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Civil Remedies and Procedure

P Passed

P HB1577

Verification of the effective date of service of process upon the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Provides that for verification of the effective date of service of process upon the Secretary of the Commonwealth, the person filing an affidavit of inability to serve a party may leave a self-addressed, stamped envelope with the clerk of the court who shall then mail verification of the date the certificate of compliance was filed with the court by the Secretary of the Commonwealth (i.e., the effective date of service of process) to the person who filed the affidavit.
Patron - Deeds

P HB1710

Civil action for stalking. Provides that a person may maintain a civil action against an individual who is alleged to have engaged in conduct that is prohibited under § 18.2-60.3 (criminal stalking), whether or not the individual has been charged or convicted for the alleged violation, for the compensatory damages incurred by the victim as a result of that conduct. The bill also provides that the victim may also seek and be awarded punitive damages, and costs in an action brought under this section.
Patron - Deeds

P HB1849

Representation and removal in small claims court. Provides that a defendant in small claims court shall have the right to representation by an attorney for the purpose of removal of the case to the general district court at any point preceding the handing down of the decision by the judge. Currently, a defendant may not be represented by an attorney for that purpose. This bill incorporates HB 1684.
Patron - McQuigg

P HB2134

Personal jurisdiction. Expands the list of when personal jurisdiction of a person may be exercised to include a cause of action arising from a person having incurred a tangible personal property tax liability to any political subdivision of the Commonwealth.
Patron - Deeds

P HB2141

Authority of landlord to sell personal property removed from premises; recovery of possession by owner; disposition or sale. Provides a method for the landlord in an eviction to dispose of any unclaimed property remaining on the premises on eviction day.
Patron - Drake

P HB2189

Tolling or suspension of statutes of limitation. Allows for the statute of limitations in a civil suit to be tolled during a criminal prosecution that arises out of the same incident. This bill is identical to SB 1122 (Edwards).
Patron - Watts

P HB2366

Summonses issued by attorneys. Repeals the clause that provided that House Bill 1213 from the 2000 General Assembly Session expires on July 1, 2001. House Bill 1213 provided that an attorney may issue a summons not less than five business days prior to the date attendance is desired in a civil proceeding pending in a court or at a deposition in connection with such proceeding. An attorney-issued summons is required to be on a form approved by the Supreme Court, signed by the attorney, and include the attorney's address. The attorney-issued summons is deemed to be a pleading. Attorneys are also allowed to issue subpoenas duces tecum. This bill is identical to SB 902 (Mims) and incorporates HB 2366.
Patron - O'Bannon

P HB2372

Number of witnesses whose depositions may be taken. Provides that notwithstanding any provision of law or rule of court, there shall be no limit on the number of witnesses whose depositions may be taken by a party except by order of the court for good cause shown. Currently, Rule 4:6A of the Rules of the Virginia Supreme Court limits the number of witnesses who may be deposed to five.
Patron - Joannou

P HB2424

Civil actions; insurer's reservation of rights. Requires an insurer to give notice to a claimant of the insurer's reservation of rights at least 30 days prior to trial.
Patron - Armstrong

P HB2488

Civil immunity and privileged communications. Provides immunity from civil liability for any act, decision, omission, or utterance made by a member of a community services board or a behavioral health authority in the performance of his duties, as long as such act, decision, omission, or utterance is not done in bad faith or with malice. While providing such immunity, the bill ensures that the minutes, records, and reports of such bodies are not privileged communications.
Patron - Moran

P HB2722

Dismissal of action by nonsuit. Provides that if notice to take a nonsuit of right is given to the opposing party within five days of trial, the court in its discretion may assess against the nonsuiting party reasonable witness fees and travel costs of expert witnesses scheduled to appear at trial, which are actually incurred by the opposing party solely by reason of the failure to give notice prior to five days of trial. The court shall have the authority to determine the reasonableness of expert witness fees and travel costs.
Patron - Dickinson

P HB2864

Certain copies of health care provider's records and papers. Sets the costs for copies for hard copy generated from computerized or other electronic storage, or other photographic, mechanical, electronic, imaging or chemical storage process made by health care providers.
Patron - McDonnell

P SB802

Convicts as witnesses in civil actions. Allows a juvenile and domestic relations district court to issue an order to the Department of Corrections to deliver to the sheriff's office in the jurisdiction of the court issuing the order a prisoner who is a witness in an action for the termination of parental rights. Under current law the Department of Corrections is to deliver witnesses in circuit court actions but the statute does not specify where the prisoner is to be delivered. The bill will partially overrule Commonwealth v. Brown, 2000 Va. Lexis 73 (2000), which held that general district courts do not have the statutory authority to issue transportation orders for prisoners confined within a state correctional facility. The bill also provides for the taking of a prisoner's testimony by telephone in certain cases and requires the party seeking the testimony to pay for the transportation costs when the court requires the presence of the prisoner.
Patron - Reynolds

P SB808

Medical malpractice cap. Provides that the medical malpractice cap for actions occurring prior to August 1, 1999, is the amount set forth in the statute at the time the act of malpractice occurred. The bill provides that this amendment is declarative of existing law. Apparently some plaintiffs have argued that there is no cap for actions arising prior to August 1, 1999, because the time period prior to August 1, 1999, is not mentioned in the statute as it was amended by the 1999 General Assembly to increase the cap effective August 1, 1999.
Patron - Norment

P SB902

P SB907

Request for review by medical malpractice review panel. Allows the trial date for the medical malpractice case to be set after the panel has been designated during the stay for the panel proceedings.
Patron - Mims

P SB908

Guardians ad litem. Expands the exception in current law that a guardian ad litem need not be appointed for a defendant under a disability who is represented by counsel of record to include a similarly represented plaintiff under a disability. This bill is a recommendation of the Boyd-Graves Conference.
Patron - Mims

P SB974

Expert witnesses. Provides that in equitable distribution cases the court may allow one expert witness for each party to remain in the courtroom throughout the hearing without, as is current law, the request of all parties.
Patron - Norment

P SB1122

F Failed

F HB1155

Who may serve process. Requires private process servers to undergo a criminal history background check and training established by the Department of Criminal Justice Services. Provides that convicted felons may not serve process unless their rights have been restored. A violation is a Class 3 misdemeanor.
Patron - Weatherholtz

F HB1612

Expert testimony by a biomechanical engineer. Provides that a biomechanical engineer, when properly qualified, may testify as an expert witness in a court of law as to medical etiology, diagnosis, prognosis, and disability, including anatomical, physiological and pathological considerations. A recent Supreme Court decision, Combs v. N&W Railway Co., 256 Va. 490 (1998), provides that a biomedical engineer may not testify as to diagnosis of an injury. This bill seeks to clarify the issue.
Patron - Woodrum

F HB1649

Convicts as witnesses in civil actions. Allows a juvenile and domestic relations district court to issue an order to the Department of Corrections to deliver a prisoner who shall appear as a witness in an action for the termination of parental rights. This is currently allowed only for actions in circuit court. The bill will partially overrule Commonwealth v. Brown, 2000 Va. Lexis 73 (2000), which held that general district courts do not have the statutory authority to issue transportation orders for prisoners confined within a state correctional facility. The bill is narrow in scope and only applies to actions for the termination of parental rights. This bill incorporates HB 2072.
Patron - Armstrong

F HB1808

Prohibition of use of statements in proceedings to deny retirement benefits. Provides that retirement benefits shall not be denied to an employee based on statements made by the employee during litigation in pleadings or testimony, except in a proceeding to determine the employee's retirement benefits.
Patron - McClure

F HB1851

Discretionary interlocutory appeal. Provides that the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals, in its discretion, may permit an appeal to be taken from any order of a circuit court although the order is not a final order, provided the written order of the circuit court states that the order involves a controlling question of law as to which there is substantial ground for difference of opinion, that an immediate appeal from the order may materially advance the ultimate termination of the litigation, and that the court and the parties agree it is in the parties' best interest to seek resolution of the issue in the appellate court prior to the conclusion of the trial. The act has a two-year sunset clause.
Patron - McQuigg

F HB1870

Modification of spousal support awards. Seeks to correct the unintended result of the August 2000 decision of the Court of Appeals in Rubio v. Rubio by repealing the second enactment of Chapter 604 of the Acts of Assembly of 1998 retroactively to July 1, 1998. That second enactment, intended to apply only to suits for modification of spousal support orders initially brought prior to July 1, 1998, for defined-duration alimony, was interpreted by the court so as to apply to petitions for any modification to spousal support. The bill also amends the Code of Virginia to specifically apply the change only to defined-duration alimony.
Patron - Cranwell

F HB1893

Liability for sale of alcohol to an underage person. Creates a cause of action against an ABC retail licensee who sells alcohol to an underage person if the consumption of the alcohol caused or contributed to an injury to person or property while the underage person operated a motor vehicle.
Patron - Griffith

F HB1976

Depositions as a basis for summary judgment. Provides that a motion for summary judgment or to strike the evidence may be based, in whole or in part, upon pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, answers to requests for admissions or affidavits filed in the suit or action. However, in actions for injury to person or damage to property, wrongful death, defamation or violations of civil rights, no such motion shall be sustained upon discovery depositions under Rule 4:5 or affidavits, unless all parties to the suit or action shall agree.
Patron - McClure

F HB2071

Jury service. Eliminates all exemptions from jury service and eliminates the provision that a person must have been a resident of the Commonwealth for one year before being eligible to serve as a juror. The bill adds a provision that the court has discretion to excuse persons from jury service upon a showing of true hardship. This bill is a recommendation of the Judicial Council.
Patron - Howell

F HB2072

Prisoner appearance in district court and attorney disciplinary proceedings. Allows district courts, in civil cases, to use telephonic communication systems and electronic video and audio communication systems to provide for the appearance of an incarcerated party or a witness or when otherwise authorized by the court. The bill requires that prisoners be transported to a juvenile and domestic relations district court when the judge determines the prisoner's presence is essential in proceedings regarding child abuse or neglect, entrustment agreements, termination of parental rights, overturning the voluntary relinquishment of parental rights, determination of parentage, consent to adoption, and foster care plans or review. There is also a provision for transporting prisoners to Virginia State Bar disciplinary hearings. Following the decision of the Supreme Court of Virginia in Brown v. Commonwealth, 259 Va. 697 (2000), the Department of Corrections will no longer comply with transportation orders issued by district courts in civil cases. This bill has been incorporated into HB 1649.
Patron - Howell

F HB2222

Terms of settlement of civil lawsuit to be public. Provides that an agreement made in settlement of a civil lawsuit, any term or provision of which is agreed and intended by the parties to be kept in confidence, is void and unenforceable.
Patron - Deeds

F HB2253

Liability of the Commonwealth for collision with deer. Modifies the Virginia Tort Claims Act (§ 8.01-195.1 et seq.) to include liability against the Commonwealth for damage to or loss of property or personal injury or death caused by a collision with a deer upon the highways of the Commonwealth.
Patron - Day

F HB2285

Limitations on enforcement of judgments in general district court. Makes it abundantly clear that the enforcement of judgments entered in the general district courts shall be 10 years, unless an abstract of such judgment is docketed in the judgment book of a circuit court. Upon the docketing of such judgment, the limitation for the enforcement of a district court judgment shall be the same as for a judgment of the circuit court, which is 20 years.
Patron - Barlow

F HB2299

Remedy for the arbitrary refusal of a motor vehicle insurance claim. Makes the insurer's bad faith denial, refusal, or failure to pay an insured's claim, no matter what amount, subject to the provisions requiring that, upon a finding by the court of such bad faith, the insured is liable to the insured for double the amount of the judgment, together with reasonable attorney's fees and expenses.
Patron - Deeds

F HB2350

Civil Remedies; HMO liability; health care treatment decisions. Establishes a cause of action for persons who suffer damages as a result of a health maintenance organization's failure to exercise ordinary care in making a health care treatment decision affecting such person. Persons may file claims directly with the court and are not required to follow the procedures governing the utilization review process.
Patron - McEachin

F HB2351

Commonwealth liable in state employee discrimination law suits. Waives the Commonwealth's claim of sovereign immunity for cases of state employee discrimination.
Patron - McEachin

F HB2382

The Virginia Internet Privacy Protection Act. Creates the Virginia Internet Privacy Protection Act to protect consumers' personal information over the Internet. The Act defines three types of consumer personal information. Necessary personal information consists of information provided by a consumer to an Internet company, for the purpose of transacting with the Internet company, that is necessary to conduct or complete the transaction. Necessary personal information includes but is not limited to name, address, telephone number and credit card number. Optional personal information consists of information provided by the consumer to an Internet company that is not necessary to conduct or complete the transaction, such as information sought by companies in a consumer survey. Profiled personal information refers to consumer information collected by the Internet company, usually without the knowledge of the consumer, by using "cookies" or other similar technology. The Act prohibits disclosure of payment information, such as account information of credit card or other payment methods. The Act requires the Internet company to first obtain an express consent of the consumer before disclosing, selling, transferring or sharing the consumer's (i) other necessary personal information, (ii) optional personal information, and (ii) profiled personal information that specifically identifies the consumer. As for profiled personal information that does not specifically identify a consumer, the Act allows the Internet company to disclose, sell, transfer or share unless the consumer explicitly prohibits doing so. None of these prohibitions apply if the disclosure, sale, transfer or sharing of personal information falls under the exclusions provided by the Act; for example, disclosure to a third party to conduct or complete the transaction, requirement under other law or court order, or the request of the consumer. The Act requires the Internet companies to establish an Internet privacy policy to inform consumers about the requirements of the Act and the Internet companies' personal information policies and practices. The Act also provides for civil relief should any consumer be injured due to an Internet company's violation of this Act, but also provides an affirmative defense of bona fide error for the Internet company. The Act also makes violation of the Act a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act (§ 59.1-196 et seq.), thus giving the Attorney General of Virginia jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of the Act.
Patron - Rhodes

F HB2404

Limitation of civil lawsuits by prisoners. Creates a statutory scheme that prisoners must follow in order to file any suit related to their confinement. The bill substantially limits prisoners' ability to maintain civil lawsuits by prescribing venue, pre-screening by the court, prepayment of all costs and fees, limiting discovery, imposing sanctions and specific conditions pursuant to which suit may be filed.
Patron - Kilgore

F HB2407

Civil liability for drug dealers. Creates a cause of action by which a drug dealer may be sued in tort for damages including, but not limited to, the cost of treatment and rehabilitation, medical expenses, support expenses, accidents or injury and any other loss proximately caused by the use of an illegal controlled substance.
Patron - Griffith

F HB2500

Medical malpractice review panels; privileged communications. Provides that any person who is the subject of the proceedings, minutes, records or reports of a medical malpractice review panel shall receive a copy of any such document concerning that individual.
Patron - Robinson

F HB2521

Crimes; battery of a sports official. Provides for a mandatory period of incarceration of two days when the accused is an adult who commits a battery against a sports official with the intent to cause bodily injury, and six months mandatory incarceration if a weapon is used.
Patron - Reid

F HB2761

Duty of care to law-enforcement officers and firefighters, etc. Abolishes the Fireman's Rule, a common-law doctrine that limits a defendant's liability for otherwise culpable conduct resulting in injuries and property damage to firefighters, law-enforcement officials, and their employees. It is based on assumption of the usual risks of injury in such employment, whether caused by a negligent or a non-negligent act of the defendant.
Patron - McEachin

F SB813

Jury service; exemptions. Provides that full-time graduate and undergraduate college students will be exempt from jury service upon their request.
Patron - Williams

F SB1060

F SB1262

F SB1268

Managed care health insurance plans; liability for health care coverage decisions. Provides that health carriers offering managed care health insurance plans have the duty to exercise ordinary care when making decisions regarding the provision of coverage for health care services under the plan. Health carriers are liable for damages arising from injury to or death of a covered person proximately caused by the health carrier's negligence in making any decision that results in a delay in, or denial of, the provision of health care services. The limitations of recovery governing medical malpractice actions and the provisions of Virginia law governing utilization review are not applicable to actions brought pursuant to this bill.
Patron - Edwards

F SB1293

Civil liability for drug dealers. Creates a cause of action by which a drug dealer may be sued in tort for economic damages including, but not limited to, the cost of treatment and rehabilitation, medical expenses, loss of economic or educational potential, loss of productivity, absenteeism, support expenses, accidents or injury and any other pecuniary loss proximately caused by the use of an illegal controlled substance; noneconomic damages including, but not limited to, physical and emotional pain and suffering, physical impairment, emotional distress, mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment, loss of companionship, services, and consortium and other nonpecuniary losses proximately caused by an individual's use of an illegal controlled substance; punitive damages; and costs.
Patron - Mims

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