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The Virginia State Corporation Commission recently passed Administrative Letter 2020-06 (https://www.scc.virginia.gov/getattachment/35193336-78b1-4012-88c2-b34a0eba81e1/2020-06.pdf) which notes that, once insurers have made a liability determination that the insured is at fault for an accident, insurers are responsible to reimburse towing companies for “clean up and recovery costs,” which include “certain towing expenses.” In many cases, this is a relatively insignificant point. After all, when compared to the property damage and medical bills that can result from an accident, a small tow charge is a… Read More

We all know that drunk driving is dangerous, but how dangerous is it? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) states that every 50 minutes, one person dies in a drunk driving-related incident. That’s around 30 people a day and almost 11,000 a year. Drunk driving fatalities account for approximately 28 percent of all traffic fatalities. Collectively, drunk driving accidents cost about $44 billion a year. Don’t drink and drive, folks. The reasons not to imbibe and drive are well… Read More

Litigators in Virginia who devote any of their practice to representing insurers, or insureds, in disputes over insurance coverage are intimately acquainted with the declaratory-judgment action, one of the most useful tools available for resolving thorny insurance questions. If a “dec action” is filed in state court, Virginia law mandates that all parties having a potential interest in the outcome must be joined as parties; failure to do so results in a jurisdictional defect under Virginia’s Declaratory Judgment Act. See… Read More

Virginia recently enacted significant amendments to its wage payment laws. These amendments under Virginia’s Wage Payment Act (“VWPA”) are the first of its kind and provide enhanced protections for employees who are victims of wage theft by creating a private cause of action for employees to sue their employers to recover unpaid wages owed. Additionally, the new laws expand the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry’s (“DOLI”) authority to investigate wage complaints. As background, the VWPA provides employees with numerous… Read More

In this interview, Matthias chats with Professor Joshua Fairfield on the current state of music copyright law, with a focus on how the law treats the new generation of content creators who are reacting to and utilizing existing media in creative ways, what the future may hold, and how content creators can navigate a complex legal landscape that isn't necessarily well-tailored to new technological and social advances. They discuss music copyright law, fair use, licensing, master recordings, YouTube reaction videos,… Read More

I was recently on a road trip with my family, within an hour of our target destination on one of this country’s major interstates. We had been in the car for hours, the terrain was flat, the summer sun blazed through the windows, and the states had passed by. As a truck lawyer, I spent much of the drive watching logos pass by the windshield – current clients, former clients, great white whales of the trucking industry. My husband and… Read More

Every time we give a presentation on Workers' Compensation, or contracting, or employer liability, or a similar subject, someone comes up to one of us and asks some question about how they have no employees, only independent contractors, and their contract includes terms X and Y, or some contractor got injured while working, etc. Each time these people seem to believe they have come up with an iron-clad way to reduce expenses, avoid the need for insurance (or even foist… Read More

In April, 2016, two long haul carriers became embroiled in a $90,000,000 lawsuit where one carrier alleged that the other carrier actively recruited and hired drivers who were bound under its employment contracts. Specifically, Carrier A’s employment contracts prohibited it’s drivers from working for competitors for a specified amount of time. Carrier A asserted that Carrier B was poaching it’s employees and set forth claims against Carrier B for (1) intentional interference with contract, (2) intentional interference with prospective economic… Read More