McBride v. Bennett

By Judge Jerrauld C. Jones

I write in order to communicate my ruling upon Defendants’ Special Pleas in Bar or Sovereign Immunity. The Court heard evidence and legal argument upon the pleadings at a hearing held on April 2, 2013. The essential question presented is whether Defendants are entitled to sovereign immunity, thereby immunizing them from suit for acts of simple negligence. After thorough and mature consideration of the evidence and the law, this Court finds that Defendants are entitled to sovereign immunity.

Virginia applies the test enunciated in James v. Jane, 221 Va. 43, 53 (1980),…