Hearing Ordered on ‘Actual Innocence’ Claim

Cash Forfeited for Health Care Fraud

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 27, 2013
Tags: Criminal, Judge James P. Jones, U.S. District Court - Western District

The government may not seize certain assets as it has not traced the assets to the charged crimes related to health care fraud, but the Abingdon U.S. District Court says the government is entitled to a money judgment of forfeiture against defendants. Defendant Eddie Louthian Sr. was president and business manager of the Saltville Rescue [...]

Substitute Class Reps OK’d by Court

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 14, 2013
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge James P. Jones, U.S. District Court - Western District

An Abingdon U.S. District Court denies defendant’s objections to a magistrate judge’s order granting plaintiff’s motion to substitute class representatives, even though defendant claims it was prejudiced because it already had deposed the original plaintiffs. The original plaintiffs alleged they had voluntarily leased their interests in coalbed methane gas to defendant EQT Production Company and [...]

Plaintiff Claims Higher Gas Royalty

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 14, 2013
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge James P. Jones, U.S. District Court - Western District

An Abingdon U.S. District Court denies defendant gas company’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s claim alleging royalties paid were improperly calculated as they did not reflect the actual price for which the gas was sold; the court reserves decision on whether notice by the named plaintiff is sufficient for the entire putative class. The Oil, Gas [...]

Gas Company Faces Royalty Claim

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 14, 2013
Tags: Contract, Judge James P. Jones, U.S. District Court - Western District

An Abingdon U.S. District Court denies a motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ claims alleging defendant gas company improperly calculated royalty payments which did not reflect the actual price for which the gas was sold. Defendant argues that pursuant to the pooling orders issued by the Virginia Gas and Oil Board, royalties are due from the production [...]

Contamination Claim Advances Against Coal Company

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 14, 2013
Tags: Environmental, Judge James P. Jones, U.S. District Court - Western District

An Abingdon U.S. District Court will not dismiss plaintiffs’ suit seeking damages and injunctive relief against a coal company for placing contaminated water in an inactive mine located on real estate in which plaintiffs claim to be owners of other coal reserves and gas, including coal bed methane. Defendant’s Rule 12(b)(6) argument depends in part [...]

No Age Bias in Nurse’s Dismissal

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 12, 2013
Tags: Employment Discrimination, Judge James P. Jones, U.S. District Court - Western District

A 46-year old nurse at a nursing home loses her suit alleging she was terminated because of age discrimination, as employer has demonstrated the nurse had a documented history of complaints by colleagues and families of residents of the nursing home about the nurse’s conduct; the Big Stone Gap U.S. District Court grants summary judgment [...]

Environmentalists May File CWA Suit Against ‘Gob Piles’

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 4, 2013
Tags: Environmental, Judge James P. Jones, U.S. District Court - Western District

A Big Stone Gap U.S. District Court says plaintiff environmental group has stated a claim under the Clean Water Act for redress against a mining operator for discharges from coal mine “gob piles,” as the CWA allows citizen enforcement suits. Gob piles are piles of waste composed of coal mixed with mining by-products. They usually [...]

No Business-Sale Suit for Faulty Market Projections

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 4, 2013
Tags: Contract, Judge James P. Jones, U.S. District Court - Western District

The buyer of a Tazewell business that manufactured mine safety equipment cannot sue the sellers on various claims arising from the sellers’ Distributor Analysis projecting high sales for a key product line, despite allegedly knowing the mines that had yet to install the technology had contracted with a competitor; the Analysis was provided before the [...]

Parents ‘Harbored’ Fugitive Son

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 18, 2012
Tags: Criminal, Judge James P. Jones, U.S. District Court - Western District

Although defendants allowed police to search their home with an arrest warrant for their son, they also provided food and shelter to him, and the father drove him away from their home because it was “hot,” and the Abingdon U.S. District Court refuses to set aside a jury verdict convicting husband-and-wife defendants of harboring a [...]