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VA · jury_instructions

Va. Model Jury Instr. Civ. No. 6.055

Contributory Negligence: Availability of Defense (Willful and Wanton)

activein force · 2026-04-01 – presentcompiled-edition

If you find from the greater weight of the evidence that the defendant engaged in willful and

wanton conduct that proximately contributed to the accident, and if you further find from the

greater weight of the evidence that the plaintiff engaged in conduct that proximately contributed

to that same accident, but that such conduct was only [negligent; grossly negligent], then defendant

cannot rely upon contributory negligence as a defense to plaintiff’s claim.

However, if you find from the greater weight of the evidence that the defendant engaged in

willful and wanton conduct that proximately contributed to the accident, and you further find that

the plaintiff engaged in willful and wanton conduct that proximately contributed to that same

accident, then plaintiff’s conduct bars his recovery.

History

Virginia Model Jury Instructions – Civil, Release 26, April 2026. The unannotated set, posted by the Supreme Court of Virginia at vacourts.gov; the book states that it is made available with the permission of the publisher, Matthew Bender & Company, Inc.

Provenance

Source
vacourts.gov
Retrieved
2026-10-11
Edition
civ-2026-04-01
Content hash
66372645dfb3468788d79416797df79ac701e8700e228f046f355cf2eefbda62
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