Independent Action Elements In Virginia

In Charles v. Precision Tune, Inc., 243 Va. 313, 414 S.E.2d 831 (1992), the Supreme Court of Virginia listed the elements of the independent action: "(1) a judgment which ought not, in equity and good conscience, to be enforced; (2) a good defense to the alleged cause of action on which the judgment is founded; (3) fraud, accident, or mistake which prevented the defendant in the judgment from obtaining the benefit of his defense; (4) the absence of fault or negligence on the part of the defendant; (5) the absence of any adequate remedy at law."Id. at 317-18, 414 S.E.2d at 833.