In-State Tuition Eligibility Denied

Forfeiture Procedure Upheld for Chinese Coins

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 24, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative, Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

The 4th Circuit rejects appellant coin importer’s challenge to the government’s seizure of coins, based on restrictions on Chinese and Cypriot cultural property under the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act, 19 U.S.C. §§ 2601-2613; Congress already has prescribed civil forfeiture as a vehicle through which importers can challenge seizure and detention of potentially protected [...]

Challenge to Firearms Reg Too Late

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 24, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative, Judge Diana Gribbon Motz

Two federally licensed firearms dealers lose their challenge to Revenue Ruling 69-59, which restricts federal firearms licensees’ ability to sell firearms at out-of-state gun shows, because they did not file suit within six years of publication of the regulation, as required by 28 U.S.C. § 2401(a); the 4th Circuit affirms dismissal of the dealers’ suit. [...]

Wage Claim Dismissal Upheld

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 22, 2012
Tags: Administrative, Judge Robert J. Humphreys, Virginia Court of Appeals

The Virginia Administrative Process Act, Article 3, does not apply to appellant’s wage claim against a construction company, and the Court of Appeals affirms a circuit court order dismissing appellant’s petition for appeal from the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry decision closing his wage claim. The Wage Payment Act provides that all employers shall [...]

Tobacco Assessment Calculation Upheld

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 22, 2012
Tags: Administrative, Judge Henry E. Hudson, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Plaintiff tobacco company loses its challenge to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s method for determining assessments against manufacturers and importers of tobacco products under the Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform Act of 2004, in this decision from Richmond U.S. District Court. The controversy centers on whether the USDA should use the current federal excise tax [...]

Beer Rights Fight Remanded to ABC Board

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 4, 2012
Tags: Administrative, Fairfax County Circuit Court, Judge Jonathan C. Thacher, Virginia Circuit Courts

In this dispute between two beer distributors over their respective territories and rights to distribute Dogfish beer, a Fairfax Circuit Court remands the case back to the ABC board because it is not clear from the administrative record that the board applied the proper presumption favoring the wholesaler. Under the Beer Franchise Act, Va. Code [...]

Virginia’s COPN Regulatory Scheme Upheld

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 27, 2012
Tags: Administrative, Judge Claude M. Hilton, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Two health care providers – a colon-cancer screening center and radiology provider – who were denied Certificates of Public Need that would have allowed them to expand their services into Virginia, lose their constitutional challenge in Alexandria U.S. District Court to Virginia’s regulatory scheme under Va. Code §§ 32.1-102.1 – 102.3. Plaintiffs have failed to [...]

Firearms License Denied, Despite Owner Transfer

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 26, 2012
Tags: Administrative, Judge Mark Davis, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Defendant federal agency wins summary judgment in this lawsuit over an application for a federal firearms license, which was denied because a firearms dealer who previously lost his license for violation of the Gun Control Act retained control over the new license applicant; the Norfolk U.S. District Court overrules the applicant’s objections and adopts the [...]

No Fees for Company’s FOIA Suit

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 21, 2012
Tags: Administrative, Judge James C. Cacheris, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In a law firm’s FOIA action to compel production of records from the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command relating to its clients, Unconventional Concepts Inc. and Michael I. Hopmeier, the Alexandria U.S. District Court grants summary judgment to the agency, which has produced over 41,000 documents, and denies the law firm’s motion for attorney’s fees. [...]

Convicted Doctor’s Medicare Ban Upheld

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 19, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative, Per Curiam Opinion

A physician who obtained hydrocodone samples for his personal use by misleading sales representatives into believing the samples were for patients, and who pleaded guilty to knowingly obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, cannot avoid the ban on participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs by arguing that the statutory ban under 42 U.S.C. § [...]