Virginia Civil Procedure

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Virginia civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and standards that Virginia courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits (as opposed to procedures in criminal law matters). Professor W. Hamilton Bryson is the preeminent master and legal scholar on Virginia Civil Procedure. Many commentators particularly equate him with the "scholars and lords chancellors of old."

Contents

The Virginia Court System

The Virginia court consists of four levels of courts: the Supreme Court of Virginia, the Court of Appeals of Virginia, the Virginia Circuit Court, and the Virginia General District Court. In addition, magistrates serve as judicial officers with authority to issue various types of processes.

Procedural evolution

Like the other Thirteen Colonies, Virginia originally adopted a system of common law procedure borrowed from English law, including the forms of action. However, Virginia never adopted the system of code pleading proposed by David Dudley Field II to abolish the forms of action. Instead, Virginia developed early on the "motion for judgment", a motion which operated like a pleading. In 1732, a statute was enacted which allowed the secretary of the colony or a county clerk to go into a local trial court and upon a motion "demand judgment" for certain fees which the county sheriff had failed to collect. This simple procedure was slowly extended over the next two centuries to one kind of action after another in piecemeal fashion. Thus, Virginia's unique system of "motion pleading" gradually supplanted the forms of action and traditional common law procedure. [1]

Like other states, Virginia authorized the state supreme court to promulgate court rules governing civil procedure, and the Supreme Court of Appeals promulgated a comprehensive set of Rules of Court which became effective on February 1, 1950. By that point in time, the Virginia motion for judgment had so thoroughly replaced the forms of action that no one missed them when the statutory authorization for their use was deleted in 1954. [1]

Personal Jurisdiction in Virginia

For a court in Virginia to have personal jurisdiction over a defendant, Virginia statutory requirements must be met and federal Constitutional limits must be complied with.

Virginia statutory requirements for personal jurisdiction

Virginia statutes allow for in personam jurisdiction over defendants who (1) reside in Virginia, (2) are served with process in Virginia, or (3) whose acts trigger Virginia's Long Arm Statute. [2]

Constitutional limits on personal jurisdiction

See Constitutional limits on personal jurisdiction.

Subject Matter Jurisdiction in Virginia

For a court in Virginia to have subject matter jurisdiction, Virginia statutory requirements must be met and federal Constitutional limits must be complied with.

Virginia General District Court

See Jurisdiction of Virginia General District Courts.

Virginia Circuit Court

See Jurisdiction of Virginia Circuit Courts.

Court of Appeals of Virginia

See Jurisdiction of the Virginia Supreme Court.

Supreme Court of Virginia

See Jurisdiction of the Virginia Supreme Court.

Venue in Virginia

In terms of venue, where personal jurisdiction lies in multiple districts, the appropriate venue for the case to be heard is set forth by Virginia statutes, which divides possible venues as "Category A" (preferred) and "Category B" (permissible), and requires that Category B venue may only be used where no Category A venue is available. For example, in a dispute over the ownership of land, Category A venue lies where the land is located. Category B venue generally lies where the defendant resides or has a registered office or registered agent, or where some part of the action arose. [3] If there are multiple parties, and any party requires Category A venue, then that venue will suffice for all parties; and if no party requires Category A venue, then any place where Category B venue lies as to one party will suffice as to all parties. In any case, if venue is inappropriate, then the objection to venue must be made within 21 days of service of process, and such objection must state why venue is improper, and where proper venue lies.

Service of Process in Virginia

See Service of process in Virginia.

Alternative Dispute Resolution in Virginia

Several kinds of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms are available in Virginia, including what is known as a "summary jury trial". [4] Virginia has enacted a form of the Uniform Arbitration Act. [5]

Default

If a defendant fails to file a responsive pleading within 21 days from service or after decision on preliminary motions, the defendant will be deemed to be "in default." [6] That defendant is also deemed to have waived his right to a jury trial. In order for a plaintiff to obtain a default judgment, he must apply to the trial court for entry of such a judgment. Whether a hearing on damages is subsequently held depends largely on whether damages are liquidated or unliquidated. If the defendant learns of the hearing before it is held, he may attend, object to a plaintiff's evidence, cross-examine plaintiff's witnesses, offer evidence on damages, participate in jury selection (if applicable), submit jury instructions on damages, and make oral arguments on damages. [7]

Related Research Articles

In legal terminology, a complaint is any formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons that the filing party or parties believes are sufficient to support a claim against the party or parties against whom the claim is brought that entitles the plaintiff(s) to a remedy. For example, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) that govern civil litigation in United States courts provide that a civil action is commenced with the filing or service of a pleading called a complaint. Civil court rules in states that have incorporated the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure use the same term for the same pleading.

In law as practiced in countries that follow the English models, a pleading is a formal written statement of one party's claims or defenses in response to another party's complaint(s) in a civil action. The parties' pleadings in a case define the issues to be adjudicated in the action.

A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties against one or more parties in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used with respect to a civil action brought by a plaintiff who requests a legal remedy or equitable remedy from a court. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint or else risk default judgment. If the plaintiff is successful, judgment is entered in favor of the plaintiff, and the Court may impose the legal and/or equitable remedies available against the defendant (respondent). A variety of court orders may be issued in connection with or as part of the judgment to enforce a right, award damages or restitution, or impose a temporary or permanent injunction to prevent an act or compel an act. A declaratory judgment may be issued to prevent future legal disputes.

A writ of mandamus is a judicial remedy in the English and American common law system consisting of a court order that commands a government official or entity to perform an act it is legally required to perform as part of its official duties, or to refrain from performing an act the law forbids it from doing. Writs of mandamus are usually used in situations where a government official has failed to act as legally required or has taken a legally prohibited action. They cannot be issued to compel an authority to do something against the law. For example, it cannot be used to force a lower court to take a specific action on applications that have been made, but if the court refuses to rule one way or the other, then a mandamus can be used to order the court to rule on the applications.

In law, a summary judgment, also referred to as judgment as a matter of law or summary disposition, is a judgment entered by a court for one party and against another party summarily, i.e., without a full trial. Summary judgments may be issued on the merits of an entire case, or on discrete issues in that case. The formulation of the summary judgment standard is stated in somewhat different ways by courts in different jurisdictions. In the United States, the presiding judge generally must find there is "no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." In England and Wales, the court rules for a party without a full trial when "the claim, defence or issue has no real prospect of success and there is no other compelling reason why the case or issue should be disposed of at a trial."

A demurrer is a pleading in a lawsuit that objects to or challenges a pleading filed by an opposing party. The word demur means "to object"; a demurrer is the document that makes the objection. Lawyers informally define a demurrer as a defendant saying "So what?" to the pleading.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judicature Acts</span> UK laws restructuring the English-Welsh court system (1873–1899)

In the history of the courts of England and Wales, the Judicature Acts were a series of acts of Parliament, beginning in the 1870s, which aimed to fuse the hitherto split system of courts of England and Wales. The first two acts were the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873 and the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1875, with a further series of amending acts.

A declaratory judgment, also called a declaration, is the legal determination of a court that resolves legal uncertainty for the litigants. It is a form of legally binding preventive by which a party involved in an actual or possible legal matter can ask a court to conclusively rule on and affirm the rights, duties, or obligations of one or more parties in a civil dispute. The declaratory judgment is generally considered a statutory remedy and not an equitable remedy in the United States, and is thus not subject to equitable requirements, though there are analogies that can be found in the remedies granted by courts of equity. A declaratory judgment does not by itself order any action by a party, or imply damages or an injunction, although it may be accompanied by one or more other remedies.

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure govern civil procedure in United States district courts. They are the companion to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Rules promulgated by the United States Supreme Court pursuant to the Rules Enabling Act become part of the FRCP unless, within seven months, the United States Congress acts to veto them. The Court's modifications to the rules are usually based upon recommendations from the Judicial Conference of the United States, the federal judiciary's internal policy-making body.

A legal remedy, also referred to as judicial relief or a judicial remedy, is the means with which a court of law, usually in the exercise of civil law jurisdiction, enforces a right, imposes a penalty, or makes another court order to impose its will in order to compensate for the harm of a wrongful act inflicted upon an individual.

The Virginia General District Court (GDC) is the lowest level of the Virginia court system, and is the court that most Virginians have contact with. The jurisdiction of the GDC is generally limited to traffic cases and other misdemeanors, civil cases involving amounts of under $25,000. There are 32 GDC districts, each having at least one judge, and each having a clerk of the court and a courthouse with courtroom facilities.

Default judgment is a binding judgment in favor of either party based on some failure to take action by the other party. Most often, it is a judgment in favor of a plaintiff when the defendant has not responded to a summons or has failed to appear before a court of law. The failure to take action is the default. The default judgment is the relief requested in the party's original petition.

A non-suit or nonsuit is a legal procedure. A plaintiff drops his or her suit, under certain circumstances that do not prevent another action being brought later on the same facts.

A cause of action or right of action, in law, is a set of facts sufficient to justify suing to obtain money or property, or to justify the enforcement of a legal right against another party. The term also refers to the legal theory upon which a plaintiff brings suit. The legal document which carries a claim is often called a 'statement of claim' in English law, or a 'complaint' in U.S. federal practice and in many U.S. states. It can be any communication notifying the party to whom it is addressed of an alleged fault which resulted in damages, often expressed in amount of money the receiving party should pay/reimburse.

The legal system of South Korea is a civil law system that has its basis in the Constitution of the Republic of Korea. The Court Organization Act, which was passed into law on 26 September 1949, officially created a three-tiered, independent judicial system. The revised Constitution of 1987 codified judicial independence in Article 103, which states that, "Judges rule independently according to their conscience and in conformity with the Constitution and the law." The 1987 rewrite also established the Constitutional Court, the first time that South Korea had an active body for constitutional review.

The Virginia Circuit Courts are the state trial courts of general jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Circuit Courts have jurisdiction to hear civil and criminal cases. For civil cases, the courts have authority to try cases with an amount in controversy of more than $4,500 and have exclusive original jurisdiction over claims for more than $25,000. In criminal matters, the Circuit Courts are the trial courts for all felony charges and for misdemeanors originally charged there. The Circuit Courts also have appellate jurisdiction for any case from the Virginia General District Courts claiming more than $50, which are tried de novo in the Circuit Courts.

Service of process in Virginia encompasses the set of rules indicating how a party to a lawsuit must be given service of process in the state of Virginia, in order for the judiciary of Virginia to have jurisdiction over that party. In the Virginia General District Court, the summons is referred to as either a "warrant" or as a "notice of motion for judgment" depending on the kind of case brought. In the Virginia Circuit Court it is simply called a summons.

'Venue' in Virginia civil procedure describes the rules governing which court in the Commonwealth of Virginia is the appropriate place for a case to be tried, presuming that subject matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction have been established.

Civil procedure in the United States consists of rules that govern civil actions in the federal, state, and territorial court systems, and is distinct from the rules that govern criminal actions. Like much of American law, civil procedure is not reserved to the federal government in its Constitution. As a result, each state is free to operate its own system of civil procedure independent of her sister states and the federal court system.

The Florida Constitution, in Article V, Section 2(a), vests the power to adopt rules for the "practice and procedure in all courts" in the Florida Supreme Court. The Florida Supreme Court adopted the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure in March 1954. The proper abbreviation for the rules is Fla.R.Civ.P. The rules may be amended, or new rules added, from time to time and upon the approval of the Florida Supreme Court.

References

  1. 1 2 Bryson, W. Hamilton (Winter 1983). "The Abolition of the Forms of Action in Virginia". University of Richmond Law Review. 17 (2): 273–284.
  2. Va. Code Ann. §8.01-328.1.
  3. Va. Code. Ann. §8.01-261, -262.
  4. Va. Code. Ann. §§8.01-576.1 to -576.3.
  5. Va. Code. Ann. §8.01-577, and Va. Code. Ann. §§8.01-581.01 to -581.16
  6. Williams v. Service, Inc., 199 Va. 326, 99 S.E.2d 648 (1957); Federal Realty v. Litterio, 213 Va. 3, 189 S.E.2d 314 (1972).
  7. Rule 3:19.

See also