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Goodove in the News Archive 2014

Goodove selected as top 100 trial lawyers

Michael L. Goodove, a partner with the Norfolk law firm of Swartz, Taliaferro, Swartz & Goodove, P.C. was selected by The National Trial Lawyers as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers and has been admitted as a Member to the Medical Malpractice Trial Lawyers.  The National Trial Lawyers is a professional organization composed of the premier trial lawyers from across the country who exemplify superior qualifications as civil plaintiff or criminal defense trial lawyers.  Mr. Goodove specializes in the areas of personal injury and criminal law.

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Archive 2014 Recent Posts STS&G News Goodove in the News

Goodove selected as 2014 Leaders in the Law

Michael L. Goodove, a personal injury attorney, with the law firm of Swartz, Taliaferro, Swartz & Goodove, was selected as a member of the 2014 class of the Leaders in the Law.  Virginia Lawyers Weekly chose only 30 attorneys in Virginia for this high honor.  Goodove was recognized as setting the standard for other lawyers and as a highly accomplished attorney.  “Goodove has built a career as a champion of victims of drunk driving, through his trial practice and his longtime leadership in Mothers Against Drunk Driving; as a plaintiff’s personal injury lawyer, he finds creative and meaningful remedies for his clients.”  Virginia Lawyers Weekly

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Recent Posts STS&G News Goodove in the News Archive 2014

Michael Goodove Selected as Virginia’s Legal Elite for 2014

Michael Goodove, a partner at Swartz, Taliaferro, Swartz & Goodove, in Norfolk, VA, has been selected as “Virginia’s Legal Elite” for 2014 in the category of Civil Litigation.  Virginia’s Legal Elite is an extremely high honor and Mr. Goodove was selected by his peers and members of the Virginia Bar Association for his excellent legal skills and reputation.  He will be listed in the December 2014 issue of Virginia Business Magazine.  Mr. Goodove specializes in personal injury law.  

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Goodove in the News Virginian-Pilot Archive 2014

Goodove and Swartz named as Superlawyers 2014

For another year, Michael Goodove and Franklin Swartz have been selected as 2014 Super Lawyers. Michael Goodove was selected as a Super Lawyer in the field of Plaintiff’s Personal Injury. Franklin Swartz was selected as a Super Lawyer in the field of White Collar Criminal Defense.  Franklin Swartz also received the distinction of Virginia:  The Top 100 Superlawyers 2014.   Only 5% of Virginia attorneys are chosen every year and Goodove and Swartz were selected based upon evaluation by other top lawyers and independant research of the candidates.  Goodove and Swartz will be contained in the 2014 Super Lawyers Magazine as well as in the 2014 November/December issue of Hampton Roads magazine.

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Goodove in the News Virginian-Pilot

Virginia Beach shells out $1.2M in claims settlements

The claims read like an insurance commercial.

Potholes blowing out tires.

Trash trucks backing over mailboxes.

Smelly sewage flooding from toilets.

They’re just a sample of the dozens of complaints filed with the city each year seeking repayment for damages.

Some are sobering, others slightly silly.

Either way, they add up, with 205 auto and general liability claims resulting in roughly $1.2 million in settlements during the last fiscal year, according to the city’s most recent Annual Risk Management Financial Report.

A year’s worth of petitions obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request shows fender-benders and everyday mishaps as well as more serious incidents that sometimes result in lawsuits.

“It’s a wild gamut,” City Attorney Mark Stiles said. “A lot of them were interesting to read.”

When an incident occurs involving a private resident and a city entity, such as the police or a construction crew, the person must file a “notice of claim” within six months to seek reimbursement. Risk Management investigates and decides whether to cut a check.

If the person disagrees with the department’s decision, he or she can appeal or file a lawsuit.

Many of the incidents occur on the road. Some stem from run-ins with the law, such as one in which a man said police sullied his carpet while using black fingerprint-dusting powder during a robbery investigation. In another case, two people said their cellphones were broken while they were being arrested.

Over six months ending on Feb. 28, the city paid out $45,623. That included $95 to a homeowner whose sprinkler system was damaged by a city fire truck, more than $10,000 for a sewage backup into a woman’s home, and nearly $500 to a driver whose tire rim was damaged by a pothole on Davis Street.

But sometimes the city says no way.

One man wanted payment for a car wash – and for the mileage to get there – after he said construction workers at the Oceanfront left dusty hand prints on his vehicle. Another woman wanted her car repaired after she drove over an orange traffic barrel.

The city declined both claims, Risk Management Administrator John Grook said.

Michael Goodove, a personal injury attorney who has represented clients in petitions against the city, said Virginia Beach typically responds quickly and fairly.

“I think the city always tries to do right by its citizens,” city attorney Stiles said. “I think we also have an obligation to the taxpayer not to pay claims for which there is no legal responsibility, and I think Risk Management does a good job of finding the appropriate balance of those two.”

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STS&G News Goodove in the News Recent Posts Archive 2012

Michael Goodove turns down $10K offer and gets $150,000 jury verdict

In a personal injury case stemming from a motor vehicle collision, a recent mediation with a retired Judge resulted in a top offer of $10,000 from State Farm Insurance Company.  The case was tried in Virginia Beach Circuit Court for 2 days resulting in a jury verdict in the amount of $150,000.  State Farm made a final offer of $20,000 during the first day of trial, but it was rejected and the case was tried to verdict.  In addition to paying the full amount of the verdict, Michael Goodove also held State Farm responsible for court costs. State Farm hired a local orthopedic surgeon to testify that our client’s injuries were not accident-related.  Goodove established through cross-examination that State Farm’s expert had received excessive compensation and uncovered the expert’s relationship with State Farm and other insurance companies.  The trial team consisted of Michael Goodove and Elizabeth Ufkes.

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Archive 2012 STS&G News Goodove in the News Virginian-Pilot

U.S. marshals on trail of Virginia Beach fugitive

For more than two months, police and bail bondsmen have searched for 23-year-old Cameron Paul Crockett, who didn’t show up for sentencing after a jury convicted him of manslaughter in the drunken-driving death of a friend.

Paul
Fugitive Paul Crockett

Now, federal authorities say they’ve joined the hunt.

The U.S. Marshals Service, which works to find fugitives believed to have crossed state lines or fled the country, is investigating Crockett’s case, spokeswoman Carolyn Gwathmey said Wednesday in an email. The marshals’ Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force and its International Investigations Branch are involved, she said.

Mike Rowland of Lucky Seven Bail Bonds, who posted Crockett’s $20,000 bail, on Wednesday in Circuit Court received another 150 days per state law to find the fugitive before possibly forfeiting the money.

“We’re steadily working on it,” Rowland said. He declined to comment on where he believed Crockett might be.

Meanwhile, Crockett’s friends and family have launched a campaign professing his innocence on YouTube and Facebook. A Facebook profile that appears to belong to Crockett has changed several times since his disappearance, including the profile photo changing once before being deleted.

Crockett has maintained he was not driving the night of Dec. 28, 2008, when 20-year-old John “Jack” Korte Jr. died in a crash on Wolfsnare Road.

In October, Crockett’s insurance company settled a wrongful-death suit with Korte’s family for $150,000. They initially had sought $10 million.

“I can assure you that the family was never motivated at all by any of the monetary aspects of it,” said Michael Goodove, the Kortes’ attorney. “This allowed them to force somebody to accept accountability and to give them some closure, which has been long overdue.”

Then, on March 1, a jury found Crockett guilty of involuntary manslaughter in Korte’s death. Although he did not show up for sentencing four days later, the jury recommended he serve five years in prison, half the maximum.

The conviction was Crockett’s third on charges connected to Korte’s death.

A judge threw out an earlier manslaughter conviction when the jury couldn’t agree on a sentencing recommendation.

Crockett still is awaiting trial on additional charges in the case, including drunken driving and intimidating a witness.

Now he’s also charged with misdemeanor and felony failures to appear. The misdemeanor carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail; the felony, five years in prison.

If Crockett fled the state, he also could face federal prosecution.

Prosecutors unsuccessfully tried several times to convince a judge to revoke Crockett’s bond, arguing he had violated his release conditions, said Macie Pridgen, a spokeswoman for the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.

Although Crockett had to surrender his passport, he still could have hopped a flight to another state or country, said Steve Sterling, director of airport operations at Norfolk International Airport. He said airlines are required to check only that a passenger is not on the Transportation Security Administration’s no-fly list.

“I’m certain that people who have warrants against them fly all over the country all the time,” Sterling said. “There’s not a system in place to check a wanted status on someone when they fly.”

Crockett’s attorney, Andrew Sacks, said Crockett has not contacted him since he didn’t show up for court.

“We’re extremely disappointed that Mr. Crockett has still not presented himself,” Sacks said. “We strongly urge him to do the responsible thing, so that his case can be appropriately concluded.”

Kathy Adams, 757-222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com

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Archive 2012 STS&G News Goodove in the News

Goodove and Swartz selected As Super Lawyers 2012

For another year in a row, Michael Goodove and Franklin Swartz have been selected as 2012 Super Lawyers. Michael Goodove was selected as a Super Lawyer in the field of Plaintiff’s Personal Injury. Franklin Swartz was selected as a Super Lawyer in the field of White Collar Criminal Defense. Only 5% of Virginia attorneys are chosen every year and Goodove and Swartz were selected based upon evaluation by other top lawyers and independant research of the candidates.  Goodove and Swartz will be contained in the 2012 Super Lawyers Magazine as well as in hte 2012 November/December issue of Hampton Roads magazine.

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Archive 2012 STS&G News Goodove in the News

Swartz, Taliaferro, Swartz & Goodove, P.C. Law Office Building

On January 1, 2012, Swartz, Taliaferro, Swartz & Goodove, P.C. relocated to its new law office building in historic downtown Norfolk. The firm continues its practice in the areas of personal injury, criminal and trial law. The new address is 220 West Freemason Street, Norfolk, VA 23510. We are located on the corner of Freemason and Duke Street in historic downtown Norfolk and handle cases all throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. We are located within blocks of both the Norfolk Federal Courthouse and the Norfolk Circuit, General District and Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts.

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Archive 2012 STS&G News Goodove in the News

Breath test may be required before first-time DUI offenders drive again

People with their first DUI conviction could have to pass a breath test before starting the engine, if laws pass the Va. General Assembly and are signed by Gov. Bob McDonnell.

Senate Bill 378 and House Bill 279 require a person with one DUI to blow into an breathalyzer before the car can start. Right now, that’s only required for repeat offenders or when a person’s blood alcohol level is above .15 percent.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving Virginia says the bills were drafted twice to increase the chances of getting at least one passed.

Governor McDonnell supports the bill as a “common-sense measure to make roadways safer and reduce DUI-related injuries and deaths,” a spokesperson said.

Opponents disagree.

“It eliminates judicial discretion when it comes to the cases of low BAC (blood alcohol content) first-time offenders,” argues Sarah Longwell, managing director of the American Beverage Institute, a restaurant trade organization that represents more than 250 restaurants in Virginia.

Longwell worries the legislation could eventually lead to breathalyzers in all vehicles.

“There is technology that has already been developed that is already in the implementation phase that is much more sophisticated that detects alcohol through air in the cabin of the car through low light lasers,” she notes.

Attorney and MADD member Mike Goodove states the bills won’t infringe on the rights of drivers with no DUIs.

“We’re talking about the people who have been convicted of a DUI and they want a restricted license,” he explains.

If the General Assembly passes legislation and the governor signs it, the law would take effect July 1.