The BLBlog

A well-known Christiansburg developer apparently is among the victims of a lawyer accused of providing clients with phony legal documents. The developer, Roger Woody, claimed that he had an easement allowing him to drive dump trucks through the middle of a shopping center parking lot. The shopping center owners filed suit, asking the […]

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A big FBI raid in the Luray area of Page County has so far produced one wounded FBI agent and one ticked-off business owner. As reported by TV station WHSV, the businessman claims that the FBI is looking for evidence against a “top ranking County official.”
The wounded FBI agent apparently shot himself by accident […]

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A fact that I should have known, but did not — localities in Virginia can decide to hold farmers strictly liable if their livestock gets out of the farm fence and causes an accident. The issue came to light because Wythe County leaders are debating whether to stay with their strict liability law […]

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A would-be homebuyer changed his mind after signing a contract to buy a house for $650,000. The seller sued and won a judgment equal to what he lost: the reduction in sale price caused by the downturn in the market. The Roanoke Times has the story on the verdict from a Bedford County jury.

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Can radio station owners agree not to compete with each other by using the same station format? The Federal Communications Commission says, “No” in a case arising out of stations in Lynchburg and Bedford.
Gary Burns sold his Lynchburg talk-radio station to Centennial Broadcasting. As part of the deal, Burns agreed not to operate […]

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GINA actually isn’t a who, it’s a what.
As in the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, a new law signed by President Bush yesterday.
As discrimination laws go, it’s a first: it’s an anticipatory law that forbids something before it starts happening. GINA says that any genetic information can’t be used against someone in obtaining health insurance or […]

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Financial software maker Razorsight has had a busy week. First it announced $9 million in new venture capital from Sierra Venture Partners. Then came word, through Washington Business Journal, that it would spend half of that to settle a pending lawsuit in Virginia federal court alleging trade secret violations.  The plaintiff, Fairfax-based TEOCO, […]

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If your company is a government contractor, a wrongful discharge lawsuit may not be the worst thing you face after letting someone go.
The ex-employee can morph into a whistleblower and claim you defrauded the government in violation of the False Claims Act. That federal statute lets a person who knows about fraud by a […]

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A new zoning proposal is forcing leaders in Arlington to face some of the thorny immigration issues that have stirred controversy in neighboring Northern Virginia jurisdictions. The Washington Post looks at the proposal, which would allow rental units in single-family neighborhoods, and its possible consequences.

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Richmond-based Circuit City will appeal a Federal Communications Commission fine for failure to put notices on analog televisions that the sets will not receive digital transmissions by themselves. Next February, all broadcasters will be required to send digital signals; analog TVs will need a converter box. The FCC fined Circuit City $712,000 last month. The […]

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