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Recent Articles from Rebecca M. Lightle
Copyright claim proceeds against congressman
A photographer sufficiently stated a claim against Congressman Tom Garrett and his 2016 campaign for the unauthorized use of a photo depicting people crossing the U.S. border with Mexico, a […]
Drugs in car supported arrest of passenger
Officers had probable cause to stop a vehicle for speeding and excessive window tinting. Upon smelling marijuana before even making contact with the driver, they lawfully searched the car and […]
Officers legally searched accused molester’s car
A warrant to search a vehicle was supported by probable cause, based on facts in the affidavit that a confidential witness observed child pornography on the owner’s laptop computer and […]
Patent lawyer owes over $1 million in damages
A former attorney who liberally licensed a company’s patent portfolio without their knowledge and never paid them the license proceeds is liable for fraud, conversion, and breach of contract. He […]
Colostomy alleviation was serious medical need
Given evidence that two prison doctors failed to address the plaintiff’s need for approved stoma reversal surgery, summary judgment in their favor on a federal prisoner’s Eighth Amendment claims was […]
Criminal history includes only active sentences
Rejecting the reasoning in unpublished 4th Circuit decisions on the question, the court held that under Sentencing Guidelines § 4A1.2, a defendant’s criminal history category calculation did not include petty […]
Allegations don’t establish intent to deceive
Various statements by a contractor related to its performance on a contract (estimated to be worth over $100 million) were optimistic or maybe even false, but the plaintiff’s allegations did […]
Evidence supported punitives for understaffing
In three wrongful death suits in which the jury found liability and awarded punitive damages, the district court erred in finding that the plaintiffs failed to show an “aggravating factor” […]
Top Op Digest: State-law claims for damage to stored property not pre-empted
Based on plausibly-alleged alternative theories of when her personal property sustained water damage, a plaintiff’s state-law claims against the company that both stored and shipped her property were not pre-empted […]
018-6-065 – Roberts v. Va. St. Bar (P)
Roberts v. Va. St. Bar, Record No. 180122, Sept. 6, 2018. SCV (Kelsey), from VSB Disc. Bd. VLW No. 018-6-065, 23 pp. Full-Text Opinion
018-4-007 – Hinty v. Horton
Hinton v. Horton, AP No. 18-07013, Aug. 21, 2018. WDVA Bankr. at Roanoke (Black). VLW No. 018-4-007, 8 pp. Download Full-Text Opinion
CAV: Post-stop consent to search vehicle was valid
After being released with a verbal warning for a broken brake light and driving on a suspended license, a reasonable person in the defendant’s position would have felt free to […]
Verdicts & Settlements
- Medical Malpractice-Patient dies following blood loss in surgery
- Motor Vehicle Negligence – Defense points to plaintiff’s prior collision, stressors
- Medical Malpractice – Ingrown toenail removal leads to CRPS type 2
- Motor Vehicle Negligence Rear-seat passenger injured when car hits telephone pole
- Motor Vehicle Negligence- Car crash after back surgery causes additional injuries
- Medical Malpractice – Jurors side with cardiologist over treatment of strokes
- Negligence and Tort- Ice pack use during tattoo removal causes frostbite
- Workers’ Compensation Struck by metal door at workplace, plaintiff sustains subdural hematoma
- Motor Vehicle Negligence Woman struck by vehicle loses senses of taste, smell
- Motor Vehicle Negligence – Pedestrian struck by car while in parking lot
- Motor Vehicle Negligence- Driver fractures right leg in tractor-trailer collision
Opinion Digests
- Freedom of Information – Exemption 5 protects draft PTAB written decision
- Fraud – Homeowners’ RICO claim is dismissed
- Criminal – Sex-offender convicted of providing false information
- Evidence – Defendants must respond to post-judgment discovery
- Patent and trademark – Several claims found to be ineligible for patent protection
- Criminal – Evidence supports robbery conviction
- Administrative – Internal Communications Among Patent Judges – Withheld Materials
- Criminal – Denial of continuance wasn’t abuse of discretion
- Criminal – Felony eluding conviction violated Double Jeopardy clause
- Criminal – Defendant was wrongly convicted of two counts of hit-and-run
- Criminal – Sexually-violent predator denied conditional release
- Constitutional – Redistricting effort violated Virginia Constitution
