Citizen Groups and ‘River Runner’ Have Standing

Court Applies ‘Sexual Abuse’ Sentencing Enhancement

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 22, 2011
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Barbara Milano Keenan

The 4th Circuit upholds an enhanced sentence for a defendant convicted of possession of child pornography, based on his prior conviction under South Carolina common law for “assault and battery of a high aggravated nature”; the district court did not err in holding that the prior conviction qualified as a predicate offense under the sexual [...]

Convictions for Video Poker Bribes Upheld

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 14, 2011
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Barbara Milano Keenan

A former Buncombe County, N.C., sheriff who participated in a scheme to illegally bring out-of-state video poker machines into the state and who accepted bribes to allow machines to be used in certain locations has his conspiracy and bribery convictions upheld by the 4th Circuit. Defendant Bobby Lee Medford was convicted by a jury of [...]

Appeals court hears Rosetta Stone trademark case against Google

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 22, 2011
Tags: Federal Courts, Intellectual Property, Judge Barbara Milano Keenan, Judge Clyde H. Hamilton, Judge Gerald Bruce Lee, Judge William B. Traxler Jr.

Language-learning company Rosetta Stone took on internet industry giant Google today, as a federal appeals court in Richmond heard argument in a case closely watched by online advertisers and the people who sell to them. Rosetta Stone says Google has violated federal trademark law by auctioning Rosetta Stone’s trademarked name to other advertisers through Google’s [...]

Employees’ Severance Claims Have Priority

By Deborah Elkins
Published: July 13, 2011
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Bankruptcy, Judge Barbara Milano Keenan

The 4th Circuit affirms a bankruptcy court holding that terminated employees of debtor LandAmerica Financial Group “earned” their severance compensation on the date they became participants in the debtor company’s severance plan immediately after their termination, and rejects the trustee’s position that only a pro-rated portion of the claims had been “earned” in the 180 [...]

No Pay for Mid-Shift ‘Donning & Doffing’ of Protective Gear

By Deborah Elkins
Published: June 8, 2011
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Barbara Milano Keenan, Labor

Employees of a poultry-processing plant are entitled to be paid for time spent donning and doffing protective gear before and at the end of their work shifts, but the 4th Circuit says that time spent putting on and removing protective gear for a mid-shift meal break is not compensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act. [...]

Accountant’s Tax Fraud Convictions Upheld

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 17, 2011
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Barbara Milano Keenan

At an accountant’s trial for preparing false tax returns, any error by the district court in referring to guilty pleas entered by two taxpayers for whom the accountant prepared the fraudulent returns was harmless, and the 4th Circuit affirms the accountant’s convictions on four counts of tax fraud. At the outset, we observe that the [...]

No Illness from Water, No Standing to Sue

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 14, 2011
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Environmental, Judge Barbara Milano Keenan

In this case involving contamination of a public water supply in Parkersburg, W.Va., the 4th Circuit upholds the district court’s decision that individuals who consumed the water but have not become ill as a result, do not have standing to bring certain tort claims under West Virginia law. This court dismisses plaintiffs’ claim challenging the [...]

Just who can foreclose?

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 23, 2011
Tags: Federal Courts, Foreclosure, Judge Albert Diaz, Judge Barbara Milano Keenan, Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III, Real Estate, Supreme Court of Virginia News

Foreclosure activity in Virginia has been steady for the past few years. But beneath the routine hammer-down on a debtor’s home, a question has lurked. What if the basic process used in Virginia to move these properties through the pipeline has been faulty? What if the selling of mortgage-backed securities on the secondary market means [...]

No CO Status for Cadet Who Sought Infantry Job

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 9, 2011
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure, Judge Barbara Milano Keenan

A district court had jurisdiction over a former West Point cadet’s habeas corpus petition filed after the Army denied his request for discharge from the Army as a conscientious objector, but the 4th Circuit reverses the district court’s grant of habeas relief and remands the case to the district court for reinstatement of the Army [...]