BMHJ Blog: Legal Information, Resources, & News: Uncategorized

In Camille Sedar v. Reston Town Center Property, LLC, the Fourth Circuit gave a master class in the application of the summary judgment standard.

The case arose out of a trip and fall at Reston Town Center. The plaintiff was walking with her colleagues out of the parking garage. As she begun to descend the concrete stairs, she tripped and fell down the stairs, face first. She hit her face on the ground, lost consciousness, and suffered relatively severe injuries.

While none of her colleagues actually saw her fall, they did notice loose bricks at the top of the stairs after she fell. Her colleagues took photographs and a video of the scene immediately following the fall, which depict uneven bricks and sagging caulk between the bricks and the top step. The plaintiff filed suit against the property owner and property manager for negligence.

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In these difficult times, cases continue being filed, deadlines continue to approach, and the Supreme Court of Virginia has allowed discovery to proceed. In order to keep the cases, clients, and adjusters on track with their cases, the attorneys at Bancroft, McGavin, Horvath & Judkins, P.C. are using platforms such as Zoom and Webex on a near daily basis to conduct depositions. We have prepared processes for presenting exhibits to witnesses, best practices for taking the depositions, processes for avoiding unfair or improper conduct by deponents, and even customizing the deposition notices to ensure a fair, reasonable, and effective process.

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Associate Charles Nucciarone recently represented a client accused of a simple assault and battery under Virginia Code Sec. 18.2-57, a misdemeanor offense. In addition to examining the law and the facts of the case for potential defenses, Mr. Nucciarone also turned to Virginia Code Section 19.2-151. That code section refers to what criminal defense attorneys commonly refer to as an “Accord and Satisfaction.” Under that code section, in a criminal case where the charge is a misdemeanor and one for which there is a civil remedy, the complaining witness may acknowledge, in writing, that he or she has received “satisfaction” for the injury form the defendant, the court may then dismiss the charge against the defendant.

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Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland were recently named as the top two cities for bed bug infestations by Orkin Pest Management, with multiple other cities in Virginia earning similar distinction (https://www.orkin.com/press-room/orkins-2020-bed-bug-cities). Associate Charles J. Nucciarone recently represented a small hotel in a negligence claim by two plaintiffs for damages resulting from bed bug infestation. In their negligence suit, the plaintiffs claimed that the defendant hotel’s negligence had caused the bed bug infestation and, ultimately, the plaintiffs’ injuries and other damages.

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Our three newest associates joined our firm at the end of the summer after completing judicial state court clerkships. All of them personified excellence in their academic careers and we are proud to introduce them.

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