Claim May Be Timely After All

Undischarged Debtor Can Pursue Race Bias Claim

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 3, 2013
Tags: Employment Discrimination, Judge John A. Gibney Jr., U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Although plaintiff delayed disclosing to a bankruptcy judge that he had filed an EEOC charge against his employer, the Richmond U.S. District Court denies employer’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s Title VII suit based on employer’s arguments that only the bankruptcy trustee has standing to pursue the race bias claim, and plaintiff is judicially estopped from [...]

Evidence Withheld, But Habeas Denied

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 24, 2013
Tags: Criminal, Judge John A. Gibney Jr., U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A Richmond U.S. District Court denies a writ of habeas corpus in this capital murder case in which defendant was convicted on four counts of capital murder and related felony charges in the murder of a woman, her two daughters and her brother. Petitioner brings a number of claims, some of which are procedurally defaulted [...]

Disbarred Lawyer May Face Pre-Filing Injunction

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 24, 2013
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge John A. Gibney Jr., U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A former lawyer who lost his Virginia bar license in 2006 is ordered by the Richmond U.S. District Court to show cause why he should not be enjoined from filing, without permission of the court, any lawsuit alleging an injury from the Virginia State Bar’s revocation of his license to practice law. In the six [...]

Jail Video Shows No Excessive Force

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 16, 2013
Tags: Civil Rights, Judge John A. Gibney Jr., U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A videotape of defendant correctional officers’ efforts to subdue a pretrial detainee suspected of hiding drugs in his buttocks, who had removed and attempted to swallow the item, supports the officers’ claims that they did not violate any duty owed to the detainee, or have any intent to harm him, and the Richmond U.S. District [...]

Felon Voting Rights Claim Advances

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 16, 2013
Tags: Civil Rights, Judge John A. Gibney Jr., U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Plaintiff, a former city council member and convicted felon who is eligible for restoration of his voting rights, has pleaded an equal protection claim by alleging Article II, Section 1 of the Virginia Constitution, which disqualifies felons from voting, discriminates against black citizens while favoring those who commit crimes but avoid prosecution as felons. Plaintiff’s [...]

Treating Physician Opinion Was ‘Inconsistent’

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 20, 2013
Tags: Judge John A. Gibney Jr., Social Security, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A Richmond U.S. District Court adopts the magistrate judge’s report and affirms denial of benefits over claimant’s objection that the administrative law judge erred by assigning the treating physician’s opinion “little weight”; the court finds that substantial evidence supports the ALJ’s decision due to the physician’s inconsistent statements and lack of record support for her [...]

Dragged Officer Could Use Deadly Force

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 19, 2013
Tags: Civil Rights, Judge John A. Gibney Jr., U.S. District Court - Eastern District

The estate of a person fatally shot by defendant, a Petersburg police officer, may not sue the officer for assault and battery, gross negligence and wrongful death; the Richmond U.S. District Court says the officer has qualified immunity from suit. The record shows decedent posed a serious threat to the safety of defendant, four other [...]

Four-Year Limitations for Post-Contract Bias

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 27, 2013
Tags: Employment Discrimination, Judge John A. Gibney Jr., U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A Richmond U.S. District Court denies reconsideration of defendant’s motion to dismiss this suit by plaintiff who alleges race discrimination by defendant state university in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981; on a first-impression question, the court says the four-year statute of limitations under 28 U.S.C. § 1658 applies, not the two-year statute under 42 [...]

Cleaner’s Workload Shows Disparate Treatment

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 29, 2013
Tags: Employment Discrimination, Judge John A. Gibney Jr., U.S. District Court - Eastern District

An African-American female housekeeper at a retirement home has stated Title VII claims for race and sex discrimination based on alleged disparate treatment in which she was assigned 148 rooms to clean, while one male Caucasian worker was only assigned 30 rooms and another such worker slept on the job, with supervisor approval; however, the [...]