Counsel May Raise New Claims

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 [...]

Fired Marketing Firm Sues For Commissions

By Deborah Elkins
Published: August 8, 2012
Tags: Contract, Judge John A. Gibney Jr., U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In this dispute between a computer vendor and the marketing firm it terminated, a Richmond U.S. District Court addresses the “Russian nesting doll” of defendant marketing firm’s single counterclaim and says only the firm’s claim for underpayment of commissions can survive; the court dismisses defendant’s additional counterclaims against plaintiff computer vendor. Plaintiff’s president sent defendant [...]

FINRA Arbitration OK for Municipal Bonds Issuer

By Deborah Elkins
Published: August 8, 2012
Tags: Contract, Judge John A. Gibney Jr., U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A Richmond U.S. District Court denies a preliminary injunction to halt a healthcare clinic from FINRA arbitration of its complaint against plaintiff financial services providers the clinic alleges fraudulently induced it to issue over $308 million in municipal bonds; on a first-impression issue, the court finds the clinic is a customer of plaintiffs based on [...]

Dog Breeder’s Punitives Claim Survives

By Deborah Elkins
Published: August 2, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Consumer Protection, Judge John A. Gibney Jr.

In this lawsuit by the owner of two champion Labrador Retrievers against an animal hospital that allegedly breached an agreement to collect and preserve dog semen samples, a Richmond U.S. District Court dismisses the owner’s claims for negligent misrepresentation, constructive fraud and violation of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act, but allows a claim for punitive [...]

Supreme Court clerkship program celebrates 50 years

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: July 9, 2012
Tags: Judge James W. Haley Jr., Judge John A. Gibney Jr., Judge Stephen R. McCullough, Justice Harry L. Carrico, Supreme Court of Virginia News

In the beginning there were three. Clerks, that is. Fifty years ago this month, the Supreme Court of Virginia hired its first class of judicial law clerks. And that first class had three members: John Pedigo, law clerk for Justice Harry Carrico; H. Thomas Fennell, who clerked for Justice Lawrence Warren I’Anson; and A. James [...]

Cocaine Suppressed After Traffic-Stop Delay

By Deborah Elkins
Published: July 5, 2012
Tags: Judge John A. Gibney Jr., Search & Seizure, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A state trooper who was part of an “interdiction” team that targeted suspected criminals traveling on I-95 cannot justify extension of his initial traffic stop for speeding into a 14-minute investigation of potential criminal activity, including use of a drug-sniffing dog, by citing factors such as fast-food wrappers and a new portable GPS device inside [...]

State Auditor Office Wins Race Case

By Deborah Elkins
Published: June 20, 2012
Tags: Employment Discrimination, Judge John A. Gibney Jr., U.S. District Court - Eastern District

The Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts wins summary judgment in a Title VII race discrimination suit filed by a former employee who alleges “wrongful discharge in violation of public policy” and negligent disclosure of information about him; the Richmond U.S. District Court says the record shows plaintiff simply did not perform his job. Plaintiff, an [...]

No Claim from ‘Smushed Grape’

By Deborah Elkins
Published: June 20, 2012
Tags: Judge John A. Gibney Jr., Negligence, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A Food Lion store wins summary judgment in a case in which plaintiff’s assertion that she saw a “smushed grape” on the store floor shortly after she fell is the only evidence supporting her claim of negligence; a Richmond U.S. District Court says a plaintiff’s case is “doomed” without evidence as to how long an [...]

Judge backs deal that includes added protections

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: June 18, 2012
Tags: Federal Courts, Judge John A. Gibney Jr.

A federal judge plans to approve a settlement between Virginia and the federal government that would shift the care of people with intellectual disabilities to community-based services. But the judge wants the agreement to include changes to protect the rights of hundreds of profoundly disabled Virginians who live in state-run facilities. U.S. District Judge John [...]