Arbitration Denied in Franchise Contract 
By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 24, 2012
Tags: Contract, Judge James C. Turk, U.S. District Court - Western District
A Roanoke U.S. District Court denies defendant auto restoration franchise’s motion to compel arbitration of a former franchisee’s suit alleging he is not covered by the Franchise Agreement’s noncompete clause because the arbitration clause, as drafted, suggests the clause was meant to cover inter-office disputes, not disputes between franchisor and franchisee.
Defendant Total Car Franchising is [...]
Specific Performance Suit Dismissed
By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 24, 2012
Tags: Contract, Judge James P. Jones, U.S. District Court - Western District
An Abingdon U.S. District Court dismisses this suit seeking specific performance of a real estate purchase contract, because the complaint fails to allege that non-binding mediation, a condition precedent to the suit, has occurred or been waived.
The agreement requires the parties to submit any dispute or claims arising out of the agreement to non-binding mediation [...]
No ‘Fraudulent Joinder’ in Auto Accident Case
By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 24, 2012
Tags: Judge James C. Turk, Products Liability, U.S. District Court - Western District
In plaintiff’s suit alleging severe and permanent injuries after she swerved in her 1995 Mazda Miata to avoid an object in the road and the vehicle turned over because the vehicle allegedly failed to provide “reasonable occupant protection in the event of a rollover accident,” the Roanoke U.S. District Court remands the case to state [...]
No Accommodation for Medical Certification
By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 24, 2012
Tags: Employment Discrimination, Judge Samuel G. Wilson, U.S. District Court - Western District
A bakery could not offer plaintiff driver, who has a surgically implanted heart defibrillator, a lawful accommodation to its requirement that drivers obtain a medical certification in order to drive higher-capacity-carrying trucks, and the Roanoke U.S. District Court grants summary judgment to employer in the truck driver’s suit alleging violation of the Americans with Disabilities [...]
Va. Would Hear Duty to Warn Claim
By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 24, 2012
Tags: Judge James C. Turk, Negligence, U.S. District Court - Western District
A Roanoke U.S. District Court says Virginia would recognize a post-sale duty to warn of defects, and declines to dismiss this claim filed by a plaintiff whose hands were badly injured when using an industrial heat processing system manufactured by defendant and installed in a facility in Roanoke.
In 1995, A.O. Smith Company ordered an industrial [...]
Search of Driver’s Laptop Upheld
By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 1, 2012
Tags: Judge Norman K. Moon, Search & Seizure, U.S. District Court - Western District
A Lynchburg U.S. District Court denies defendant’s motion to suppress evidence obtained from a search of his laptop computer and other electronic effects, seized when rangers on the Blue Ridge Parkway stopped the 57-year-old defendant at a DUI checkpoint and discovered he was driving on a suspended license and a missing persons report had been [...]
ADA Discharge Claim Follows Workplace Injury
By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 1, 2012
Tags: Employment Discrimination, Judge Jackson L. Kiser, U.S. District Court - Western District
A Danville U.S. District Court will allow a pro se plaintiff who says she was fired after she suffered work-related injuries to amend her complaint to allege a claim for wrongful termination under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act constitutes plaintiff’s exclusive remedy for any and all injuries sustained during the course [...]
No ‘Jane Doe’ Plaintiff Allowed
By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 18, 2012
Tags: Civil Rights, Judge Michael F. Urbanski, U.S. District Court - Western District
A Danville U.S. District Court denies plaintiff’s motions to proceed using pseudonyms and for a protective order in her lawsuit challenging defendant county board of supervisors’ regular practice of opening its meetings with explicit Christian prayer as invalid under U.S. Supreme Court and 4th Circuit precedent.
While citizens of the [...]
Injunction Granted in Board Prayer Case
By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 18, 2012
Tags: Civil Rights, Judge Michael F. Urbanski, U.S. District Court - Western District
A Danville U.S. District Court grants plaintiff a preliminary injunction in her suit challenging a county board of supervisors’ regular practice of opening its meetings with explicit Christian prayer.
The court finds plaintiff is likely to succeed on the merits of her Establishment Clause claim; she is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of [...]
County Can Be Sued for Sectarian Prayer
By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 18, 2012
Tags: Civil Rights, Judge Michael F. Urbanski, U.S. District Court - Western District
A Danville U.S. District Court denies defendant county board of supervisors’ motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the board’s regular use of explicitly Christian prayer to open its twice-monthly meetings.
Plaintiff regularly attends board meetings and objects to the Christian prayer because she does not subscribe to the particular faith promoted by the opening prayer; she [...]
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