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Dooley Law

The Year the COVID Broke

In The Day the Dam Broke, James Thurber recalls the panic of 1913 when the populace of Columbus Ohio became unaccountably and mistakenly persuaded that the dam had collapsed. His description of the disordered flight from town is perfect: although they were “as safe as kittens under a cookstove…some of the most dignified, staid, cynical, and clear-thinking men in town abandoned their wives, stenographers, homes, and offices and ran east” when “a loud mumble gradually crystallized into the dread word ‘dam.’” As is so often the case with stories of… Read more The Year the COVID Broke

Prepaying your ticket for an auto accident = admitting fault

Did you know that prepaying your ticket for an auto accident amounts to an admission that the accident was your fault? If you prepay, and if the other driver decides to sue, you can bet that your prepayment of the ticket will be used against you. This is because Virginia Code § 8.01-418 provides that if a defendant “pled guilty or nolo contendere or suffered a forfeiture in a prosecution for a criminal offense or traffic infraction,” then evidence of that “plea or forfeiture as shown by the records of… Read more Prepaying your ticket for an auto accident = admitting fault