The VLW Blog

Yesterday in Fairfax, a trial expected to last two weeks got under way that could determine control of the property of 11 churches that voted to leave the Episcopal Diocese. Millions of dollars are at stake.

At issue is an 1867 law, Virginia Code § 57-9, that governs when a congregation can realign its allegiance and keep its property. The breakaway churches say the law favors their position. The diocese counters that the ancient statute only applies when a church governing body recognizes an internal division, which did not happen here.

The Associated Press has details.

It looks so easy when they do it on Antiques Roadshow.

Experts on the popular public television series who examine stuff brought down from the attic appear to take their cues from certain elements of a painting or an objet d’art, and then fill in the blanks to come up with an estimated value.

But unfortunately for two federal employees who sued over a missing painting, it takes more to recover damages in a court of law.

Richard and Donna Riney had a painting stored when they were assigned to positions abroad. When they observed mold on the stored painting upon their return, the storage company hired a mold remediation company to treat the mold. The remediation company later admitted that it had not restored the painting, but instead had discarded it.

In Riney v. Park Moving & Storage Co. (VLW 007-8-140), the Rineys argued the painting had a value of $80,000. They also argued in a companion case (VLW 007-8-139) that the destruction of the painting entitled them to certain assumptions in proving the worth of the painting.

But Fairfax Circuit Judge Arthur B. Vieregg rejected expert testimony based on assumptions that the painting had been created by a European master of the top tier within a 200-year period between the late 17th and 19th centuries, and therefore had a value of at least $80,000.

Noting that the plaintiffs apparently never bothered to have the painting appraised or insured, Vieregg said the owners simply presented no authority to support the requested damages, absent the owners’ groundless testimony of what the painting was worth.

Instead, the Rineys were entitled to $2,500, the value conceded by the remediation company, plus costs, the court held.

The lead story in this week’s issue of Virginia Lawyers Weekly presents a case with a first-impression issue of corporate law.

In WAKA LLC v. Humphrey, a case involving an adult kickball league, Fairfax Circuit Judge Leslie M. Alden found that members of an LLC owe no fiduciary duty to one other.

The official investiture of Fairfax Circuit Judge Charles J. Maxfield is set for this Friday, May 18. The ceremony will be held at 4:00 p.m. in Courtroom 5E of the courts building.

The Fairfax Bar Association will hold a reception in Maxfield’s honor following the investiture.

The judge actually went on the Fairfax circuit bench in February, succeeding Judge M. Langhorne Keith, who retired. Maxfield had been a J&DR judge in Fairfax since 1994.

Ray Morrogh, the longtime deputy prosecutor in Fairfax who hopes to succeed his retiring boss, Bob Horan, filed as expected for the local Democratic nomination for commonwealth’s attorney. But he’ll have an opponent this fall: Arlington assistant commonwealth’s attorney Patrick McDade will seek the GOP nod for Fairfax commonwealth’s attorney, reports the Washington Post.

With yesterday’s filing deadlines in Fairfax, Arlington and Prince William County, a pair of veteran prosecutors in the area will get a free pass for another term. In Arlington, Dick Trodden, a Democrat, won’t have a Republican opponent. Trodden said nice things about McDade, who graduated from the George Mason law school in 2004, but he won’t endorse McDade over Morrogh. Democrat Butch Ebert in Prince William likewise won’t have a GOPer running against him.

Republican prosecutor Jim Plowman in Loudoun County doesn’t have a Democrat running against him yet; the Dems in Loudoun have until April 26 to file.

Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Bob Horan announced yesterday that he will call it quits after 40 years on the job. The Washington Post reports that Horan, 74, had been concerned that a gradual hearing loss would affect his performance in the courtroom. Both parties will be scrambling to field candidates before Friday’s filing deadline, although Ray Morrogh, Horan’s longtime chief deputy, has said he would seek the Dems’ nod if his boss did not make another run.

Longtime Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Bob Horan may retire. Horan, 74, told the Washington Post that he is considering not running for reelection. He has a Friday deadline to decide whether to stand as the Democratic candidate for the position. The local GOP has put up candidates against Horan only twice since 1975. If Horan chooses to retire, his chief deputy, Ray Morrogh, says he is ready to make the race.