VA Civ Pro Essay tested issues Flashcards
SOL for breach any unwritten contract, express or implied
3 years after the cause of action has accrued,
cause of action occurs when breach occurs
SOL for breach of written contract:
Signed by party to be charged:
Not signed by party to be charged:
Signed: generally 5 years after the cause of action has accrued
Not signed: generally 3 years after the cause of action has accrued
Cause of action accrues when breach occurs
SOL on defamation?
1 year after the cause of action has accrued
For defamation actions, the cause of action accrues on the date the defamatory acts occurred.
When can a plaintiff nonsuit?
before a motion to strike the evidence has been sustained
or before the jury retires from the bar
or before the action has been submitted to the court for decision
“the action” in the nonsuit statute refers to ___
the action pending before the court
You cannot nonsuit an already decided action
Wrongful death action SOL
2 years
A civil suit predicated on the death of a person may be brought by the decedent’s _____________________________________
personal representative; they must be named in suit not the dead person
Damages for a wrongful death suit are first distributed to ______
and then if none of those exist, then distributed to_____
Spouse, children, grandchildren
Parents and siblings/half siblings, any other related member of household primarily dependent on deceased;
Every action for wrongful death must be filed in the name of the _________, not the deceased
personal representative
A defendant must file an objection to venue within ___ days of service of process upon the defendant and must include _______
21 days
include where D believes venue would be proper
Venue is not jurisdictional in Virginia and no case shall be ______ on that basis
Instead must ______ to venue being improper
In the pleading, the defendant must set forth where _____ and the matter should be heard ________ by the court
dismissed
object
venue would be proper
promptly
Filing suit in the name of the deceased is a ________, and therefore any attempt by the plaintiff to amend or substitute the proper party should be ______
legal nullity
denied
A legal nullity is equivalent to there being ______
no filing
discovery, if ordered by the court to adjudicate any objection to _________, does not of itself, ______ personal jurisdiction
personal jurisdiction
waive
If you file an answer and conduct discovery unrelated to a PJ objection you have _______ PJ
waived
The VA long arm statute permits VA to exercise PJ over a defendant when..
Identifies a series of contacts with VA that are sufficient to give the court jurisdiction (contract, tort,family, property)
Once served with process you have ___ days to either ________ or ______
21 days
file a pre-answer motion
file an answer
If the court denies the defendant’s pre-answer motion, they have __ days to file an answer from ___________
21
denial of the motion
Affirmative defenses must be ______ in the _____
raised
first defensive pleading (the answer, or prior defensive pleading such as a plea at bar)
A motion for a new trial must be made within ___ days from judgement
Hearing and ruling within___ days of judgment
30
45
the defaulting defendant is entitled to appear at the hearing, and fully participate in the _______ hearing
damages
The Circuit Court can grant _____ to the defendant in default to file _______
Grants of leave should be granted _______
leave
late responsive pleadings and cure the default
liberally
Serving process on entities in VA
must be served to an officer, director, or registered agent
Who can serve process?
a sheriff in the county or jurisdiction where service is being served
or an uninterested party over the age of 18 that is a non-party and non-family member
If service of process was not valid, is the service of process still effective?
Yes, if the defendants still actually receive process (complaint + summons) in a timely manner (within one year after filing complaint)