Agency’s Document Hunt Took Too Long 
By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 27, 2013
Tags: Administrative, Judge Liam O'Grady, U.S. District Court - Eastern District
The Federal Trade Commission has not demonstrated the reasonableness of its response in this FOIA suit filed by a law firm seeking information about the FTC’s interactions with representatives of the alcoholic beverage industry, on behalf of a firm client that oversees the agency’s regulation of alcohol; the Alexandria U.S. District Court denies summary judgment [...]
No FOIA Docs for Contractor Being Sued
By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 17, 2013
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative, Judge William B. Traxler Jr.
Documents provided to the federal government by a military housing contractor to obtain approval to terminate the contractor’s partnership with another company and sue it for alleged fraud are not discoverable by the defendant company through a FOIA request, and the 4th Circuit upholds the district court decision allowing the government to withhold the confidential [...]
Agency Could Not Order Platform Removal
By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 11, 2013
Tags: Administrative, Judge Glen A. Huff, Virginia Court of Appeals
On rehearing en banc, the Court of Appeals affirms a circuit court decision holding that appellant Virginia Marine Resources Commission lacked jurisdiction to order Chincoteague Inn to remove a floating platform from over state-owned bottomland. VMRC argues the circuit court erred in holding that the agency had no jurisdiction to order removal of the platform. [...]
Challenge Must Come When Reg is Final
By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 11, 2013
Tags: Administrative, Judge Liam O'Grady, U.S. District Court - Eastern District
An Alexandria U.S. District Court reconsiders its earlier decision denying dismissal of this suit against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, in light of the 4th Circuit’s Oct. 18, 2012, decision in Hire Order Ltd. v. Marianos [VLW 012-2-185], and grants the motion to dismiss plaintiff pharmaceutical company’s action. Plaintiffs challenge the PTO’s decision to [...]
Agency Subpoena Not ‘Final Order’
By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 11, 2013
Tags: Administrative, Judge James C. Cacheris, U.S. District Court - Eastern District
A drugstore company cannot compel return of privileged material obtained through a subpoena for documents issued by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency targeting the company’s distribution center in Jupiter, Florida, in an Alexandria U.S. District Court decision accepting the recommendation of the magistrate judge. The DEA states that because Walgreens did not claim privilege during [...]
Move Changed Student’s Domicile
By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 7, 2013
Tags: Administrative, Judge Melvin R. Hughes Jr., Richmond Circuit Court, Virginia Circuit Courts
A Richmond Circuit Court rejects an appeal by a student who challenges Virginia Commonwealth University’s ruling denying in-state domiciliary tuition status, who says she should receive in-state status because she was born and lived here until a young age, prior to moving to Maryland with her mother. The student asserts she re-established domicile in Virginia [...]
Farm Worker Rules Invalidated
By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 7, 2013
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative, Judge Barbara Milano Keenan
Federal labor regulations governing farm workers, including workers on Christmas tree farms, could not be reinstated by the Department of Labor without the notice and comment period mandated by the Administrative Procedure Act, and the 4th Circuit upholds a district court decision invalidating DOL’s reinstatement of its prior regulations. This appeal involves a regulatory action [...]
Contractor Board Erred on Homeowner Claim
By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 19, 2012
Tags: Administrative, Judge Everett A. Martin Jr., Norfolk Circuit Court, Virginia Circuit Courts
A homeowner who won a default judgment against a contractor who accepted $35,000 to build an addition to her house only to have him dig a trench, pour footings and then abandon the job, wins reconsideration of her claim by the Board for Contractors; the Norfolk Circuit Court says the board erred by not considering [...]
Owner Has Claim for Tainted Water Supply
By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 5, 2012
Tags: Administrative, Judge James P. Jones, U.S. District Court - Western District
An Abingdon U.S. District Court will not dismiss this “citizens suit” under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 alleging defendant coal mining company has diminished and contaminated plaintiffs’ water supplies and failed to provide them with an adequate and permanent replacement, in violation of the SMCRA and state law. Plaintiffs seek a [...]
Administrative denial of adoption subsidy overturned – Verdict for Plaintiffs
By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: December 3, 2012
Tags: Administrative, Augusta County Circuit Court, Judge Victor V. Ludwig
Plaintiffs were the foster parents/ prospective adoptive parents of an infant child that had been placed in their home by local DSS days after the child’s birth in April 2009. The birth parents’ parental rights were terminated in March 2010, nearly a year after placement of the child in plaintiff’s home. In July 2010, plaintiffs [...]
VLW Verdicts & Settlements
Refine your search for VLW Verdict & Settlement Reports or send us your case results for publication. Database search feature available to VLW subscribers only - login required.
Log in to search the V & S Database
Submit a Verdict & Settlement Report
GET THE VLW DAILY ALERT
The Daily Alert from Virginia Lawyers Weekly brings you the latest legal news every morning in your e-mail. You’ll get headline news, a link to the day’s Top Opinion and more!
Click here to sign up for the Alert
STAY CONNECTED WITH VLW
Stay up-to-date with the latest news and information from Virginia Lawyers Weekly by subscribing to our RSS feeds and visiting our social media pages.
