Burroughs v. Board of Visitors of Norfolk State University

By Judge Joseph A. Leafe

The parties came before the court on September 21, 2004, to argue the merits of defendant’s plea in bar. The Court has heard oral arguments, and the parties have submitted supplemental briefs.

“A Plea in Bar is a defensive pleading that reduces the litigation to a single issue,” Cooper Indus., Inc. v. Melendez, 260 Va. 578, 594, 537 S.E.2d 580, 590 (2000) (quoting Kroger Co. v. Appalachian Power Co., 244 Va. 560, 562, 422 S.E.2d 757, 758 (1992)), “which, ifproven, creates a bar to the plaintiff’s right of recovery.” Id. (quoting Tomlin v. McKenzie, 251 Va. 478, 480, 468…