Virginia Code 8.01-421: Payment may be pleaded; payment into court of part of claim; procedure upon such payment
A. In any action for recovery of a debt the defendant may plead payment of the debt or any part thereof prior to the commencement of the action.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 8.01-421
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
- Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
B. In any personal action, the defendant may pay into court a sum of money on account of what is claimed, or by way of compensation or amends, and plead that he is not indebted to the plaintiff, or that the plaintiff has not sustained damages, to a greater amount than such sum. The plaintiff may accept such sum either in full satisfaction, and then have judgment for his costs, or in part satisfaction, and reply to the allegations of the defendant’s pleadings, and, if issue thereon be found for the defendant, judgment shall be given for the defendant, and he shall recover his costs. The payment of such sum into court shall not be admissible in evidence.
Code 1950, §§ 8-236, 8-237, 8-238; 1954, c. 333; 1977, c. 617; 1978, c. 416.