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2010 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Courts of Justice
Subcommittee Civil

Edwards (Chairman), Obenshain, Lucas, Puller, Quayle, Saslaw, Petersen

Clerk: Angi Murphy
Date of Meeting: January 21, 2010
Time and Place: 4:00 p.m., 3 East Conference Room, General Assembly Building

S.B. 44

Patron: Stuart

Mandatory retirement for district court judges.  Increases the mandatory retirement age for district court judges from 70 to 76.

S.B. 53

Patron: Martin

Registered voters; disqualified jurors; report.  Requires court clerks who receive notice that a juror is no longer qualified to serve as a juror in the locality where he is summoned, due to his no longer being a resident of the locality or of the Commonwealth, to furnish a list of such jurors to the State Board of Elections. The State Board will utilize this information as part of its voter list maintenance program to determine if such jurors should be placed on inactive voter status.

S.B. 155

Patron: Edwards

Commonwealth's lien for payment of medical services; limitations. Provides that a lien granted to the Commonwealth against any recovery from a third party obtained by an injured person whose medical costs were paid pursuant to the Virginia Medical Assistance Program shall only attach to the portion of the claim representing compensation for medical expenses incurred by the injured person. In the course of determining the amount of the Commonwealth's lien, a court may determine the fairness of any allocation of the proceeds from a claim for medical expenses. The bill is intended to bring Virginia law in conformity with the United States Supreme Court's decision in Arkansas Dep't of Health & Human Servs. v. Ahlborn, 547 U.S. 268, 126 S.Ct. 1752, 164 L.Ed.2d 459 (2006). This bill is a recommendation of the Boyd-Graves Conference.

S.B. 156

Patron: Edwards

Uniform Arbitration Act; vacating arbitration award.  Clarifies that a party may seek to vacate an award made pursuant to an arbitration proceeding where there was no agreement to arbitrate and the party raised an objection to the arbitration, regardless of whether an arbitration agreement had previously been found to exist. This bill is a recommendation of the Boyd-Graves Conference.

S.B. 159

Patron: Edwards

Uniform Power of Attorney Act (UPOAA).  Establishes in the Code of Virginia the Uniform Act that was adopted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 2006. The UPOAA consists of default rules that can be modified if the principal desires. Powers of attorney will be durable unless drafted to expire upon a specified date or event. The UPOAA addresses creation and use, good faith reliance, limitations of agent's powers, refusal to recognize, judicial review, notification of resignation, and other matters. The UPOAA contains an optional statutory form.

S.B. 189

Patron: Northam

Space flight liability and immunity; sunset. Repeals the July 1, 2013, expiration date on the act establishing space flight liability and immunity.

S.B. 190

Patron: Northam

Publication of notice of judicial retirement.  Requires the Supreme Court or the Committee on District Courts to publish notice of a judge's intention to retire upon receipt of that notice instead of upon certification of the vacancy.

S.B. 191

Patron: Northam

Privileged communications of certain committees and entities.  Provides that the exchange of privileged, health care-related information between health care providers or committees, boards, groups, commissions, or other entities that function primarily to review, evaluate, or make recommendations regarding health care shall not constitute a waiver of privilege.

S.B. 204

Patron: Blevins

Uniform Power of Attorney Act (UPOAA). Establishes in the Code of Virginia the Uniform Act that was adopted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 2006. The UPOAA consists of default rules that can be modified if the principal desires. Powers of attorney will be durable unless drafted to expire upon a specified date or event. The UPOAA addresses creation and use, good faith reliance, limitations of agent's powers, refusal to recognize, judicial review, notification of resignation, and other matters. The UPOAA contains an optional statutory form that may be used by an agent to certify facts concerning a power of attorney.

S.B. 206

Patron: Edwards

Judicial retirement; mandatory retirement.  Adjusts the mandatory retirement age under judicial retirement to age 73. Currently, judges are required to retire at age 70. This bill is a recommendation of the Judicial Council.

S.B. 220

Patron: Howell

Electronic filing of cases in circuit courts. Establishes electronic filing of cases in circuit courts by providing for acceptance of electronic images as original documents for filing and recording, and for the attachment of electronic seals or stamps for original signatures and notarizations in civil cases. However, the bill does not allow for electronic filing in certain classes of cases where particular forms are specified by statute (e.g., creation and execution of wills, codicils, testamentary trusts, premarital agreements, and negotiable instruments). This bill is a recommendation of the Judicial Council.

S.B. 287

Patron: Deeds

Law-Enforcement Officers Procedural Guarantee Act; definition of law-enforcement officer. Includes certain employees of a sheriff's department under the coverage of the Law-Enforcement Officers Procedural Guarantee Act, so long as the employees would not be considered exempt employees for purposes of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

S.B. 382

Patron: Obenshain

Jury panel; disclosure to counsel.  Changes from 48 hours to two full business days the time period when a copy of the jury panel shall be made available to all counsel of record in the case. This bill is a recommendation of Boyd-Graves Conference.

S.B. 384

Patron: Obenshain

Attorney-client privilege; work product protection; limitations on waivers. Provides that when the disclosure of a communication or information covered by attorney-client privilege or work product protection made in a proceeding or to any public body operates as a waiver of the privilege or protection, such waiver only extends to undisclosed communications or information if (i) the waiver was intentional, and (ii) the disclosed and undisclosed communications or information concern the same subject matter and ought in fairness be considered together. Inadvertent disclosures do not operate as a waiver if reasonable steps were taken to prevent disclosure and to rectify the error. The bill also provides that an agreement between parties as to the effect of a disclosure is only binding upon the parties to the agreement unless it has been incorporated into a court order. This bill is a recommendation of the Boyd-Graves Conference.

S.B. 396

Patron: Wagner

Courthouse assessments.  Allows localities to raise the fee assessed for courthouse construction, renovation, or maintenance above the current authorized amount of $2 once every two years based upon the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index.

S.B. 445

Patron: Quayle

Notice of lien on financial institutions.  Provides that any judgment creditor serving a notice of lien on a financial institution shall, within five business days of such service, mail to the judgment debtor at his last known address a copy of the notice of lien along with a notice of exemptions and claim for exemption form. The judgment creditor or attorney for the judgment creditor shall file a certification with the court affirming that he has mailed the judgment debtor these notices. If the judgment creditor fails to mail the notices, the financial institution shall release to the judgment debtor any funds otherwise subject to the lien. In the event that the judgment creditor fails to comply, he shall be liable to the judgment debtor for no more than $500 in damages, unless he proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the failure was not willful.

S.B. 468

Patron: Howell

Extension of protective orders.  Allows a petitioner who has obtained a protective order under § 16.1-279.1 (cases of family abuse) or § 19.2-152.10 (stalking) to obtain an extension of such order for a period of no more than one year if the respondent continues to pose a threat to the health or safety of the petitioner and the petitioner's family and household members. There is no limit on the number of extensions that may be requested.

S.B. 521

Patron: Norment

Constitutionality of local ordinances.  Permits a locality to obtain a determination by the circuit court as to the constitutionality of a local ordinance that has been held to be unconstitutional in a court not of record. Currently, only the Commonwealth is able to obtain such a determination.

S.B. 526

Patron: Norment

Mandatory dispute resolution; custody, visitation, and child support.  Provides that parties in cases involving custody, visitation, and child support must be referred to, and must attend, a dispute resolution orientation session.