North Carolina has long recognized that under the “right for any reason” rule, a trial court’s ruling can be affirmed even on a ground that was rejected or ignored below. Thus, it’s common to remark that appellees can argue any alternative basis for affirmance on appeal. While these rules sound simple, exploring their contours raises
COURT OF APPEAL SUMMARIES (NOVEMBER 2 – NOVEMBER 6)
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Good afternoon.
Following are our summaries of the civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario for the week of November 2, 2026.
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In Phixaykoune v. Ontario, the Court allowed an appeal from an order denying leave to pursue…
Right Result, Wrong Quotations? LPC Commercial Services v. Ar-Razzaaq Properties
By Jay O'Keeffe
The Court of Appeals’ recent decision in LPC Commercial Services, LLC v. Ar-Razzaaq Properties, LLC, 88 Va. App. 655 (2026), has one overriding lesson for practitioners: if you have to be sanctioned for including a couple dozen hallucinated quotations in a brief, pray that Judge Friedman is on your panel.*
(*) I stole this…
COURT OF APPEAL SUMMARIES (OCTOBER 26 – OCTOBER 30)
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Good afternoon.
Following are our summaries of the civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario for the week of October 26, 2026.
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In Massoudi v. Vice Media LLC, the Court allowed the appeal of a libel action that…
Ream v. Egan–SCOVA Oral Argument on Pleading Standards in Gross-Negligence Cases
By Jay O'Keeffe
The Supreme Court of Virginia heard argument yesterday in Ream v. Egan, Record No. 250979. The issue on appeal is whether the Court of Appeals erred by holding that the plaintiffs had adequately alleged gross negligence. This is assignment of error 3, so SCOVA evidently determined that at least two other assignments of error…
COURT OF APPEAL SUMMARIES (OCTOBER 19 – OCTOBER 23)
Jump To: Table of Contents | Civil Decisions | Short Civil Decisions
Good afternoon.Following are our summaries of the civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario for the week of October 19, 2026.
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In Suguitan (Re), the Court set aside a transfer at undervalue order under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency…
Some SCOVA Stats from Judge Ortiz
By Jay O'Keeffe
Earlier this week, I caught a webcast replay of Judge Ortiz’s overview of recent civil decisions from the Supreme Court of Virginia. It was characteristically excellent (except that the most interesting case of the term, Mast v. A.A., reversed Judge Ortiz even though he was probably right. So etiquette and ethics kept us from…
Iowa Supreme Court affirms the admission of video in sexual abuse case over defendant’s claim that it was a “deepfake”
The Court heard oral argument in State v. Amyda on September 9 and issued its opinion on October 9. Justice Mansfield wrote for the Court, which unanimously affirmed Max Amyda’s conviction for third degree sexual abuse.
Questions: Can a video of sexual assault be authenticated by circumstantial evidence where there is no witness to the…
Iowa Supreme Court rules that a one-day release does not require the State to prove a recent overt act before committing a sexually violent predator
The Court heard oral argument in In re Detention of Harlow on September 9 and filed its opinion on October 9. Chief Justice Christensen wrote for the court that unanimously affirmed the district court’s judgment committing Joshua Harlow as a sexually violent predator (SVP).
Question: If a person is reincarcerated for violating a lifetime…
COURT OF APPEAL SUMMARIES (OCTOBER 12 – OCTOBER 16)
Jump To: Table of Contents | Civil Decisions | Short Civil Decisions
Good afternoon.Following are our summaries of the civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario for the week of October 12, 2026.
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In Thiessen v. Thiessen Estate, the Court allowed the estate trustees’ appeal and held that the respondent’s…