Daniel F. Basnight
Biography
Dan is of counsel in the firm’s Newport News office. Dan’s practice includes litigation and counseling in a wide variety of employment issues including wage and hour claims, sexual discrimination, racial discrimination, age discrimination, workplace harassment, employee handbooks, social media and drug testing. Dan also litigates cases involving covenants not to compete, breach of franchise agreements and trust and estates. He has defended clients from claims for defamation and malicious prosecution.
Dan is also a member of the Real Estate Claims & Title Insurance Solutions Group. He has extensive experience representing banks, credit unions, private lenders, loan servicers, and property owners in residential title and other real estate matters, including quiet title, easements, boundary lines, breach of contract, missing interests, partition, legal description errors, unreleased liens and judgments, adverse possession, bona fide purchaser status, and lien priority disputes.
Representative Matters
- Defended employers against EEOC charges
- Represented employers in litigation involving social media
- Developed employee handbooks and other materials for employers
- Represented clients in malicious prosecution litigation
- Defended clients from defamation claims
- Represented title insurance companies in a wide variety of claims
- Represented a franchisor in a dispute with a franchisee involving claims of fraud, unfair trade practices, and breach of contract
- Represented a county government in a lawsuit with a school board over funding
- Represented a financing company in a collections matter with developer of a large subdivision
- Represented a nursing home in an unlawful termination dispute with a nurse
- Represented a bank in a large collection matter regarding financing of airplanes
- Represented a global manufacturer in a products liability dispute
- Represented a manufacturer in a products liability dispute involving a plant explosion
- Represented numerous clients in employment disputes involving sexual harassment, racial discrimination, age discrimination, gender discrimination, and drug testing
- Represented real estate developers in negotiations with creditors
- Represented a bank against claims of unfair and deceptive trade practices
- Represented a locality in a tax dispute with its cable television franchisee
- Represented the administrator of an estate in litigation involving allegations of fraud and fiduciary duty
- Represented trust beneficiaries in litigation against the trust
- Represented employers in litigation involving the Fair Labor Standards Act
Recognition & Honors
- Order of the Coif, Dillard Fellow; University of Virginia School of Law
- Phi Kappa Phi Award – First in Class; Old Dominion University M.A. Program
- Author, Amicus Curiae Brief in Support of local Government Attorneys of Virginia, Inc. The City of Hampton
- Commissioners of the Revenue Association of Virginia in Support of Appellee Board of Supervisors of Chesterfield County, Supreme Court of Virginia Record No. 80946
Associations
- Virginia Bar Association
- North Carolina Bar Association
- District of Columbia Bar Association
- Versability Resources, Inc; Board of Directors
- The Salvation Army, Virginia Peninsula; Board of Directors
- Legal Services for the Elderly
- Elementary Schools Readers Program
- Hurricane Katrina Pro Bono Relief
Admissions
- Virginia, 1998
- North Carolina, 1999
- District of Columbia, 2010
Education
- University of Virginia; B.A., with honors, 1975
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; M.B.A., 1979
- Old Dominion University; M.A., 1992
- University of Virginia School of Law; J.D., 1998
Press & Publications
- Title Insurance Client Alert – Recent Opinion by the Supreme Court of Virginia Affirming Circuit Court Decision on Subordination Agreements, Rule of Partial Subordination, and Related Issues of Lien Priority
- Title Insurance Client Alert – Recent Opinion by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia Relating to Lien Stripping Where Real Property is Held as Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship
- Title Insurance Client Alert – Recent Fairfax Circuit Court Letter Opinion Relating to Motions Craving Oyer
- Title Insurance Client Alert – New Favorable Virginia Equitable Subrogation Decision
- Basnight Named to The Salvation Army Board of Directors