Rebuttal Witnesses Not Too Late

Court Won’t Seal FLSA Settlement

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 8, 2013
Tags: Judge Rebecca Beach Smith, Judge Tommy E. Miller, Labor, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A Norfolk U.S. District Court accepts a magistrate judge’s recommendations to approve a class action settlement in this Fair Labor Standards Act case filed against a Norfolk call center, and to deny the call center’s motion to seal the settlement. The complaint alleged that customer service representatives in Ryla Teleservices’ call center were not paid [...]

Corporate client privilege covers ex-director’s emails

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 29, 2013
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge Tommy E. Miller, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A company suing to protect its patents can “claw back” emails its lawyer shared with a former board member, a Norfolk U.S. District Court said earlier this month. In a twist on the traditional test for attorney-client privilege in the corporate context, U.S. Magistrate Judge Tommy E. Miller said the privilege covered communications from the [...]

Company May Claw Back Emails in Patent Case

By Sarah Rodriguez
Published: April 24, 2013
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge Tommy E. Miller, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In this discovery dispute in patent litigation involving software used to facilitate distance learning, a Norfolk U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge says plaintiff company did not waive attorney-client privilege when it shared certain email communications with a former board member who was the “functional equivalent” of a current board member, and plaintiff may claw back [...]

Undue Prejudice Not Shown

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 12, 2013
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge Tommy E. Miller, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In business invitee’s negligence action against grocery store for injuries sustained when she slipped and fell on a wet floor, the Newport News U.S. District Court magistrate judge allows plaintiff to amend her complaint to increase the damages claimed from $225,000 to $750,000; plaintiff’s proposed amended complaint filed more than six months before the scheduled [...]

No Jones Act Claim for Intoxicated Seaman

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 12, 2013
Tags: Admiralty, Judge Tommy E. Miller, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Although plaintiff was on land when he injured his hand while shucking oysters for defendant seafood company, he spent most of his time on the water dredging oysters or crabbing for defendant, and the Newport News U.S. District Court says plaintiff was a “seaman” for purposes of suing under the Jones Act; however, the court [...]

No Harassment Claim for Post-Sale ‘Slap’

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 3, 2012
Tags: Employment Discrimination, Judge Tommy E. Miller, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

An employer wins summary judgment in a suit alleging retaliation for plaintiff’s complaint about sexual harassment when her male manager slapped her on the backside after she closed a particularly difficult sale of a resort timeshare; her internal complaint was not protected activity under Title VII and legitimate attendance issues led to her termination, says [...]

Oyster-Shucking Injury May Be Jones Act Claim

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 26, 2012
Tags: Admiralty, Judge Tommy E. Miller, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A plaintiff who was shucking oysters for defendant seafood company may have a Jones Act claim for injury to his left pinky finger from moving a conveyor belt while he was shucking oysters, leading amputation at the first joint; the Newport News U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge denies the seafood company’s motion for summary judgment [...]

Hotline Complaint not ‘Protected Activity’

By Deborah Elkins
Published: July 12, 2012
Tags: Employment Discrimination, Judge Tommy E. Miller, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

An African-American woman’s anonymous call to her employer’s hot line to report a coworker’s alleged use of company Internet access for personal activities was not “protected activity” under Title VII and the Newport News U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge dismisses plaintiff’s claim that she suffered race discrimination when she was targeted during a reduction in [...]

Couple wins defamation case against TV station

By Sarah Rodriguez
Published: May 24, 2012
Tags: Defamation, Federal Courts, Judge Tommy E. Miller, Million-Dollar Verdicts

“On your side” consumer reports have become a staple of local television news coverage. The consumer reporter investigates complaints about a business and reports findings, often including how the station helped an angry citizen. But a 2010 report on a Hampton Roads TV station went too far, according to a federal jury in Norfolk. Earlier [...]