Fired Marketing Firm Sues For Commissions

Marketing Company Did Not Defame Client

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 21, 2012
Tags: Judge John A. Gibney Jr., Tort, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In this litigation arising from a computer vendor’s termination of a contract with a marketing company, neither side wins summary judgment on the vendor’s claim to commission refunds for returned products, but the Richmond U.S. District Court grants the marketing company summary judgment on the computer company’s claim for commercial defamation. In 2008, plaintiff Velocity [...]

Art Profs Claim Race Discrimination

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 21, 2012
Tags: Employment Discrimination, Judge John A. Gibney Jr., U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Two African-American art professors at a historically black university may sue under Title VII on a claim the university sought to reduce the number of black instructors and hire less-qualified Caucasian instructors, but their claims are factually distinct and the Richmond U.S. District Court will sever the action due to misjoinder. Although the female plaintiff’s [...]

Marketing company’s emails not defamatory

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 21, 2012
Tags: Defamation, Federal Courts, Judge John A. Gibney Jr.

When the business relationship between a computer seller and its marketing firm soured, the emails started to fly. The emails may have made matters worse, but a federal judge drew the line at a suit for defamation when he dismissed the computer seller’s defamation claims earlier this month. In 2008, Richmond-based computer seller Velocity Micro [...]

No Sentence Reduction for Career Offender

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 10, 2012
Tags: Criminal, Judge John A. Gibney Jr., U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A defendant convicted of possession with intent to distribute five or more grams of crack cocaine is not eligible for a sentence reduction due to a subsequent revision to the Drug Quantity Table in the federal sentencing guidelines, says a Richmond U.S. District Court. Both 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) and the policy statement in § [...]

Discovery dust-up prompts protective order

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 5, 2012
Tags: Employment Discrimination, Federal Courts, Judge John A. Gibney Jr.

A discovery dispute in a discrimination case has come to a draw in the latest round in Richmond federal court. Richmond U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr. has partially granted a motion to compel filed by Karla Gerner, former human resources director for Chesterfield County. Gerner is suing the county for allegedly offering several [...]

Court Strikes Petition Residency Regulation

By Deborah Elkins
Published: August 27, 2012
Tags: Civil Rights, Judge John A. Gibney Jr., U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Virginia’s state residency requirement under Va. Code § 24.2-543 for persons who circulate petitions for independent candidates for President of the U.S. violates the First and 14th Amendments, and a Richmond U.S. District Court permanently enjoins the State Board of Elections from enforcing the residency requirement in this suit filed by the Libertarian Party of [...]

Trademark Violator Owes Attorney’s Fees

By Deborah Elkins
Published: August 27, 2012
Tags: Intellectual Property, Judge John A. Gibney Jr., U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A Richmond U.S. District Court says defendant “spice” company intentionally violated plaintiff tobacco company’s trademarks for plaintiff’s cigarette brand “NEWPORT” with its similarly packaged product called “NEWPROT,” and rules in plaintiff’s favor on all counts and awards attorney’s fees in this “exceptional” case under 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a). Beginning in 2009 and continuing into 2011, [...]

No Age Bias Claim After Retirement Notice

By Deborah Elkins
Published: August 16, 2012
Tags: Employment Discrimination, Judge John A. Gibney Jr., U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A Richmond U.S. District Court grants summary judgment to defendant school board in this race and age discrimination suit filed by an African-American plaintiff over 70 years old whose position as maintenance director was eliminated by the board. Plaintiff claims the board’s termination of his employment and refusal to compensate him for accumulated annual leave [...]

Driver’s Challenge to Certificates Fails

By Deborah Elkins
Published: August 16, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge John A. Gibney Jr., Traffic Offenses

A defendant cannot overturn his reckless driving conviction for speeding on Fort Lee property by complaining that the magistrate judge should not have admitted certificates of testing of the tuning forks on the officer’s radar device because the government failed to provide proper notice; the Richmond U.S. District Court upholds defendant’s traffic conviction because he [...]