Bank Details, Corporate Representative Compelled

Indemnity Clause Not Triggered

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 24, 2012
Tags: Contract, Judge M. Hannah Lauck, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Although plaintiff mortgage company and defendant broker agree they had a valid Mortgage Broker Agreement, plaintiff is not entitled to summary judgment because it has not shown the broker breached a provision of the Agreement that would have triggered its duty to indemnify plaintiff, says a Richmond U.S. District Court. SunTrust alleges it sold the [...]

Qualified Immunity on ‘Privacy’ Claim

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 16, 2012
Tags: Civil Rights, Judge M. Hannah Lauck, Judge Robert E. Payne, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A former special education teacher who alleges the county school board failed to take action against another employee who was abusive to students and staff, and who has sued on a variety of claims may not pursue her claim that the board violated her rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 when it allegedly shared information [...]

No Retaliation Claim in EEOC Charge

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 28, 2012
Tags: Employment Discrimination, Judge M. Hannah Lauck, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

An African-American power plant employee cannot sue his employer for retaliation and wage discrimination based on race because he did not include these claims in his EEOC charge, and the Richmond U.S. District Court grants summary judgment to employer. Plaintiff failed to check the form’s “retaliation” box and failed to allege retaliatory discharge or facts [...]

Court Should Hear Auto-Accident Dec Action

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 29, 2012
Tags: Insurance, Judge M. Hannah Lauck, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In this dispute over insurance coverage for an employer-owned vehicle an employee was driving when she struck another vehicle and a man was fatally injured, a Richmond U.S. District magistrate judge recommends denying the motion filed by the employer’s insurance carrier to dismiss this declaratory judgment action. Plaintiff administrator of the estate of William Horner [...]

Welder Wants Overtime Pay for Travel

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 30, 2011
Tags: Judge M. Hannah Lauck, Labor, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A welding company employee states a claim for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act with allegations that he was not compensated for travel time to job sites for his work as a structural steel welder, and the Richmond U.S. District Court denies the employer’s motion to dismiss and motion for Rule 11 sanctions. [...]

Plaintiff’s FMLA Responses Deemed Admitted

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 28, 2011
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge M. Hannah Lauck, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In plaintiff’s suit alleging she was denied leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, a Richmond U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge grants employer’s motion to deem admitted certain requests for admission served on plaintiff with respect to her absences from work. Plaintiff alleges Kraft, her former employer systematically denied her requests for leave under [...]

DuPont Engineer’s Suit Dismissed

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 28, 2011
Tags: Employment Discrimination, Judge M. Hannah Lauck, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A male African-American engineer at defendant DuPont’s Spruance facility in Richmond loses on summary judgment his pro se race discrimination suit alleging disparate treatment in his performance reviews and retaliation. The record here establishes that plaintiff has failed to demonstrate a prima facie case of disparate treatment based on race. Even if he could present [...]

No Discovery of Docs Used by Deponent

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 28, 2011
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge M. Hannah Lauck, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Although a former executive for defendant corporation may have referred to two privileged documents during his deposition by plaintiff, plaintiff’s conclusory allegations about the executive’s use of the documents do not require production of the documents under Fed. R. Evid. 612, and the Richmond U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge grants defendant’s motion to quash or [...]

Discovery Ordered in Unfair Trade Case

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 20, 2011
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge M. Hannah Lauck, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

The Richmond U.S. Magistrate Judge compels discovery by corporate parties in international unfair trade practice litigation: defendants must provide bank account and wire transfer details and plaintiffs must provide a representative prepared to address travel expense and technical testing issues central to plaintiff’s claims. A fuel additive manufacturer and its subsidiary sued a competitor and [...]