Podcast - A Tortured Journey with the Lying Witness
Court rules typically govern, among other things, court procedures, filing requirements, and timelines/deadlines for filing papers. Failing to comply with court rules and procedures can lead to serious and potentially costly...more
Many class actions take several years to litigate. Some may take even longer, because they sit idle for months or—in some cases—decades. In late 2024 and in early 2025, the Ontario Court of Appeal issued two decisions...more
In the recent case of Bank, et al. v. Lee, the New Jersey Appellate Division addressed a significant procedural issue regarding the timing for parties to file a motion to dismiss pursuant to New Jersey Court Rule 4:6-2(e)....more
Jordan v. Lynde, 330 A.3d 817 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2024) - The Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled that the trial court abused its discretion by failing to grant the appellants the 30-day response period required under Pa. R.Civ.P....more
I remember listening to Justice Frank Cleckley of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, my professor for Evidence, open his first lecture with a discussion of Federal Rule of Evidence 103. As a young law student, I was...more
Senate Bill 999 has passed the Senate and been reported out of the Civil Subcommittee from the House Courts of Justice Committee. The bill, if passed by the House and signed by the Governor, would have two important...more
Ever had to explain to a client why a sweet win in the lower courts doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s time to dig in and eat? In City of Martinsville, VA v. Express Scripts, a Fourth Circuit majority opinion used a...more
Attorneys love rules. And our adversarial legal system functions best when both sides understand and follow common rules. So one Maryland appellate rule has always confounded me because it is routinely construed as meaning...more
In a less-than-thousand-word opinion, the Fourth District Court of Appeal of Florida put foreclosure cases across Florida in jeopardy. Namely, in all foreclosure cases in which a borrower is deceased, unless the legal...more
Judges and jurists alike champion the notion that rehearings should be used sparingly and only when the conditions are just right. A lesser known concept is that sometimes a motion for rehearing is absolutely necessary to...more
First Appellate Decision. In In re Troy S. Poe Trust, a co-trustee of a trust filed suit to modify the trust to increase the number of trustees and change the method for trustees to vote on issues as well as other...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently adopted amendments to its Local Appellate Rules, creating a new L.A.R. 26.1 and modifying L.A.R. Misc. 113.3(c). The amended rules now create a uniform 5:00...more
September 6, 2022 Every appellate attorney’s dream is a well-developed record on appeal without any unpreserved errors. But that is not always possible. The recent amendment to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.530(a), issued...more
1.510 Summary Judgment Update: Florida Courts of Appeal Continue to Clarify Florida’s New Summary Judgment Standard On May 1, 2021, the Florida Supreme Court overhauled its summary judgment standard by amending Florida...more
On May 3, 2022, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued a large batch of opinions. By my count, twenty-two were published and thirty were unpublished. While history may prove me wrong, none of the published opinions...more
In Article VI of the Constitution of Virginia, the judicial power of the Commonwealth is vested in the Virginia Supreme Court and in “other courts of original or appellate jurisdiction subordinate to the Supreme Court as the...more
Evans v. Evans has rightly received attention for its helpful discussion of when notice by publication is permitted. Less prominently featured, but as important for appellate practitioners, is the Supreme Court’s discussion...more
Legal Alert for Community Associations: Community associations should take notice that Virginia recently became the final state to allow civil litigants a right to appeal a circuit court ruling. ...more
Q: What does it mean when my case has been appealed? A: If your case is appealed, it can mean different things depending on the venue and stage of litigation....more
Most litigators know the value of an appeal. The case is over and the trial court has entered judgment, but the results are unsatisfying. Perhaps there was an erroneous jury instruction or some vital piece of evidence was...more