Virginia Procedure Flashcards
Under the Virginia long-arm statute, jurisdiction over a non-resident can be exercised if:
- The out of state tortfeasor caused tortious injury in the Commonwealth by an act or omission outside the Commonwealth;
- If the non-resident regularly does or solicits business, or
- Engages in any other persistent course of conduct, or
- Derives substantial revenue from goods used or consumed or services rendered in the Commonwealth.
A party will waive its right to object to personal jurisdiction by …
entering a general appearance in the case.
Filing an answer is/is not a general appearance, which will result in waiving personal jurisdiction if done before objecting.
IS
Discovery, if ordered by the court to adjudicate any objection to personal jurisdiction (does/does not) of itself waive personal jurisdiciton.
DOES NOT
When must personal jurisdiciton be challenged?
Any time (unless waived!)
Can a case be dismissed for improper venue?
NO – in Virginia, venue is not jurisdictional and no case shall be dismissed on that basis.
A defendant must file an objection to venue within…
21 days of service of process upon the defendant.
Any objection to venue filed should include:
where the defendant believes venue to be proper.
A motion objecting to venue should be heard by the court…
prompty.
A demurrer challenges the…
legal sufficiency of a complaint (or counterclaim, crossclaim, or 3rd party claim).
A complaint filed by an improper party cannot…
legally stand.
Every action for wrongful death must be filed in the name of…
the personal representative, not the deceased.
Filing a suit in the name of a deceased is a…
legal nullity, and therefore any attempt to amend or substitute the proper party should be denied.
In Virginia, a wrongful death action must be filed within…
2 years of the date of death (not 2 years from the accident).
Can a motion to amend be made orally?
Yes.
When a motion to amend is granted upon demurrer or oral motion, an amended pleading must be filed within…
21 days after leave to amend is granted, or in such time as the court may prescribe.
Leave to amend is discretionary and is to be….
liberally granted to attain the ends of justice.
A demurrer, as a responsive pleading in the circuit court, must be filed…
in writing, within 21 days after service of process unless the trial judge grants leave for additional time.
A demurrer must state…
specific grounds of its challenge.
In ruling on a demurrer, the trial judge may only look to…
the face of the plaintiff’s pleading.
A GDC judgment can be appealed within…
10 days.
The GDC has the authority to reopen a matter on a motion made within….
30 days from the judgment to within 45 days of the judgment.
A Court can vacate a judgment on the ground of fraud on the court, so long as a motion is made within….
2 years of the date of the judgment.
In the circuit court, a defaulting defendant is allowed to participate in a default judgment hearing, and they may fully participate in the….
damages hearing.
(TRUE/FALSE): The Circuit Court can grant leave to a defendant in default to file late responsive pleadings and cure their default.
TRUE.
Virginia has long recognized a cause of action for the wrongful death of a person under….
the wrongful death statute.
The Virginia wrongful death statute sets forth…
the statuatory beneficiaries who are entitled to recover for the wrongful death of another.
The beneficiaries under the VA wrongful death statute are successive in nature, meaning that….
no member of a class is entitled to compensation if a member of any of the preceding classes is alive.
The date by which a claim will be barred depends on when…
the cause of action asserted accrued and the governing statute of limitation.
The SoL for the breach of an oral contract is….
3 years.
The statute of limitations for a breach of contract begins to accrue when….
the alleged breach occurs.
The SoL for written contracts under Virginia law is….
5 years.
In actions upon a contract that is in writing and not signed by the party to be charged, the action must be brought within….
3 years after the cause of action accrued.
The SoL for defamation under Virginia law is….
one year.
Under Virginia law, the right of an action shall be deemed to accrue and the prescribed period begins to run from the date….
injury is sustained, and not when the resulting damage is discovered.
For defamation actions, the cause of action accrues on the date….
the defamatory acts occurred.
In Virginia, there is no statute-tolling discovery rule for defamation claims except where…
a publisher publishes anonymously under a false identity on the internet.
Under Virginia law, a Plaintiff may take ________ as a matter of right.
one nonsuit
A party shall not be allowed to suffer a nonsuit as to any cause of action unless he does so 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.
A nonsuit may only be taken for actions then….
pending before the court.
Claims that have already been dismissed with prejudice will not be considered part of…
a pending action.
Under the doctrine of unclean hands, a party seeking equitable relief must himself not have been….
guilty of inequitable or wrongful conduct, and the wrongful conduct must relate to the claim being asserted.
Specific performance is an equitable remedy, which…
compels the performance of a contract in the precise terms agreed upon
The court will not pursue a remedy of specific performance if…
there is an adequate remedy available at law.
To rescind a contract based on fraud, there must be statements of facts, not….
mere matters of erroneous opinions.
To support a suit for temporary injunction, one must allege…
facts showing that they have a recognized legal fact and they will suffer an irreperable harm without an injunction.
A sheriff may only serve process in her county/city or…
in a contiguous county/city.
Process must be served by….
any person of age 18 or older and who is not a party or otherwise interested in the controversy.
A foreign corporation properly registered to do business in Virginia may be served through…
any officer, director, or registered agent of the foreign corporation.
If defendants receive process in a timely manner, but it is improper….
the means of service are of no consequence (curative statute).
Process must be served within….
one year of filing suit.