The VLW Blog

The judges of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals have named Richmond lawyer Keith L. Phillips to a seat on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Richmond Division of the Eastern District of Virginia. Phillips will succeed U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Douglas O. Tice Jr., who will retire June 30. Tice has served on the [...]

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A female former fundraiser for Virginia Tech presented enough evidence to support a jury verdict that the university had retaliated against her in violation of Title VII, a federal appellate panel said on Jan. 31. Shana Maron, one of three female fundraisers who sued, alleged that when she sought a promotion with a higher salary, [...]

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Not to be left behind by the Court of Appeals of Virginia, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has used a photograph to illustrate the subject of a North Carolina zoning dispute in a new opinion. While the Virginia court has offered images of weapons, the federal judges included a photo of a house [...]

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A woman who occasionally rented out her Blue Ridge Mountain cabin must defend a negligence suit filed by a guest who said he was injured when he fell through a rotted hammock on the rental property. Although the cabin was the defendant Rebecca Ramos’ primary residence, she still qualified as an innkeeper who owed an [...]

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A Williamsburg custom home builder can go back to court to prove his claim that a competing builder infringed his copyrighted design when he built a Georgian-style home for a couple who had visited a model home in the Ford’s Colony subdivision. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals revived a copyright claim filed by [...]

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Chronic tardiness is not the way to win points with a judge. After a recent showdown in a federal court in South Carolina, the court and the offending litigant each came away with an appellate win. The plaintiff, who repeatedly showed up late to court and then cursed a judge after she left the courtroom, [...]

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A group of female managers who alleged pay discrimination by defendant Dollar Tree Stores Inc. could not save their suit with a claim that their request to amend their complaint tolled the limitations period to file a Title VII claim. Last week the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the managers missed the 90-day [...]

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A soldier from Fort Lee will get a U.S. Supreme Court hearing in his custody dispute with his ex-wife, who moved with their five-year-old daughter to her native Scotland In August, the high court granted a writ and scheduled oral argument for Dec. 5, 2012, in the case of Chafin v. Chafin, No. 11-1347. Sgt. [...]

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A 4th Circuit panel refused to disturb lower court findings that prosecutors denied due process rights for the Prince William County man accused of arranging the murder of a competing drug dealer. The three-judge panel Thursday affirmed the conclusions of U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson who pointedly criticized Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul Ebert and his staff [...]

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A former sheriff’s deputy who tried to get out of a speeding ticket by claiming he was still “on the job” was convicted of impersonating an officer. “Not fair,” he claimed, arguing the law against pretending to be a cop violates the First Amendment because it would criminalize actors in police uniforms and kids playing [...]

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