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07/23
THE MOTTLEY CREW REVIEW
www.MottleyLawFirm.com | (804) 823-2011
HAVE YOU TRIED THE BEST ICE CREAM IN RICHMOND?
THESE SHOPS ARE MOTTLEY FAMILY FAVORITES
When I was a kid, one of my favorite treats in the world was my dad’s homemade ice cream. He churned it the old-fashioned way with rock salt, heavy cream, sugar, ice, and fresh peaches. It tasted exactly like summer! I’ve never had much luck making ice cream that way myself, but fortunately, I don’t have to. The Richmond area is full of excellent ice cream shops my family can visit year-round. My wife, daughters, and I all believe it’s never too cold for ice cream — although my son, Andrew, is more of a “craft beer for dessert” man. If you’re an ice cream fanatic, too, I highly recommend our family’s top three shops in the area: Gelati Celesti, Ray’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard, and Scoop. 1. GELATI CELESTI: The Gelati Celesti, tucked into the shops at Libbie and Grove, has been my family’s go-to spot for years. It’s only a short bike ride from our house, so the kids started pedaling over for scoops after dinner long before they could drive. We have many fond memories of ordering small-batch, artisanal ice cream from their counter! I prefer their Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor (or their fantastic Pistachio when they have it). Sarah Ann loves their Espresso Chip when it’s available, and Catherine’s favorite is a classic: Birthday Cake. 2. RAY’S ITALIAN ICE & FROZEN CUSTARD: My family’s favorite location of this ice cream spot is out in Short Pump in the West End, but the frozen desserts are worth the drive. Ray’s has custard and Italian ice, of course, but you can also purchase an extra thick shake, float, malt, sundae, or banana split. 3. SCOOP: Sarah Ann’s favorite ice cream shop, the one and only Scoop, is located at 403 Strawberry St. They make their ice creams on-site and rotate their flavors regularly. Sarah Ann’s top picks right now are Lady Grey Tea and Blanchard’s Coffee. If you fall in love with Scoop’s
ice cream, you can join their Pint Club and pick up three pints a month, plus a pint koozie!
BONUS: Sarah Ann goes to college at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, and she asked me to share her favorite shop there as well. It’s a little dairy market called Moo Thru, and she likes to order scoops of either Dark Chocolate or Cinnamon. Next time you’re in the area, stop by and check it out — just look for the red barn. July is the perfect month for ice cream, so what are you waiting for? Grab your friends, family, or coworkers and head to one of these four spots for a scoop. You won’t regret it.
–Kevin Mottley
www.MottleyLawFirm.com | 1
GET THE BENEFITS OF GARDENING WITHOUT THE SWEAT MOVE YOUR VEGGIES INDOORS!
perlite) or purchase plant starts at your local nursery. Within a month, your lettuce leaves will be ready to eat! PLANT PEAS OR CARROTS UNDER GROW LIGHTS. Many people assume fruiting plants like peas and carrots are impossible to grow indoors. But with powerful grow lights, almost any plant can flourish! Try planting seeds or starts in pots and sunning them with fluorescent shop lights. The plants will take longer to mature than outdoors, but you’ll get there in the end. Other fruiting plants, like peppers and tomatoes, require hand pollination to thrive inside. CREATE A MUSHROOM-GROWING COMPOST BIN. You only need six things to grow mushrooms: a wooden tray, compost, mushroom spawn, a heating pad, a thermometer, and a spray bottle. Fill the tray with compost and a pinch of spawn, keep the compost at a toasty 70 degrees F with the heating pad for three weeks, and moisten it with sprays of water regularly until mushrooms appear. Go to Better Homes & Gardens for an online guide, or purchase a mushroom kit or terrarium. The more time, patience, and creativity you put into your indoor garden, the more it will reward you. To dig deeper (pun intended), pick up a copy of “Indoor Kitchen Gardening: Turn Your Home Into a Year-Round Vegetable Garden” by Elizabeth Millard or check out The Provident Prepper’s “Indoor Gardening” playlist on YouTube.
Gardening is incredibly satisfying — but in the summer, you may wonder whether the fresh produce is worth suffering through the heat, the humidity, and a stiff back. If so, try moving your garden indoors! Inside, you can get the same mental and physical benefits without the sweat. Here are three creative ways to grow food indoors. GROW YOUR LETTUCE HYDROPONICALLY. Lettuce is one of the quickest and easiest crops to grow inside because it thrives in relatively low light. You can buy a lettuce-growing kit for less than $100 at Walmart or off Amazon and either start the sprouts from seed in a moist growing medium (environmental journalist Katherine Gallagher recommends rockwool, lightweight clay aggregate, coconut fiber, or
Jury Awards Our Client $3.5 Million KEEPING THE STREAK ALIVE FOR OUR CLIENTS
Virginia Lawyers Weekly (VLW) is a newspaper for lawyers published every week in Virginia. Every spring, VLW publishes its list of the largest verdicts and settlements in Virginia from the previous year. I am happy to report that our firm’s results have been included in the list every year since 2017 except for 2020, a year in which we had zero trials due to the pandemic. That means in 5 of the last 6 years, we’ve made the list. And in three of those years, one of our cases made the top 10. Our chances of making the list again in 2023 got a boost in May when a federal jury in Roanoke, Virginia, awarded our very deserving client $3.5 million. As of May, that verdict was the highest verdict awarded by a jury in Virginia so far this year according to the list of verdicts and settlements published weekly by VLW. For our client, the journey toward that great result started in 2019. That year, she was a passenger in a car driving down Interstate 81 when a truck abruptly changed lanes, clipped the car in which she was riding, and sent it careening off the interstate, flipping multiple times. Our client survived but not without harm. She suffered a life-altering traumatic brain injury. Since then, she has been plagued with chronic headaches, vision problems, and other related challenges. After initially hiring my co-counsel, Jonathan Wren, we were asked to get involved in the case and take it to trial with Jonathan. A lot of hard work and teamwork went into obtaining the result for our client. Jonathan and I spoke daily, worked nights and weekends, traveled for depositions to New York and Charlotte, NC, went through two mediations, and devoted a lot of resources to putting on the best possible case we could at trial. And that’s true in all our cases. Our typical case involves another law firm asking us to team up with them because, let’s face it, these cases are all consuming. Handling
Jonathan Wren and Kevin Mottley on the steps of the federal courthouse in Roanoke, Virginia, after a jury awarded $3.5 million to our client.
one correctly can easily devour an attorney’s entire practice. We’re glad to help out and to lend a hand in whatever way makes the most sense when another firm asks us to help. That usually means we’re being asked to come into a case to build it into a winner. Looking back, I feel blessed to have a team around me who made this victory possible. If you know someone with a brain injury who needs legal help, or if you’re an attorney looking to beef up your trial team on one of these cases, give us a call!
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SUDOKU
CAN A BRAIN INJURY BECOME A SUPERPOWER?
SOLUTION
According to ‘iBoy,’ It Can!
In real life, a traumatic brain injury (TBI) can lead to a lifetime of headaches, memory loss, and other issues. But in the Netflix movie “iBoy,” those real-life negatives go out the window! When the film’s main character, Tom, is injured in a shooting, he wakes up with brain injury- induced superpowers. Yes, we said superpowers — and we’re talking X-Men level. As Netflix’s summary of the film puts it, “When shards of a cellphone get lodged in a teenager’s brain, he discovers he can control electronic devices and uses his newfound power for revenge.” Another summary of the film calls Tom “an actualized app.” He can hack into data streams with his brain, pulling medical records and cellphone call logs with the flick of a thought. If you think that sounds like Hollywood magic, you’re right! But there is the tiniest grain of truth to it. A small number of people with left-hemisphere brain injuries — potentially as few as 50 worldwide — wake up with new abilities. This condition is called acquired savant syndrome. Acquired savant syndrome is the reason Derek Amato became a piano genius after hitting his head on the concrete bottom of a jacuzzi, and it made Jason Padgett a mathematical wizard after someone attacked him on the street. No one is exactly sure why it happens. What’s certain is that in the real world, if you suffer a brain injury, you don’t usually need a film crew — you need a good lawyer to fight for you, like we did when we won $3.5 million for Raquelle (read that story on Page 2). As for the movie “iBoy,” its violent, gritty London storyline isn’t for everyone. But if you’re a Spider-Man fan or a tech aficionado, you might want to give it a try on Netflix. Reviewer David James writes, “By the time the credits rolled, my skepticism had completely washed away. I’d readily settle down to watch the further adventures of iBoy (iMan?), the film’s London setting, its class consciousness, and [its] boldly mature strokes making for a potent and attractive mix.”
SAZON GRILLED CHICKEN THIGHS
INGREDIENTS
• 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs • 2 tbsp olive oil • 1 tsp cumin • 1 tsp ground coriander • 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder • 1/2 tsp oregano • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional) • 1/2 tsp salt • Freshly ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS
1. In a large bowl, add chicken, olive oil, cumin, coriander, turmeric, garlic powder, oregano, cayenne pepper (if desired), salt, and pepper. Toss together to coat chicken; let it marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hour. 2. Preheat grill to 400 F. Grill chicken thighs for 6–8 minutes per side or until fully cooked and an internal thermometer reads 165 F. 3. Transfer cooked chicken to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm, then chop into bite-size pieces to use in salads, tacos, bowls, and more!
Inspired by AmbitiousKitchen.com
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8001 Franklin Farms Drive, Suite 125 Richmond, Virginia 23229
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
www.MottleyLawFirm.com | (804) 823-2011
1
Where to Score the Best Ice Cream in Richmond
2
3 Creative Ways to Grow Food Indoors
Success! Client Awarded $3.5 Million
3
A Brain Injury Becomes a Superpower Sazon Grilled Chicken Thighs
4
The Swine That Dared to Defy
THE STORY OF THE DANISH PROTEST PIG AN UNCONVENTIONAL ‘BACON’ OF HOPE
In the 19th century, Denmark and Prussia couldn’t agree on where to draw their border. Both countries refused to concede or couldn’t reach an agreement on which country would ultimately control Southern Jutland, which today is Germany’s northernmost state called Schleswig-Holstein. This refusal to compromise ultimately led to war, and in 1848, Denmark won control. However, their victory was short-lived, as roughly a decade later, the Second Schleswig War was underway. This time, though, Prussia was victorious. After their victory, the Prussian authorities slowly began to move into the peninsula, implementing new laws over the Danes living there. These new laws prohibited anything Danish, including all uses of the
began to crossbreed their pigs to create a new breed, one that had the same markings as the Danish flag. These pigs were red in color, with one white vertical stripe and one white horizontal stripe. The farmers named their new pigs Protestschwein, or the Danish Protest Pig. This protest pig quickly became the mascot of Danish cultural independence, and their efforts didn’t go unnoticed by Prussian authorities. In 1881, a local Prussian police station sent communications back to the government in Berlin that farmers were breeding strange- looking pigs. However, while they could not prove that farmers were knowingly breeding the pigs to look like the Danish flag, “it was believed
that the farmers were well aware of this and that this pig represented an affront to the Prussians,” according to records from the Red Holstein Breeders Association. Today, the Danish Protest Pig is recognized as its own breed but has a different name: the Husum Red Pied. And, the now-German state of Schleswig-Holstein supports the protection of this pig due to the cultural significance it offered its Danish ancestors so many years ago.
Danish flag. Needless to say, the Danes were not happy — especially the farmers.
These Danish farmers knew they had to protest this oppressive Prussian government, but they couldn’t just publicly wave the Danish flag. So, they got crafty. Danish farmers
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