Latest Virginia Headlines

All the headlines from our Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Family of Inmate Who Died by Suicide in Virginia Jail Gets $1.75M From Psychiatrist

Jan 22 2024 // The family of a man who died by suicide at a Virginia jail after his antipsychotic medication was discontinued has received a $1.75 million settlement in a civil lawsuit. Records at U.S. District Court in Alexandria show...

Progressive Files for 19.78% Auto Insurance Rate Increase in West Virginia

Jan 10 2024 // Less than a month after Farmers Direct Insurance filed for a hefty rate increase on West Virginia auto liability policies, Progressive has followed suit with an almost identical request. The West Virginia insurance...

Because ‘Location’ Is Ambiguous in Marine Cargo Policy, Travelers Must Pay Fire Loss

Jan 8 2024 // A New York-based apparel company is entitled to its claim for the full $600,000 limit on its marine cargo insurance policy because the policy was ambiguous as to whether a warehouse fire that destroyed its goods was at an...

‘Smash-and-Grab’ Robberies Fuel New Laws, but Critics Question the Need

Jan 2 2024 // Even before Virginia lawmakers passed a tough new law against organized retail crime earlier this year, Bradley Haywood, a public defender in Arlington, Virginia, challenged the rationale. The idea that retailers in the...

Real Estate Firm Bids $4.9M for Campus of Bankrupt West Virginia College

Jan 2 2024 // CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A federal bankruptcy court in West Virginia has set a hearing for next month on the potential sale of a defunct private university`s campus. A court-appointed trustee filed a motion Wednesday...

Virginia Security Firm Settles Religious Discrimination Claim Over Employee’s Beard

Dec 29 2023 // Triple Canopy, Inc. a Reston, Virginia-based company that provides protective services to federal agencies, will pay a former employee $110,759 and provide other relief to settle a religious discrimination and retaliation...

Farmers Direct Asks for 20% Auto Rate Increase in West Virginia

Dec 15 2023 // The West Virginia Insurance Commissioner’s Office is accepting comments on a proposed 19.9% auto liability insurance rate increase for Farmers Direct Property and Casualty Insurance Co. The proposed increase is one...

Texas Sues VA Claims Insider for Deceptive Trade Practices Targeting Veterans

Dec 13 2023 // Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued VA Claims Insider, LLC, (VACI) for engaging in deceptive trade practices to defraud veterans seeking disability benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Claims...

West Virginia Appeals Court Reverses $7M Jury Award in Ford Fatality Lawsuit

Dec 11 2023 // An appeals court in West Virginia on Friday reversed a $7 million award in a product liability lawsuit against the Ford Motor Co. to the family of a woman who died when her Ford Mustang was involved in a fiery crash. The...

Virginia House Explosion Follows Flare Gun, Firearm Shots

Dec 5 2023 // An explosion tore through a house in Arlington, Virginia Monday evening after police spent hours attempting to get the occupant who was shooting a flare gun to stop shooting and come outside. At approximately 4:45 p.m.,...

Business Moves

Dec 4 2023 // National Travelers, Corvus Insurance Holdings The Travelers Companies said it has agreed to buy cyber managing general underwriter Corvus Insurance Holdings Inc. for about $435 million for its middle-market excess and...

$40M Lawsuit by Virginia Teacher Shot by Student Can Proceed

Dec 4 2023 // A teacher who was shot by her 6-year-old student in Virginia can press forward with her $40 million lawsuit against a school system over claims of negligence by school administrators, a judge has ruled. The surprise...

Wildfires Prompt North Carolina, Tennessee Campgrounds to Evacuate; West Virginia Blaze Contained

Nov 22 2023 // Wildfires prompted campgrounds in North Carolina and Tennessee to evacuate starting Sunday while firefighters prepared for high winds and low humidity on Monday, though officials hoped for some help from expected rain. The...

Best Agency to Work For – East Gold Winner: National Church Group Agency

Nov 20 2023 // Caring for Employees and Clients Alike The National Church Group Insurance Agency’s mission is to protect its clients’ missions. For nearly four decades, the Leesburg, Virginia-based organization has secured...

Virginia School System Says Former Student’s Sex Assault Lawsuit Is a Fraud

Nov 15 2023 // Allegations that a northern Virginia seventh-grader was repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted at her school more than a decade ago were totally fabricated, lawyers for the school system contend in a court filing seeking...

West Virginia Taps $4 Million in Insurance to Pay Settlement With Inmates

Nov 13 2023 // The state of West Virginia has agreed to pay $4 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by inmates who described conditions at a jail as inhumane, an attorney for the plaintiffs said. Attorney Stephen New disclosed...

Lawsuit on West Virginia Jail Conditions Has Been Settled

Nov 9 2023 // CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A lawsuit filed by inmates who described conditions at a southern West Virginia jail as inhumane has been settled, a federal judge said Tuesday, a week after a magistrate judge said some...

Virginia Governor Declares State of Emergency Over Wildfires

Nov 8 2023 // Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has declared a state of emergency to assist firefighter response efforts on two wildfires around the state due to dry conditions and high winds. Two fires—the Quaker Run Fire in Madison...

Local Governments in West Virginia Will Soon See Opioid Settlement Money

Nov 8 2023 // CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Local governments in West Virginia will start seeing opioid settlement money by the year`s end, the board in charge of distributing the lion’s share of around $1 billion in funds...

Honeycomb Insurance, Using Tech to Bypass Property Inspections, Expands to Virginia

Nov 7 2023 // Honeycomb Insurance, a which says its technology eliminates the need for physical property inspections, has won regulator approval to write policies in Virginia. The company, which began operating in 2021, writes in 15...