Punitives Award for Libel Reduced

Damages Expert Meets Daubert Standard

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 22, 2012
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge James C. Cacheris, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In this dispute between a Jamaican/South Asian food company and the company from whom it purchased assets and a business name, plaintiff’s expert on damages passes the Daubert test, and the Alexandria U.S. District Court denies defendants’ motion to exclude the expert’s testimony. Defendants allegedly violated a noncompete agreement and the sale and assignment of [...]

‘Supplemental’ Expert Report Struck for New Material

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 22, 2012
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge James C. Cacheris, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In this dispute between a Jamaican/South Asian food company and the company from whom it purchased assets and a business name, the Alexandria U.S. District Court grants plaintiff LLC’s motion to strike defendant’s “supplemental” expert report, as the report is not true “supplementation,” but seeks to introduce new information and new expert opinion. Plaintiff takes [...]

‘Job Performance’ Evidence Admissible

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 15, 2012
Tags: Employment Discrimination, Judge James C. Cacheris, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A former media relations officer for the Iraq Reconstruction Office who attributes her termination and denial of a transfer to race discrimination cannot exclude all evidence related to job performance; although defendant has not claimed she was terminated for performance issues, the Alexandria U.S. District Court says performance is relevant to why defendant says it [...]

Website Company Can Sue Florida Clients

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 27, 2012
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge James C. Cacheris, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Two Florida companies, and two of their officers/employees, who hired plaintiff Virginia company on an “emergency” basis to develop and host their website and email exchange are subject to personal jurisdiction in the Alexandria U.S. District Court. Defendant Florida corporations contacted plaintiff 5EI, a Virginia company, in order to enter into a contract for 5EI [...]

Jurisdictional Amount Satisfied by Damage Claim

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 26, 2012
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge James C. Cacheris, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

An auto service center franchisor can stay in federal court because its complaint for breach of contract alleging defendant failed to pay the advertising expenses or operational fee under the contract and failed to properly transfer assets alleges damages over the jurisdictional bar of $75,000. Defendant mischaracterizes the $55,055.97 sought by plaintiff in connection with [...]

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. [...]

Discharge for Alleged Bogus Harassment Claim

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

A government contract employee who alleges he was removed from his consultant position on complaints by the supervising company that his work was shoddy and he had sexually harassed a female independent contractor has not alleged claims for race discrimination in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981, says an Alexandria U.S. District Court. Plaintiff argues [...]

Sealed Expert Reports Contain Trade Secrets

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 17, 2012
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge James C. Cacheris, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Pursuant to an earlier discovery confidentiality order, an Alexandria U.S. District Court grants plaintiff company’s motion to seal two reports from its expert and two reports from defendant’s expert, as the requested sealing is narrowly tailored to protect information related to confidential business information and other trade secret protected information. The common law presumes a [...]

No Fraud Claim Without Showing ‘Intent’

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 17, 2012
Tags: Contract, Judge James C. Cacheris, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

An Alexandria U.S. District Court dismisses a subcontractor’s fraud claim alleging defendant never intended, at the time the parties entered into a teaming agreement, to perform on the agreement to bid on a contract to provide project management and cyber security services to the federal government. Plaintiff Cyberlock Consulting Inc. alleges defendant Information Experts Inc. [...]