Virginia Family Law Appeals

Litigant must have lawyer representing her directly, not just representing her “authorized representative.”

Virginia’s Court of Appeals dismissed an appeal filed in the name of a party to the trial court case, but filed and signed by a lawyer who said he represented not the party, but a rehab facility that was not named as a party in the case. Lynch v. Bedford Co. DSS (6/11/19, unpublished). Rule 1:4(c) and Virginia Code §8.01-271.13 require all pleadings to be signed by the litigant’s lawyer, or the litigant herself if she does not have a lawyer. The party had named the facility as her “authorized representative” in contesting a denial of Medicaid coverage. Although federal regulations allow that, this “does not supplant or erode the requirement that there must be an attorney-client relationship between the litigant … and counsel appearing and signing pleadings on her behalf,” who must have an ethical duty to the litigant.

Local welfare department adult protection decisions can't be appealed to courts

The Administrative Process Act does not apply to a county Department of Social Services, and so does not provide for judicial review of the Department's decisions, the Virginia Court of Appeals says in Pittsylvania County Department of Social Services v. Gosney (unpublished, 5/2/17). The county DSS is a county agency, "not a state agency nor capable of agency action or case decisions subject to judicial review", at least regarding adult protective services.

Yes, there is a state Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, "responsible for overseeing the planning, administration and implementation of adult protective services," but the local departments, part of municipal governments, are wholly responsible for providing the services, including investigating and making findings. Counties and cities are expressly exempted from the Administrative Process Act.