Place of the Wrong Definition:

In Cars Unlimited v National Motors, Justice Jerome Friedman wrote:

"[U]nder Virginia law the place of the wrong is defined as the place where the last event necessary to make an actor liable for an alleged tort takes place, even if the actor has no control over the location of that last event. The last event necessary in a conspiracy to defraud is the reasonable reliance on the false representation that causes the injury.... [W]hen fraud is alleged the place of the wrong is where the loss is sustained, not where the fraudulent representations are made."

In Kraft Foods v Banner Engineering, Justice Robert Payne:

"With respect to Kraft's negligence claim, the Court should adhere to the lex loci delicti, or place of the wrong, standard that is the settled rule in Virginia. The place of the wrong for purposes of the lex loci delicti rule is defined as the place where the last event necessary to make an act liable for an alleged tort takes place.

"The word tort has a settled meaning in Virginia. A tort is any civil wrong or injury; a wrongful act. Thus Virginia's choice of law rule selects the law of the state in which the wrongful act took place, wherever the effects of that act are felt."

REFERENCES:

• Cars Unlimited II, Inc. v. National Motors Co., 472 F. Supp. 2d 740 (United States District Court, E.D. Virginia, Norfolk Division, 2007)
• Kraft Foods North America, Inc. v. Banner Engineering & Sales, Inc., 446 F. Supp. 2d 551 (2006; United States District Court, E.D. Virginia, Richmond Division)