No Hostile Environment Despite Racial Slurs

Noncompete involving millions can be upheld

By Peter Vieth
Published: June 4, 2012
Tags: Banks & Banking, Federal Courts, Judge Liam O'Grady, Noncompete

An Alexandria federal judge will enforce a lucrative noncompete agreement between Capital One Financial Corp. and two former top executives. The decision by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady in Capital One Financial Corp. v. Kanas (VLW 012-3-213) is remarkable for addressing a covenant not to compete between a major banking corporation and two highly paid [...]

Bank Can Pierce Corporate Veil

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 24, 2012
Tags: Contract, Judge Liam O'Grady, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A bank wins summary judgment in its suit alleging defendant wrongfully used international shipping documents from the bank and designated the bank as the consignee on the documents for rugs imported into the U.S. from Pakistan, without tendering the required payment, and the Alexandria U.S. District Court orders the individual and corporate defendants to pay [...]

Contractor Owes $3.9M for Project Leaks

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 24, 2012
Tags: Contract, Judge Liam O'Grady, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

An Alexandria U.S. District Court says a Maryland contractor on a mixed-use project in Washington, D.C. owes the project owner $3.9 million in damages for its failure to provide windows and waterproofing that comply with contract specifications. The contract required the contractor to observe all D.C. codes and regulations, including D.C. Housing and Building Code [...]

Owner Personally Liable for Overtime Pay

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 15, 2012
Tags: Judge Liam O'Grady, Labor, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

The owner of an “Any Floors” business owes plaintiff laborer total damages of $86,450 in back pay and overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the owner may be personally liable, despite using the corporate form for her business, says an Alexandria U.S. District Court. It is clear plaintiff was an employee. The [...]

No Claim from Isolated Incidents

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 15, 2012
Tags: Employment Discrimination, Judge Liam O'Grady, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A sheriff wins summary judgment in this race discrimination suit in which an African-American male inmate services counselor alleged a “hostile environment” arising from another African-American coworker leaving a watermelon at his work station, a Caucasian coworker making a comment, “there goes the neighborhood,” when plaintiff passed by and a Latino colleague addressing him as [...]

Fate of Megaupload data is up in the air

By The Associated Press
Published: April 20, 2012
Tags: Federal Courts, Judge Liam O'Grady

ALEXANDRIA (AP) It’s a cache of data roughly equivalent to half of the Library of Congress and nobody quite knows what to do with it. Tens of millions of digital files kept on Megaupload.com went dark earlier this year. Megaupload was a cyberlocker of sorts, a service that offered individuals and businesses storage space for [...]

Judge: Failure to pay wages, overtime a violation of FLSA – $86,450 Verdict

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: April 16, 2012
Tags: Employment, Federal Courts, Judge Liam O'Grady

Plaintiff worked at the defendant’s floor company. He was not paid $37,400 in wages by the defendant, who kept promising he would get paid. The plaintiff’s evidence showed that he worked six days a week, for 12 hours per day and sometimes more. The plaintiff, a recent immigrant, did not know he was entitled to [...]

Public Employee Disability Claims Dismissed

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 11, 2012
Tags: Employment, Judge Liam O'Grady, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A county school food-service worker who has received ordinary disability from the Fairfax County Employees Retirement System (FCERS) cannot sue for breach of contract, due process or equal protection violations arising from denial of her claim for service-connected disability; the Alexandria U.S. District Court dismisses her claims. Because plaintiff has not made a compelling argument [...]

Jury Instruction Issued on Spoliation

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 3, 2012
Tags: Contract, Judge Liam O'Grady, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In a toy-store chain’s contract action against defendant supplier after the chain settled a products liability claim involving a crib manufactured by defendant, the Alexandria U.S. District Court will instruct the jury that defendant had no documents retention policy in place during the relevant time period, as a sanction for spoliation of evidence through document [...]