Disbarred Lawyer May Face Pre-Filing Injunction

Post-Discovery Complaint Amendment Allowed

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 3, 2013
Tags: Judge James C. Cacheris, Securities Fraud, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In an investor’s suit alleging defendant technology company and its founder committed securities fraud, an Alexandria U.S. District Court overrules defendants’ objections and accepts the magistrate judge’s recommendation to allow plaintiff to file a second amended complaint and motion to compel. In his first amended complaint, plaintiff alleged defendants committed securities fraud by selling plaintiff [...]

Court Rejects Claim for Pipe Patent

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 3, 2013
Tags: Intellectual Property, Judge Liam O'Grady, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

The Alexandria U.S. District Court upholds the USPTO’s rejection of plaintiff’s claims seeking to patent the a spirally formed pipe. On May 17, 1999, plaintiff filed a ‘922 application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The Examiner rejected claims 1-9 of plaintiff’s application, but the Patent Trial and Appeal Board reversed the Examiner’s rejections. [...]

Employer Response to Hearing Disability ‘Reasonable’

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 3, 2013
Tags: Employment Discrimination, Judge Claude M. Hilton, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A hearing-impaired employee of defendant county’s alcohol and drug services program was not a “qualified individual” who could recover under the Americans with Disabilities Act; the Alexandria U.S. District Court says her requests for accommodation were untimely and in any event, there is ample evidence that she was terminated for poor performance. Plaintiff has failed [...]

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 [...]

Evidence Withheld, But Habeas Denied

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 24, 2013
Tags: Criminal, Judge John A. Gibney Jr., U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A Richmond U.S. District Court denies a writ of habeas corpus in this capital murder case in which defendant was convicted on four counts of capital murder and related felony charges in the murder of a woman, her two daughters and her brother. Petitioner brings a number of claims, some of which are procedurally defaulted [...]

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 [...]

No Tort Claim Against FCA Defense Lawyer

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 24, 2013
Tags: Contract, Judge Leonie Brinkema, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

An Alexandria U.S. District Court dismisses plaintiff’s complaint against defendant lawyer who represented plaintiff’s former employer in plaintiff’s False Claims Act suit, seeking to hold the lawyer liable for alleged misrepresentations the lawyer made over three years ago during that FCA litigation. Plaintiff seeks at least $3 million in damages under theories of abuse of [...]

Borrower’s Fraud & Conspiracy Claims Dismissed

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 24, 2013
Tags: Judge James C. Cacheris, Real Estate, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A plaintiff who has defaulted on a $650,000 mortgage loan on his Fredericksburg property has his suit alleging fraud dismissed by the Alexandria U.S. District Court for lack of sufficient detail about time, place or content of any alleged fraudulent misrepresentations by defendants. To the extent plaintiff’s complaint is littered with bold assertions of the [...]

Email Not Enough to Prove Contract

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 24, 2013
Tags: Contract, Judge James C. Cacheris, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Although the parties continued to negotiate terms for defendant’s promotion of a concert featuring plaintiff Wiz Khalifa at George Mason University, with defendant holding out for plaintiff to release a new album, an email from plaintiff’s agent to defendant indicated the parties would wait until formal execution of the attached contract, and the Alexandria U.S. [...]