When specific and identifiable litigation becomes reasonably foreseeable, those likely to be involved in the litigation and with awareness of their likely involvement have a duty to preserve potentially relevant evidence. Failure of such a party to take reasonable steps to preserve the evidence–or intentional alteration, concealment, or destruction of…
Virginia courts are not fond of awarding attorneys’ fees in litigation, even to the prevailing party. The general rule in this country is that litigants are responsible for their own attorneys’ fees unless a contract or statute says otherwise. Even if you win a case, you still have to pay…
Litigation tactics designed to bully, harass, intimidate, or embarrass an opponent or opposing counsel are not permitted in Virginia courts. While litigants may gain great satisfaction from the knowledge that their lawsuit or counterclaim is causing the other side a great deal of expense and inconvenience, if the primary goal…
Virginia lacks an anti-SLAPP statute, but that doesn’t mean filing a frivolous lawsuit focused on eliminating criticism rather than enforcing actual legal rights can’t result in being ordered to reimburse the defendant’s legal fees. Some creative plaintiffs, finding themselves the subject of online criticism but not wanting to sue for…
The allegations in Autopartsource, LLC v. Bruton presented a fairly egregious case of stolen trade secrets. Due to a defendant’s failure to answer, those allegations were deemed true. As remedies, Autopartsource sought $1,131,801.55 in compensatory damages, $350,000 in punitive damages (the statutory maximum), $59,409.72 in attorneys’ fees and costs, a…
Spoliation of evidence can result not only in an adverse inference instruction to the jury, but in an award of attorneys fees and expenses incurred in proving the spoliation. As demonstrated by the contentious trade secret litigation between E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company and Kolon Industries, Inc., those fees…
If you’re going to file a lawsuit against someone, you’d better explain the basis for it. A complaint doesn’t need to include much detail, but it must at least allege facts showing that you’ve been wronged and that you are entitled to a remedy of some sort. In federal court,…
Russell Lee Ebersole recently won a $45,000 judgment in a case for defamation and business conspiracy, racking up over $135,000 in attorney fees to obtain it. In September, Judge Cacheris ruled that only around $80,000 of the incurred fees were reasonable, and awarded fees to the plaintiff accordingly. Alas, it…
The Laffey Matrix is used as a guideline for reasonable attorney fees in the Washington-Baltimore area. An updated version is available that adjusts the rates for the high cost of living. Virginia courts are not bound by the Laffey Matrix, but the Fourth Circuit has indicated that the Laffey matrix…