#Va law bill of particulars code

If the plaintiff chooses to refile the case after nonsuiting, the plaintiff must refile in the same court in which the nonsuit was taken, unless that court was without jurisdiction, not a proper venue, if “other good cause is shown for proceeding in another court,” or if the new case is instituted in a federal court. Although it can be a frustrating part of practice in General District Court, when a case is nonsuited, there’s always a possibility that the plaintiff will not refile, or will miss the applicable deadline for refiling resulting in dismissal of the case. However, the plaintiff may not nonsuit the case in General District Court after a motion to strike has been granted or after the case has been submitted to the judge for a decision. The plaintiff may nonsuit nearly at any time, regardless of the amount of time, money, or effort that has been expended defending the suit. A nonsuit is a voluntary dismissal or withdrawal of the case.

#Va law bill of particulars code

Virginia Code Section 8.01-380 provides that a party who has filed suit has an absolute right to one nonsuit. One of the often frustrating aspects of civil defense practice, in both General District Court and Circuit Court, is the right of nonsuit. This testimony could then be used if the plaintiff attempts to provide inconsistent testimony on appeal. If the defense believes the plaintiff will lose in General District Court, and that it’s likely the plaintiff will appeal, it is worth considering having a court reporter present to capture the plaintiff’s testimony. However, Rule 7A:6 provides that the court may allow recording of the proceedings by a court reporter or other means. General District Courts are “courts not of record” which means that, unlike Circuit Court, there is no automatic recording of the proceedings. With the limited discovery available in General District Court (as discussed further below), trying cases in General District Court is generally less expensive and less time consuming.

There are no juries in General District Court. Cases in General District Court are heard and decided by the judge. Circuit Courts may hear civil cases in which the amount in controversy is over $4,500 but many less serious property damage and personal injury cases are now being filed in General District Court. The maximum amount that may be sued for in General District Court is $25,000.

With more and more cases being filed in General District Court these days, it is worth taking a closer look at the procedural and discovery rules that govern in that court. You might consider discussing this with a local attorney.Defending Cases in General District Court There are other issues that are not addressed in your post: You mentioned that YOU are taking legal action to recover 'our' security deposit - are you pursuing this with one or more co-tenants? Did you, in fact, pay rent on time each and every month? Did you provide the landlord with your forwarding address when you left? And you want to do all of this in separate, numbered paragraphs that each state only one fact (as close as possible). You should be prepared to provide proof of each and every rental payment to negate a claim by the landlord that you left owing rent. And of course you will want to discuss any notice(s) received regarding disposition of your security deposit and your proof of what you had done to cure any allegedly defective conditions that were your responsibility. You will want to describe how the tenancy ended - the circumstances of your leaving, including the date - and what the landlord did or did not do for a post-tenancy inspection. You will want to draw attention to the relevant terms of the lease (the term, the security deposit language, the notice provision (if relevant)). You will want to identify the parties to the lease, the property involved, the lease itself (include a copy of this as an exhibit).

Your bill of particulars needs to set out all of the bases for your claim(s).