New Virginia Laws 2023: Switchblades and Stilettos

Carrying certain types of weapons; concealed or otherwise, can be a crime in Virginia under certain situations. Knives, for example, are one of the types of weapons that Virginia closely monitors.

Whether for protection or collection, if you are a knife enthusiast you have to be careful when you are out in public. Different places have different restrictions for when you can carry a knife. If you are not careful, you could get in trouble for bringing a knife somewhere you aren’t supposed to. Even if it was an innocent mistake and you forgot you had the knife with you.

Overtime, knife restrictions became a big problem in Virginia. New laws were suggested by the General Assembly to relax restrictions on carrying knives in 2023. One of those proposals was House Bill 2298. That law made changes to what kind of knives were restricted for concealed carry purposes.

Governor Youngkin signed House Bill 2298 in March of 2023. The new law reduces restrictions on concealed carry of switchblades. The new law removed the blanket restriction on carrying switchblades. The law now prevents carrying “stilettos” instead of “switchblades.” As many knife enthusiasts might tell you, that is a big difference. Some stilettos are switchblades, but not all stilettos are switchblades.

It is still a very bad idea to try to take your knives into government buildings, but the law is a lot less strict on other types of switchblades after the new rules were put in place this year. The law also still restricts the carrying of dirks and daggers.

If you are a collector or someone looking for personal protection, it is important to make sure you consult with a lawyer to make sure you aren’t carrying the wrong kind of knife and you are properly transporting it to avoid getting in trouble and risking jail time.

Virginia Business Law: Contracts and COVID

I have been getting a lot of calls from both small business owners and consumers over the last few weeks about how to handle existing contracts and special events that have been planned for months. Event venues have been particularly hard hit from the coronavirus. As a result of Governor Northram’s executive orders, these event venues have been unable to honor their contracts.Refunds and rescheduling are the two biggest issues right now.

So what do you need to know about how the state of emergency has impacted contracts and event venues?

Virginia’s Executive Orders:

Executive Order 53 and Executive Order 55

There have been several executive orders over the last few weeks, but the most important orders are Executive Order 53 and Executive Order 55. Executive Order 53 was passed on March 23, 2020. This order forced non-essential businesses to disallow gatherings of more than ten (10) individuals and to cease recreational operations. Executive Order 55 was passed on March 30, 2020. This order forced all Virginia residents to stay at home unless they were allowed to leave for certain exceptions.

How Do the Virginia Executive Orders Impact Event Venues?

They close. The effect of these orders is that the vast majority of event venues such as wedding venues and theatres are not currently allowed to provide services as of the date of writing this article. As a result, many of these event venues have begun to offer online services. Some theatres are hosting online movie viewings to bring in revenue. 

This has created problems for event venues with events planned from March 23, 2020 until Executive Order 55 is lifted. There is no current deadline for the order being lifted. Unfortunately, we have no guidance on how long this will remain in place.

As a result, people are calling event venues demanding to cancel these events because they can no longer use the event space.

What Can Small Ev ent Venues and Consumers Do About The Closures?

For the most part, your rights as either a business or a consumer are going to be completed listed in your event contract. There is a clause known as a “force majeure” clause that essentially says what should happen if events spiral out of control. Rights are going to largely be on a case by case basis, so you should consult with a lawyer if you wish to cancel your event or reschedule your event. 

Many businesses opted for an online contract or opted to draft their own contract. As a result, they have weak force majeure clauses. This can create a lot of issues for both consumers and businesses. Another reason for a business to consult a lawyer is to have a new contract drafted to protect from future events such as this.

Either way, it is important for event venues and consumers work together to come up with creative solutions to the problem.

Virginia Personal Injury Law: What To Do When Injured

If you are injured in a car accident, at work or in public there are certain steps you need to immediately take in order to protect yourself. Failure to follow these basic steps may result in an otherwise strong personal injury case being denied or dismissed.

So what are these basic steps, and what should you know if you get injured?

Make a List of Witnesses to the Accident

The very first thing you need to do if you are injured is to identify individuals that may have witnessed your injury. Witnesses are important, as you need other people to support your side of events. Failure to have witnesses on your side may result in a “he said, she said” scenario.

These are scenarios in which it is solely your word versus the person who may have injured you. There are several ways of securing witnesses to an event. One is to immediately call the police in the event that you are injured. Police will often show up to a scene and take down names and contact information.

If you are unable to contact the police, consider having yourself or someone who is with you talk to those nearby. The information you need to gather includes, but is not necessarily limited to, full name, age, address of where they reside, and a phone number. This information will help your lawyer locate the witnesses and request that they be at trial or submit statements to insurance.

Go to the Hospital

The second thing you need to do is to make sure there is a record of your injuries. The most common way of doing that is to go to the hospital immediately after being injured. Many people forget this step, and feel that, in the heat of the moment, the injury is not that bad.

However, adrenaline could be going through your system immediately after being injured. You may not feel the injury until several days later. Additionally, there are some injuries which will not manifest themselves immediately. For example, it may take several days for soft tissue damage to become apparent.

If you fail to go to the hospital immediately, you may have problems down the road proving that your injuries are a result of the accident that occurred. One of the most common tactics of insurance providers and businesses is to claim that something else may have aggravated the injury. This is a common tactic to deny your claim.

Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer

The third step is to contact a personal injury lawyer. Many people may think to contact insurance first, but you may accidentally say something to the insurance adjuster would could hurt your case. Insurance adjusters are specially trained in trying to get you to answer questions that may harm your claim. Their job is to try and prevent payouts.

Therefore, contact a lawyer as soon as possible to protect yourself and your claim. Most personal injury lawyers offer free consultations.

Virginia Landlord Disputes: Three Big Legal Changes

Are you interested in becoming a landlord or are you a landlord trying to stay updated on all the new laws in Virginia? There are several new laws that have been adopted by Virginia recently that you need to be aware of. These new laws may impact the terms of any leases you are currently using. As such, you may want to consider contacting a lawyer to help update your leases.

So what are these new laws, and what dangers to they represent?

Virginia Residential Landlord Tenant Act

Opt Out

Landlords that own less than five (5) investment properties used to be covered by a less strict version of the Virginia Residential Landlord Tenant Act. However, new law in Virginia requires that these landlords specifically opt-out of the provisions of the Virginia Residential Landlord Tenant Act. Failure to include specific opt-out language may result in your property being covered by the stricter rules that govern larger landlords.

This could result in significantly more overhead when it comes to maintaining your properties. Landlords that are covered by the Virginia Residential Landlord Tenant Act have more duties to their tenants. Some of those duties include, but are not limited to, maintaining the property in better working order.

Eviction Waiting Requirements

Virginia has also modified the length of time it takes to get possession of your rental property from a non-paying tenant. Landlords used to be able to request “immediate possession.” By doing so, the court could allow a landlord to immediately take possession of the property for repairs.

The new law limits a landlord’s ability to take immediate possession. The new law requires an automatic ten (10) day waiting period before you can perform a lock-out. It is important to know about this change as it may impact your timeline for re-letting the property. This language may also impact any agreements you have with your prospective tenants.

Foreclosure Dangers

Another recent change to Virginia Landlord/Tenant law is that leases now automatically terminate upon a foreclosure. Therefore, if you own a rental property and are foreclosed upon, your tenant may be subject to a quick eviction within a short period of time. This can have serious economic hardships for the tenant. Therefore, it may be a good idea to seek legal advice on how to put language in your lease to protect yourself from economic harm resulting from a foreclosure.

Why you need a lawyer

If you invest in real estate it is a good idea to have a lawyer review your contracts on an annual basis. Laws are constantly changing, and a seemingly mundane change in the law can have serious impacts on your ability to make a living. Make sure you regularly consult your lawyer on issues related to your properties.

Virginia Real Estate: Types of Mortgages

Have you decided to buy your first home? Are you an investor looking to flip a property? Either way, mortgages are an important aspect of any house purchase. Mortgages come in all shapes and sizes. Mortgages can have different terms, rates, and obligations based upon the type of mortgage you qualify for. Below are some basic types of mortgages. Each of the types of mortgages listed below have several different subtypes of mortgages that are best discussed with your lender.

Conventional Mortgage

This is one of the most common types of mortgages. This mortgage is a private transaction between yourself and a lending institution. There are several different types of lending institutions. One common example of a conventional mortgage is a loan from your local bank.

These types of mortgages can come with a variety of benefits. Because these loans are with private institutions, your lender has a lot more freedom to offer incentives or other benefits. These mortgages are typically accessible for individuals with a good job and good credit.

FHA Loan

These types of loans are backed by the federal government. FHA stands for Federal Housing Administration. This is the governmental body responsible for supporting these types of loans.

The benefit of a FHA loan is that you may qualify for these loans even if your finances or credit are not that good. The downside of an FHA loan is that you are limited in the number of times you can qualify for this type of loan and the rates are highly regulated. The federal government sets strict standards for the amount of downpayment that has to be made and the rates associated with the mortgage.

VA Loan

These loans are only available for certain qualifying individuals. VA stands for Veterans Affairs. These are excellent loans for service members. More highly regulated than FHA loans, these loans are even more accessible than FHA loans and conventional loans.

How to Choose a Mortgage

There are a lot of considerations in deciding which types of mortgage or lending institution is right for you. Some of those considerations are legal in nature. Mortgages can have provisions related to when the lending institution can foreclose, potential increases in payments during the lifespan of the loan, and several other terms that are important to know. If you are considering buying your first home or investing in real estate, consider working with a team to determine what financial arrangements are best for you. Consider a team of a real estate agent, a CPA, and an attorney to maximize your understanding of your potential purchase.