transportation industry remains one of the most common and deadliest occupations according to a 2019 study by the Bureau of Labor and the latest federal data on workplace deaths. With increased reliance on the trucking industry to meet heightened demands due to the rise of online shopping and meeting COVID-19 needs, more truckers on the road could contribute to higher incident rates and driver deaths.… Read More

There is a certain rush as a trucking professional when you catch wind that an accident has occurred. I imagine this is similar to what first responders experience, though I would hardly put lawyers in that same category. (The jokes alone speak for themselves as to whether lawyers actually help anyone … but try to claim privilege without us…but I digress. ) When the first notice of a loss is called in, it is often followed by a panic and… Read More

On November 12, 2020, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted the Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss a claim based upon an accusation that the Plaintiff was wrongly terminated after failing to give COVID-related information. The Court held that the Plaintiff/Employee was not directed to violate HIPAA when the Defendant/Employer asked him to disclose the COVID-test results of his family members. This matter arose in late March of 2020, when the Plaintiff, Christopher Wells, was contacted… Read More

When I was in law school I had the opportunity to clerk at the Department of Justice (“DOJ”). It was an amazing once in a lifetime opportunity. Back then, DOJ, in my humble opinion, was awe-inspiring, the sine qua non of the legal profession, the tip of the legal spear. I had the privilege of working with a small, dedicated group of attorneys and historians that formed the now defunct Office of Special Investigations or “OSI.” The sole purpose of… Read More