Lily Smith, an associate in the firm’s Fairfax, VA office, recently published an article entitled: “Understanding Multi-Plaintiff Litigation Within Virginia’s Class-Action-Free Framework and Joinder Rules.”  The article was published in the Fall 2025 edition of The Journal of Civil Litigation, Volume 37, Number 3.

Lily’s article covers the landscape of Virginia’s multi-plaintiff litigation framework.  Virginia is unique in that it generally limits the number of plaintiffs in civil litigation to only one and prohibits the traditional class action that is permitted in almost every other state around the county and in federal court.  Recently, the Virginia state legislature passed a bill that would permit class actions in Virginia; however, Governor Youngkin vetoed it.  Governor Youngkin is ineligible to run for re-election, so there is a good chance that this issue will come up before the newly elected governor.  That said, depending on the outcome of the next election, it seems possible that class actions may yet be introduced to Virginia civil litigation.

The Journal of Civil Litigation is the principal publication of the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys (“VADA”).  The VADA is a professional organization whose mission is to develop and support Virginia attorneys engaged in civil defense practice in the professional and ethical representation of their clients through education, communication, and fellowship.  The Journal is published four times per year and contains in-depth articles on legal issues affecting civil defense practice, as well as summaries of trial court decisions not readily available from other sources.

TTH is a civil defense firm that was founded in 1977 and has over 100 lawyers in 13 offices throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.  Lily Smith can be contacted at (571) 470-1906 or lsmith@tthlaw.com.