Records System Contract Prompts Fraud Claim

Media Company Wins Domain-Name Dispute

By Deborah Elkins
Published: June 5, 2013
Tags: Intellectual Property, Judge John F. Anderson, Judge T.S. Ellis III, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Plaintiff Entrepreneur Media Inc. wins default judgment against Internet domain name entrepreneursstartup.com in this decision by the Alexandria U.S. District Court under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. The court accepts the recommendation of the magistrate judge and orders that the registry VeriSign Inc. is directed to change the registrar of record for defendant domain name [...]

Owner Liable for MPPAA Payments

By Deborah Elkins
Published: June 5, 2013
Tags: Employment, Judge T.S. Ellis III, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In a multiemployer pension plan’s suit for withdrawal liability payments from the owner of a withdrawing employer pursuant to the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1980, the Alexandria U.S. District Court grants the pension plan’s motion for summary judgment for the withdrawal liability and interest on unpaid contributions in the amount of $2,189,279.56, as [...]

Claim Construction for Server Control Patent

By Deborah Elkins
Published: June 5, 2013
Tags: Intellectual Property, Judge T.S. Ellis III, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In plaintiff Suffolk Technologies’ suit alleging defendant Google’s willful infringement of Suffolk’s ‘835 patent that purports to cover several methods for controlling a server in response to requests for files from web pages, an Alexandria U.S. District Court offers Markman claim construction determinations for specified terms. In essence, the ‘835 patent teaches a method for [...]

Bodily Injury Not ‘Crime of Violence’

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 22, 2013
Tags: Criminal, Judge T.S. Ellis III, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Defendant’s two prior convictions for unlawful bodily injury under Va. Code § 18.2-51 do not constitute predicate “crimes of violence” under federal sentencing guidelines, and the Alexandria U.S. District Court says defendant is not eligible for a 12-level enhancement of his offense level on his sentence for illegal re-entry into the U.S. following removal. Given [...]

Suit to Invalidate Trust OK in Federal Court

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 8, 2013
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge T.S. Ellis III, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

An Alexandria U.S. District Court says the probate exception to federal court jurisdiction does not apply to a suit that seeks to invalidate an inter vivos trust, and it denies plaintiff’s motion to remand this suit back to a Virginia state court. Col. William P. Oliver Jr., U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.), created the William P. [...]

AAA Rules in Contract Cover ‘Arbitrability’

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 10, 2013
Tags: Contract, Judge T.S. Ellis III, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Two independent contractors for a private security company operating in Iraq and Afghanistan must arbitrate their False Claims Act retaliation claims, as the incorporation of the American Arbitration Association Commercial Arbitration Rules in the governing agreement is a “clear and unmistakable” delegation of arbitrability to the arbitrator; the Alexandria U.S. District Court grants defendant’s motion [...]

Drug Defendant Gets Extra Sentence Reduction

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 1, 2013
Tags: Criminal, Judge T.S. Ellis III, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

The Alexandria U.S. District Court says defendant is eligible for a sentence reduction under Amendment 750 lowering his sentence from 117 months to 106 months in custody for crack cocaine conspiracy. The year after defendant was sentenced in 2006, the federal sentencing commission issued Amendment 706 to the sentencing guidelines, effective Nov. 1, 2007, which [...]

Defamation Claim Against FBI Agent Dismissed

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 1, 2013
Tags: Judge T.S. Ellis III, Tort, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A defendant FBI agent acted within the scope of her employment in reporting alleged sexual harassment by plaintiff FBI agent, and the Alexandria U.S. District Court accepts the government’s certification of scope of employment and dismisses a defamation action filed by the plaintiff agent who was disciplined for the alleged harassment, as the Federal Tort [...]

Federal Contract Mention Not Enough for Removal

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 12, 2013
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge T.S. Ellis III, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

After nearly 17 months of litigation in state court and on the eve of trial of this dispute between partners to a teaming agreement on a government contract, defendant company removed this state law contract, trade secret, fraud and conspiracy case to federal court; plaintiff’s third amended complaint does not raise any question or issue [...]