Employment – ERISA – Disability – Auto Accident – Overpayment 
By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 13, 2010
Tags: Employment, Judge Pamela Meade Sargent, U.S. District Court - Western District
A magistrate judge for the Big Stone Gap U.S. District Court recommends granting summary judgment to defendant insurance carrier and awarding it $28,656 for its overpayment of disability benefits to defendant employer’s production supervisor who was injured in an auto accident, in light of his receipt of Social Security disability benefits. In light of the [...]
Suit settles for $1.37M in tractor-trailer collision
By Alan Cooper
Published: October 4, 2010
Tags: Federal Courts, Judge James P. Jones, Judge Pamela Meade Sargent, Wrongful Death
The families of two men killed by a tractor-trailer in February in Wythe County have settled their wrongful death lawsuits against the driver and the rig’s owner for $1.37 million. According to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Abingdon, William Edward Smith Sr. and his son, William E. Smith Jr., had parked their 2005 [...]
Civil Procedure – Jurisdiction – Amount In Controversy – Interest – Attorney’s Fees
By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 30, 2010
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge Pamela Meade Sargent, U.S. District Court - Western District
In this suit by a plaintiff against defendant veterinarian for the purchase of products used in defendant’s practice, a Big Stone Gap U.S. District Court says although plaintiff seller is suing on a debt of $74,139.24, consideration of possible interest and attorney’s fees allows plaintiff to meet the $75,000 threshold for an amount in controversy [...]
Criminal – National Park – ATV Trail Riding – Order To Stop
By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 30, 2010
Tags: Criminal, Judge Pamela Meade Sargent, U.S. District Court - Western District
A defendant traveling on an ATV on a Cumberland Gap National Park trail closed to such vehicles cannot be convicted of violating 36 C.F.R. § 4.2, incorporating Va. Code § 46.2-817, for failure to halt at a “visible or audible” signal from the park ranger because the evidence shows it is just as likely he [...]
Negligence – Tractor-Trailer Accident – Discovery – Fifth Amendment
By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 9, 2010
Tags: Judge Pamela Meade Sargent, Negligence, U.S. District Court - Western District
In this wrongful death suit arising from the collision of an 18-wheel tractor-trailer with a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan on I-81in Wythe County, a magistrate judge for the Abingdon U.S. District Court allows the truck driver to invoke his Fifth Amendment right to avoid answering certain interrogatories. In furtherance of their wrongful death action, plaintiffs [...]
Trucker takes the Fifth in wrongful death case
By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 9, 2010
Tags: Constitutional, Federal Courts, Judge James P. Jones, Judge Pamela Meade Sargent, Wrongful Death
A long-haul truck driver sued for wrongful death after a collision on Interstate 81 can invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege and refuse to answer questions in the personal injury action, an Abingdon federal court says. The accident happened on a snowy evening in February. Defendant Ezzell Furgerson, driving an 18-wheel tractor-trailer north on I-81 in [...]
Employment – ERISA – Disability Insurance – Overpayment
By Deborah Elkins
Published: August 26, 2010
Tags: Employment, Judge Pamela Meade Sargent, U.S. District Court - Western District
A former production supervisor for a glass manufacturer, who was injured in an auto accident, was not entitled to continued disability benefits under an ERISA plan, according to a magistrate judge’s report, and the disability carrier is entitled to recover $28,704 that it overpaid claimant, without knowing he was receiving Social Security benefits, in this [...]
Civil Rights – Theft Arrests – Probable Cause
By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 10, 2010
Tags: Civil Rights, Judge Pamela Meade Sargent, U.S. District Court - Western District
Acknowledging “skepticism” in the 4th Circuit as to whether the right to avoid malicious prosecution is a “clearly established” constitutional right, a magistrate judge for the Big Stone Gap U.S. District Court recommends dismissal of plaintiff’s § 1983 suit alleging a lack of probable cause – based on mistaken identity – for plaintiff’s arrest by [...]
Civil Rights – Theft Arrests – Probable Cause
By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 4, 2010
Tags: Civil Rights, Judge Pamela Meade Sargent, U.S. District Court - Western District
Acknowledging “skepticism” in the 4th Circuit as to whether the right to avoid malicious prosecution is a “clearly established” constitutional right, a magistrate judge for the Big Stone Gap U.S. District Court recommends dismissal of plaintiff’s § 1983 suit alleging a lack of probable cause – based on mistaken identity – for plaintiff’s arrest by [...]
Employment Discrimination – Disability – Res Judicata – State Grievance Procedure
By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 3, 2010
Tags: Employment Discrimination, Judge Pamela Meade Sargent, U.S. District Court - Western District
A community college employee who was discharged after he allegedly sought treatment for substance abuse but who won reinstatement through the Virginia Department of Employee Dispute Resolution cannot sue the community college for disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act, as his federal court action is barred by res judicata, says a magistrate judge [...]
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