IntroductionAs I have done every Spring since I began this blog, today I will be giving a summary of new laws
that impact or influence topics covered by this blog - particularly those that may impact posts I have previously made here.
All laws listed here are effective as of July 1, 2019.
Single Filing Uncontested Divorces
Uncontested divorces in Virginia are frequently legally simple, but procedurally complex. By this I mean the actual law regarding handling of these divorces is simple, but the actual process of getting them done is complex, and frequently requires lawyers to be involved in even the simplest uncontested divorces. One of the annoyances of handling uncontested divorces is that they require a minimum of two trips to the courthouse. First, you have to go to file your Complaint for Divorce to open the uncontested divorce. Then, you can proceed with all your remaining paperwork - a waiver of service of process, affidavits, and the Final Decree itself. This is all because, as a general rule, someone cannot waive service of process or complete an affidavit in a court case that does not yet exist. However, HB 1945 has now changed this by adding an exception to this general rule, allowing uncontested divorces to proceed where a waiver of service and affidavits were signed a "reasonable amount of time" prior to the case being opened. The practical impact of this is that an uncontested divorce will now be able to be completed with a single trip to the courthouse - all paperwork can be prepared in advance and filed at the same time. This will make uncontested divorces a little less complicated, a little less time consuming, and, hopefully, a little less expensive.
Tenant's Redemption Right Dramatically Expanded
In October of 2014, I wrote a post about a special provision in the law for tenants called a "redemption." A redemption is almost like a get out of jail free card for a tenant - it allows a tenant, once every twelve months, to avoid being evicted by paying all rent due, late fees, court costs, and attorneys' fees after a five day pay or quit has been served and eviction proceedings have begun. Pay the right amount on time, and the eviction process is terminated.
Well, as I noted at the time, there's a big catch. You cannot dispute the amount owed, and you have to pay the redemption at or prior to the first court date (the first return). HB 1898, however, has changed this. Now, under the new law, a redemption can be paid up until two days before the eviction itself is carried out (so, after the first return, after the trial, and after the writ of possession has been issued). This means a tenant can now have his day in court to challenge the amount he or she supposedly owes without losing their right to redeem. Now, there's another catch. HB 1898 only applied to Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (VRLTA) leases. You may recall from my changes in the law blog post last year, that all differences in the law between the VRLTA and common law/chapter 13 residential leases had been abolished. Well, HB 1898 (along with one or two more minor law changes) this year applied only to VRLTA leases, and as a result have again created differences between the two. I honestly believe this was an unintentional oversight by the General Assembly, and will be fixed, but it does emphasize the point that if we really want all residential leases to be treated the same, it's time to just make the VRLTA applicable to all residential leases (or, alternatively, repeal the VRLTA and make chapter 13 applicable to all residential leases). So, changes along those lines may be coming - stay tuned.
Writ of Eviction Established
Speaking of writs of possession, however, they will actually no longer exist as of July 1st. SB 1448 changes the name "writ of possession" to "writ of eviction," and provides that such writs must be issued within 180 days of the court order granting possession, and must be executed within 30 days of being issued.
Contract Statute of Limitations Loophole Closed
You may recall from my blog post on statutes of limitations that the statute of limitations in Virginia for a written contract is 5 years, but for an unwritten contract is 3 years. Not mentioned in that post, but also important to note, is that Virginia law has a catch-all, which says the statute of limitations for any common law lawsuit for which a specific statute of limitations is not set out in the Code is 2 years. In recent years, defendants discovered a rather devious loophole that a number of courts upheld - namely a contract that was written, but not actually signed. The fact that the contract was written meant that it could not be an unwritten contract, as specified in statute for the 3 year statute of limitations, but the fact that it was not signed meant it could not qualify for the 5 year statute of limitations for a written contract (as the Code specifically required the writing to be signed by the party being sued for the 5 year statute to apply). As a result, several defendants sued after two years but before three years, successfully convinced courts that the catch-all 2 year statute of limitations applied, and got their cases dismissed. HB 2242 now closes this loophole by making written but unsigned contracts specifically subject to the 3 year statute of limitations.
Conclusion
This year's General Assembly session did not produce as many game changers as last year's, but nonetheless provided some very exciting modifications. I am particularly looking forward to integrating single filing uncontested divorces into my practice.
