Judge Allyson K. Duncan « Virginia Lawyers Weekly

Tort Claim for Medication Pump Preempted

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 1, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Allyson K. Duncan, Products Liability

The 4th Circuit upholds the district court decision that plaintiff has no common law tort claim against defendant Medtronic, maker of the allegedly defective SynchroMed pump for delivery of medication through a catheter, as her claim is preempted by the Medical Device Amendments of 1976 and regulations which provided for premarket approval by the federal [...]

Intracompany Complaints Are ‘Protected Activity’

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 31, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Allyson K. Duncan, Labor

A medical technologist’s complaints within her company about time-sheet alterations that allegedly violated the Fair Labor Standards Act are protected activity and she may sue under the FLSA’s antiretaliation provision, 29 U.S.C. § 215(a)(3), on a complaint that she was terminated for her intracompany complaints.
Plaintiff was a medical technologist at defendant laboratory. She met with [...]

‘Anonymous’ Witness OK for Gang Trial

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 25, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Allyson K. Duncan

The 4th Circuit says a defendant convicted of racketeering and various gang-related crimes cannot overturn his convictions with a claim that his Confrontation Clause rights were violated because the government allowed two El Salvadorian police officers to testify without revealing their identities to the defense.
Defendant Israel Ramos-Cruz is a citizen of El Salvador who entered [...]

‘Project Exile’ Case Not Selective Prosecution

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 25, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Allyson K. Duncan

An African-American defendant prosecuted in Richmond federal court for firearms possession under Project Exile cannot show racially discriminatory “selective prosecution” because two white defendants who stole the firearms in Campbell County and sold them to defendant were prosecuted in state court; the 4th Circuit says factors such as prosecution by different sovereigns in different jurisdictions [...]

Contractor Can Sue Iraq in U.S. Court

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 10, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Contract, Judge Allyson K. Duncan

In this dispute over a company’s contract with the Iraqi Ministry of Defense to refurbish and dispose of Iraqi military equipment, the district court did not err in denying Iraq’s motion to dismiss on the basis of foreign sovereign immunity, the 4th Circuit says.
Under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 1602-11, a federal [...]

Damage Award for Yacht Owner Upheld

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 27, 2011
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Admiralty, Judge Allyson K. Duncan

When the captain of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers vessel fell asleep at the wheel and struck plaintiff’s 70-foot yacht, the Marquessa, docked at the pier at Ocean Marine marina in Portsmouth, the yacht was a constructive total loss based on two of three opinions in this battle of the experts, and the 4th [...]

4th Circuit hears former congressman’s appeal

By The Associated Press
Published: December 19, 2011
Tags: Criminal, Federal Courts, Judge Allyson K. Duncan, Judge Paul V. Niemeyer, Judge T.S. Ellis III

(AP) The business dealings that resulted in a former Louisiana congressman’s corruption convictions were not “official acts” under federal bribery law because they had nothing to do with the legislative process, his attorney told a federal appeals panel Dec. 9.
Lawrence Robbins, an attorney for former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson of New Orleans, told a three-judge [...]

Bottom Limit Set for Conspiracy Charge

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 14, 2011
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Allyson K. Duncan

Although this case “comes perilously close to the lower boundary” of what the 4th Circuit will accept to prove a conspiracy to distribute drugs, the appellate court accepts as sufficient proof: an informant’s testimony that defendant said he was “still” getting his crack cocaine from his “family” in Maryland and his discussions with girlfriends about [...]

Forfeiture Deadline Not Jurisdictional

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 13, 2011
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Allyson K. Duncan

Four defendants convicted as part of a drug-trafficking operation lose their appellate challenge to the belated forfeiture of their property under 18 U.S.C. § 983, including over $400,000 in currency from several accounts, a Mercedes automobile and several million dollars in drug proceeds, as the 4th Circuit holds the time deadline for forfeiture under Rule [...]

$10.5M Arbitration Award on Coal Contract Upheld

By Deborah Elkins
Published: July 19, 2011
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Contract, Judge Allyson K. Duncan

An arbitration panel did not exceed its powers when it considered the validity of a 2008 agreement between Central West Virginia Energy Company and an industrial park in Kanawha County, W.Va., for CWVE to supply coal to the park for a two-year period, and the 4th Circuit upholds a $10.5 million award to the industrial [...]

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