Doctor’s claim against consultant is thrown out

Lawyer with felony never was revoked

By Peter Vieth
Published: October 19, 2012
Tags: Criminal, Federal Courts, Judge Claude M. Hilton, Lawyer Discipline, Virginia State Bar

A Fairfax County attorney who thought her law license was revoked after a 2007 federal felony conviction got a surprise earlier this year when she sought reinstatement. She was still in good standing. Her license never was impacted by the conviction, even though she promptly self-reported to the Virginia State Bar.

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 [...]

New Will Discovery Means No Malpractice Damages

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 26, 2012
Tags: Judge Claude M. Hilton, Legal Malpractice, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A law firm accused of malpractice after it sued for its fees for representing plaintiffs in a will contest wins summary judgment in the Alexandria U.S. District Court; the former client has failed to show she sustained any damages as a result of the alleged malpractice, as a later will admitted to probate operates in [...]

No ERISA Payout for Law Firm Employee

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 17, 2012
Tags: Employment, Judge Claude M. Hilton, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

An Alexandria U.S. District Court grants a law firm partial judgment on the pleadings in an ERISA suit filed by an employee who resigned after working seven years for the law firm, and then sued when the firm allegedly told him it could not pay him benefits under the firm’s ERISA plan because the Adjusted [...]

No Antitrust Claims for Service Station Owners

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 17, 2012
Tags: Antitrust, Judge Claude M. Hilton, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In this case from Alexandria U.S. District Court, defendant lessors of gasoline dealerships to plaintiff service stations win summary judgment on plaintiffs’ antitrust claims as well as their claims for 1) wrongful termination of dealership, 2) violation of the Virginia Petroleum Products Franchise Act through the establishment of “fee/commission agent operators” at stations within 1.5 [...]

General Release Bars FMLA Claim

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 17, 2012
Tags: Employment, Judge Claude M. Hilton, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

An employee whose job with the American Red Cross was eliminated due to a reduction in force cannot sue the Red Cross for removal of his dependents from his health care plan in violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act because the employee signed a release and waiver of all claims as part of [...]

Federal Court Gets ‘Federal Officer’ Case

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 10, 2012
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge Claude M. Hilton, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

An Alexandria U.S. District Court says defendant corporation can remove this contract case to federal court under the Federal Officer Removal State, 28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1), based on allegations that defendant government contractor terminated its use of plaintiff’s software at the explicit directive of the Army contracting officer on the federal contract. Under the statute, [...]

Stairwell Slip & Fall Barred

By Deborah Elkins
Published: August 24, 2012
Tags: Judge Claude M. Hilton, Premises Liability, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A plaintiff who alleged he walked carefully down snow-packed stairs in a parking garage owned by defendant Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority for two days prior to falling down the stairs on the third day when he encountered snow-packed stairs, assumed the risk of using the stairs and the Alexandria U.S. District Court dismisses his [...]

Credit Complaint Investigation Was ‘Reasonable’

By Deborah Elkins
Published: July 19, 2012
Tags: Consumer Protection, Judge Claude M. Hilton, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A credit-card company’s failure to use the Consumer Data Industry Association’s 2009 Credit Reporting Resource Guide to investigate a credit reporting dispute after a debtor’s bankruptcy discharge did not violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s command to conduct a “reasonable” investigation, says an Alexandria U.S. District Court. Plaintiff Laura Jones alleges defendant Capital One violated [...]