Plaintiff can take deposition, though deadline passed

No Claim Against Counselor for Batterers

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 27, 2013
Tags: Civil Rights, Judge James G. Welsh, Judge Michael F. Urbanski, U.S. District Court - Western District

A defendant charged with assault and battery of his stepdaughter and ordered to participate in a Batterers Intervention Program has not stated Eighth Amendment or Equal Protection claims against the counselor in private practice who offers counseling in the program to fulfill the court order; the Harrisonburg U.S. District Court says the counselor was not [...]

No Appeal Advice Was ‘Ineffective Assistance’

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 27, 2011
Tags: Criminal, Judge James G. Welsh, U.S. District Court - Western District

A Harrisonburg U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge recommends granting defendant’s 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion for post-conviction relief and vacatur of his sentence, to allow him to seek direct review of his conviction for drug conspiracy; defense counsel’s advice and discussions with defendant and his mother did not constitute a minimally adequate consultation sufficient to [...]

Employment Discrimination – Sex – Affirmative Defense – Twiqbal Standard

By Deborah Elkins
Published: August 5, 2010
Tags: Employment Discrimination, Judge James G. Welsh, U.S. District Court - Western District

A woman who alleges gender discrimination in her discharge from her job as a milker at defendant dairy succeeds in striking affirmative defenses pleaded by employer that do not meet the pleading standard under Twombly and Iqbal. Defendants asserted 18 “defenses,” and plaintiff seeks to have most of them stricken pursuant to FRCP 12(f) on [...]