[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.marksandharrison.com\/points-of-law\/misuse-of-the-plea-in-bar\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.marksandharrison.com\/points-of-law\/misuse-of-the-plea-in-bar\/","headline":"Misuse of the Plea in Bar","name":"Misuse of the Plea in Bar","description":"By Michael J. Braggs Under Virginia law, a \u201cplea in bar\u201d or \u201cspecial plea\u201d is \u201ca pleading which alleges a single state of facts or circumstances . . . which, if proven, constitutes an absolute defense to the claim.\u201d Nelms v. Nelms, 236 Va. 281, 289, 374 S.E.2d 4, 9 (1988). This statement can easily […]","datePublished":"2025-06-26","dateModified":"2026-04-21","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.marksandharrison.com\/blog\/author\/marksandharrison\/#Person","name":"Marks & Harrison","url":"https:\/\/www.marksandharrison.com\/blog\/author\/marksandharrison\/","identifier":7,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5f19b40a73ab49e8af765493aafa8c5651a274c64ede1000eb57bb6a971fb6c8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5f19b40a73ab49e8af765493aafa8c5651a274c64ede1000eb57bb6a971fb6c8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Marks & Harrison","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.marksandharrison.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/logo.png","url":"https:\/\/www.marksandharrison.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/logo.png","width":235,"height":87}},"url":"https:\/\/www.marksandharrison.com\/points-of-law\/misuse-of-the-plea-in-bar\/"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.marksandharrison.com\/points-of-law\/misuse-of-the-plea-in-bar\/#BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Points of Law","item":"https:\/\/www.marksandharrison.com\/points-of-law\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Misuse of the Plea in Bar","item":"https:\/\/www.marksandharrison.com\/points-of-law\/misuse-of-the-plea-in-bar\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]