State's high court will hear wrongful death suit against Virginia Tech

Next month the Virginia Supreme Court will hear arguments in the wrongful death suit brought against the state by the parents of two women slain at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007.

The full court is scheduled to hear arguments from attorneys for the state and the parents of the late Julia Pryde and Erin Peterson on Sept. 12, according to a docket posted Tuesday on the court’s website.

Both sides have filed appeals. The state claims presiding Judge William Alexander made several incorrect rulings during the 2011 trial in Montgomery County Circuit Court and therefore the $4 million in damages the jury awarded each family should be set aside.

At the very least, attorneys for the state have argued in briefs on the matter, the case should be retried.

The jury awards were eventually reduced to $100,000 for each plaintiff under the Virginia Tort Claims Act, which caps civil damages against the commonwealth.

Attorneys for the Pryde and Peterson parents are asking the court to reinstate outgoing Virginia Tech President Charles Steger as a defendant. Alexander dismissed Steger on a technicality before the eight-day trial began in March 2011.

A ruling reinstating Steger as an individual defendant could also result in a retrial.

Two justices, William Mims and Elizabeth McClanahan, have recused themselves from the case. No reasons for the recusals have been given.

Mims was chief deputy attorney general for Virginia when the shootings occurred. McClanahan served as chairwoman of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia in the 1990s, and also served on the board of visitors of the College of William and Mary.

Retired justices are expected to fill in for Mims and McClanahan.

Pryde and Peterson were two of 30 people killed in Norris Hall on April 16, 2007, just over two hours after the same gunman fatally shot two students in the West Ambler Johnston dormitory.

An email alert to the campus about the dormitory shooting was delayed for revision by a university executive committee until moments before the gunman opened fire in Norris Hall classrooms.

The Pryde and Peterson families declined to join a multimillion-dollar legal settlement with the state and filed suit on the second anniversary of the killings.

Weather Journal

4 hours ago

1. Defense heeds the call as Virginia Tech squeaks out win over ECU 

2. One person injured in Friday night shooting in Roanoke

3. William Byrd stuns Salem in football win

4. Lowe's tapes may hold clues to Roanoke woman's death

5. Britney Spears spotted at Lynchburg restaurant

6. Concert review: Timeless Willie Nelson plays to appreciative crowd

7. East Carolina poses new challenge for Virginia Tech football 

8. Blacksburg lawyer Painter’s bond revoked

9. History says this one will matter for Virginia Tech

10. Principal who guided Patrick Henry through integration dies