Intellectual Property – Patent Infringement – Wooden Decking Boards – Estoppel 
By Deborah Elkins
Published: June 9, 2008
A Norfolk carpenter and lumberyard owner cannot pursue this second patent infringement claim against defendant Winchester-based Trex Company of the carpenter’s ‘831 patent covering decking boards that are designed and manufactured with a convex shape, a Norfolk U.S. District Court holds.
Res judicata bars a patentee from relitigating infringement where a second accused device is essentially [...]
Civil Rights – Schools – IDEA – School Suspension – Paintball
By Deborah Elkins
Published: June 9, 2008
Defendant school board wins summary judgment in this suit filed by a high-school student who suffers from Tourette’s Syndrome and ADHD, whose suspension from school for a paintball shooting incident that damaged school property did not violate the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, according to an Alexandria U.S. District Court.
Plaintiff student has been receiving special [...]
Criminal – Indictment – Bribery – ‘Official Act’
By Deborah Elkins
Published: June 9, 2008
A federal indictment charging defendant, a sitting member of the U.S. House of Representatives, with conspiracy, wire fraud, violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, money laundering, obstructing justice, racketeering and soliciting bribes, will not be dismissed by the U.S. District Court in Alexandria based on defendant’s claim the indictment does not identify any “official [...]
Search & Seizure – Traffic Stop – Vehicle Equipment
By Deborah Elkins
Published: June 9, 2008
Police had reasonable suspicion to stop defendant’s vehicle based on their observation of clear rear brake light covers, blue front turn-signal lights and a Massachusetts license plate, all of which prompted suspicion the vehicle equipment did not comply with Virginia law, says a Richmond U.S. District Court in denying defendant’s motion to suppress drugs found [...]
Employment Discrimination – Race & Age – Exhaustion – EEOC Questionnaire
By Deborah Elkins
Published: June 9, 2008
An African-American woman who submitted a questionnaire to the EEOC can use that questionnaire to demonstrate she exhausted her administrative remedies, a Richmond U.S. District Court holds.
The questionnaire plaintiff filed with the EEOC was drafted in accordance with 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5 and 29 U.S.C. § 626, the statutes that govern charges of discrimination under [...]
Negligence – Premises Liability – Store Slip & Fall – Default Judgment
By Deborah Elkins
Published: June 9, 2008
A Richmond U.S. District Court denies a slip-and-fall plaintiff’s motion for default judgment against a Chesterfield County T.J. Maxx store, but orders defendant store to pay the costs plaintiff incurred to seek an entry of default and default judgment.
Because defendant removed this case from state to federal court on Dec. 12, 2007, the deadline to [...]
Employment Discrimination – Sex – Title VII – Retaliation – Exhaustion
By Deborah Elkins
Published: June 9, 2008
A female former area manager for defendant Wal-Mart Stores East LP has her Title VII sex discrimination suit dismissed by the U.S. District Court in Richmond because she failed to administratively exhaust her claim even though she was represented by counsel.
In general, claims of retaliation may be raised for the first time in federal court. [...]
Real Estate – Mortgage Default – RESPA Claim
By Deborah Elkins
Published: June 9, 2008
Plaintiff homeowners who have defaulted on their loan and seek to avoid foreclosure are granted leave by the U.S. District Court in Richmond to amend their complaint to add an additional alleged violation of the Real Estate Settlement Practices Act based on a qualified written request (QWR) letter.
According to plaintiffs, on Dec. 13, 2007, two [...]
Labor – Union Representation – RICO – Extortion
By Deborah Elkins
Published: June 9, 2008
A Richmond U.S. District Court holds that plaintiff Smithfield Foods has stated claims for violation of the federal RICO statute based on defendant union’s alleged acts to coerce Smithfield to recognize the union as the collective bargaining representative for the company’s 4,650 hourly employees at the Smithfield plant in Tar Heel, N.C.
Defendants allegedly engaged in [...]
Civil Procedure – Venue Transfer – ADEA Claim
By Deborah Elkins
Published: June 9, 2008
Although a former regional salesman for defendant Bayer Cropscience was required to live in Chester, Va., during the employment period in question, he has since moved to Massachusetts, and his age discrimination suit is transferred by this Richmond U.S. District Court to North Carolina, where a number of decision makers in the case are located.
The [...]
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