Darlene P. Bradberry

Darlene P. Bradberry has a diverse practice in civil litigation before federal and state courts.  Ms. Bradberry has considerable experience representing insurance companies, self-insureds and municipalities.  Her municipal experience includes the defense of claims involving constitutional and civil rights, employment, personal injury, toxic tort, zoning, Title VII, and USERRA.  Her practice includes workers compensation litigation and appellate advocacy. 

Education:

College of William & Mary School of Law (J.D.)

            Executive Editor, Symposia, William & Mary Law Review

University of Virginia (B.A. with distinction)

            Echols Scholar 

Reported Cases:

            City of Chesapeake v. Cunningham, 268 Va. 624, 604 S.E.2d 420 (2004).  In this toxic tort action under the Virginia Multiple Claimants Litigation Act, 214 Plaintiffs brought claims for injuries allegedly caused by the consumption of municipal drinking water.  The trial court denied the municipality’s plea of sovereign immunity.  On an interlocutory appeal before the Virginia Supreme Court, Ms. Bradberry argued that the doctrine of sovereign immunity protected the City in its design of its water treatment system and barred the claims of the lead plaintiff, who had alleged that her miscarriage was caused by toxic water supplied by the City.  The Court agreed and dismissed the plaintiff’s claims, leading to the dismissal of a total of $1.7 billion dollars in claims against the municipality.  These cases were defended in a joint effort with Williams Mullen Hofheimer Nusbaum; T. Jeffrey Salb, Esq. of Breeden, Salb, Beasley & DuVall, PLC et al on briefs.

            Perry v. Delisle, 46 Va. App. 57, 615 S.E.2d 492 (2005).  This was a workers compensation claim made by an employee who was injured in the course of his employment.  Ms. Bradberry argued for the employer that the business had less than three employees regularly in service and was therefore not subject to the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act.  The claimant alleged that the employer had employed three employees in the past, and later employed three employees, such that the use of only two employees at the time of the accident was a temporary, transient circumstance. The employer prevailed before the deputy commissioner and the full commission, but on appeal to a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals, the claimant prevailed.  Ms. Bradberry successfully argued that the Commission’s finding was supported by credible evidence, causing the Court of Appeals to reverse the panel decision and affirm the Commission’s decision for the employer.        

Professional Affiliations:

            Local Government Attorneys of Virginia

            Norfolk & Portsmouth Bar Association

            Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys

            Virginia Women Attorneys Association

            William and Mary School of Law

                        Former adjunct faculty, Law Firm Management

Court Admissions:

            Virginia State Bar

            U.S. Supreme Court

            U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

            U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia.

Publication:

Rodney A. Smolla & Darlene P. Bradberry, Winds of Change:  Perspectives on the World’s Search for Stable Democracy, 2 William and Mary Bill of Rights Journal (1993)

Community Involvement (current and former):

            Carrollton Elementary School PTA board

            Christian Education, St. Andrews Episcopal Church

            Girl Scout Council of the Colonial Coast, Troop #622

            Isle of Wight County Gifted Instruction advisory board

            PORT Emergency Winter Shelter Program

            Tidewater Legal Aid Society Pro Bono Program

            Trinity Lutheran School PTO

Click here for Darlene Bradberry's recent reported cases.

E-mail: dbradberry@breedenlaw.net

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