The Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational (DPOR) is an agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia that regulates approximately 312,000 individuals and businesses in more than 30 occupations and professions. Professions such as contractors, architects and engineers, real estate professionals, surveyors, cosmetologists, community associations, and crematories fall within the ambit of DPOR and its regulatory scope. It is important for those in professions overseen by DPOR to understand its scope, processes, and how to navigate complaints. Some of the most frequently asked questions abo ..read more

Many business owner policies or property owner policies contain ‘business interruption’ coverage intended to compensate for financial losses when a business cannot function due to an emergency that results in an inability to keep the business open. Some policies also have coverage for business income losses when a government or civil authority issues an order that prevents a business owner from using or occupying its business property. Whether your financial losses would be covered by such policies depends on the facts and the language of your insurance policy, which can be difficult to u ..read more

Beginning on March 1, 2020, Washington State’s data breach notification law will change in a number of important ways. First, the definition of “Personal Information” will expand significantly. This means more data elements will be added to the list of data elements that can trigger notification obligations in a breach scenario. Second, an additional notification method will be available under certain circumstances. Third, the required contents of notifications will expand. Finally, the general time frame for notifications will be shorter. Here are the details: Personal Information Expands The ..read more

Beginning on March 1, 2020, Washington State’s data breach notification law will change in a number of important ways. First, the definition of “Personal Information” will expand significantly. This means more data elements will be added to the list of data elements that can trigger notification obligations in a breach scenario. Second, an additional notification method will be available under certain circumstances. Third, the required contents of notifications will expand. Finally, the general time frame for notifications will be shorter. Here are the details: Personal Information Expands The ..read more

Contracts around the country, concerning every manner of commercial transaction from employment matters to real estate acquisition to consumer purchases, increasingly include a requirement that disputes will be resolved through private arbitration.  These agreements require the private resolution instead of traditional, public litigation in state or federal court. Yesterday, in Lamp Plus v. Varela, a closely divided US Supreme Court extended the sweep of arbitration clauses in contracts. Unless the arbitration provision explicitly provides that the parties consent to a “class action” arbi ..read more

Contracts around the country, concerning every manner of commercial transaction from employment matters to real estate acquisition to consumer purchases, increasingly include a requirement that disputes will be resolved through private arbitration.  These agreements require the private resolution instead of traditional, public litigation in state or federal court. Yesterday, in Lamp Plus v. Varela, a closely divided US Supreme Court extended the sweep of arbitration clauses in contracts. Unless the arbitration provision explicitly provides that the parties consent to a “class action” arbi ..read more

Generally speaking, Virginia criminal defendants who want to challenge their convictions have only a few options. None of them are very good. They have 30 days from the date of their conviction to appeal to the Virginia Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals reverses about 5% of all the criminal convictions it reviews and it reviews only a tiny fraction of the cases decided in Virginia’s trial courts. Defendants who lose in the Court of Appeals have another 30 days to appeal to the Supreme Court of Virginia.  Their odds there are much worse. After these direct appeals, Virginia’s state co ..read more

Generally speaking, Virginia criminal defendants who want to challenge their convictions have only a few options. None of them are very good. They have 30 days from the date of their conviction to appeal to the Virginia Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals reverses about 5% of all the criminal convictions it reviews and it reviews only a tiny fraction of the cases decided in Virginia’s trial courts. Defendants who lose in the Court of Appeals have another 30 days to appeal to the Supreme Court of Virginia.  Their odds there are much worse. After these direct appeals, Virginia’s state co ..read more

As the number and scale of cases involving the theft or loss of personal information grows, so does the number of plaintiffs filing suit as a result. One of the most difficult hurdles for these plaintiffs to clear is the requirement that they have standing to bring their suit. Standing generally requires that a plaintiff show she has suffered some actual harm. Most plaintiffs find it difficult to link the improper gathering or storage of their personal information to some actual harm they have suffered. In Rosenbach v. Six Flags Entertainment Corp., the Supreme Court of Illinois examined the i ..read more

On August 30th, 2018, the Supreme Court of Virginia amended Rule 1:1 of The Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia, effective November 1, 2018. The Rule provides that final judgments, orders or decrees remain under the control of the trial court, and subject to modification, for 21 days.  The Rule interrelates with Rule 1:2 (formerly Rule 5:8A), which permits appeal of a partial final judgment, and Rule 5:9, which requires notice of appeal within 30 days of entry of final judgment or other appealable orders or decrees. The amendment clarifies that an order is final “if it disposes of th ..read more