Free Newsletter
Company owner dodges breach of contract suit
Where the CEO of the corporate defendant only acted for the benefit of the corporation, there were insufficient allegations to pierce the corporate veil and hold him personally responsible for the company’s alleged breach of contract. Background According to the allegations in the complaint, in 2018, Shandong Reltex Leihua Co. Ltd entered into a warehousing […]
Employee’s own allegations doom minimum wage claim
Where a former employee failed to allege facts plausibly suggesting that his employer failed to provide compensation beneath the statutory minimum wage over the course of any workweek, his minimum wage claim was dismissed. Background Addison Davila filed an amended complaint on April 26, 2023, alleging that SJ Perry LLC failed to pay its hourly […]
Federal government defeats former employee’s claims
Where claims brought by a former Defense Logistics Agency employee were barred by sovereign immunity or failed to state a claim, they were dismissed. Background William David Jones, proceeding pro se, has filed suit against his former employer, the Defense Logistics Agency, or DLA, and 12 individual federal employees for violations that he alleges occurred […]
Principal wasn’t entitled to exclusively remote work
Where an elementary school principal alleged that she was denied a reasonable accommodation when her request for entirely remote work was denied, but physical presence was an essential function of the position, the school district prevailed on the failure to accommodate claim. Background In this disability discrimination and retaliation suit, the School Board of the […]
USPTO properly redacted info in responsive documents
Where the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, redacted confidential, sensitive and privileged information from bar disciplinary hearings before producing the documents to an expelled attorney, it prevailed in a suit challenging the redactions. Background Richard Polidi, an attorney who had been expelled from the patent bar, submitted a request for documents to […]
Untimely lawsuit allowed to proceed
Where a company failed to file a lawsuit against its carrier within the statute of limitations, but it alleged that it would have filed suit earlier if not for the intentional misrepresentation of the carrier’s agent, it set forth sufficient factual allegations to support equitable estoppel. Background On Nov. 9, 2022, Entrepraneur [sic] Dream Team […]
Engineering consultant dismissed from suit
Where a company pleaded no facts plausibly showing that an engineering consultant either directly copied plaintiff’s drawings or that its drawings were substantially similar to plaintiff’s, the copyright infringement claim against the engineering consultant was dismissed. Background Metropolitan Engineering Inc. alleges that four defendants — WDG Architecture PLLC; Girard Engineering Inc.; R[...]
Rule 60 motion was filed too late
Where a man filed a Rule 60(b)(3) motion for reconsideration more than two years after his negligence lawsuit was dismissed, the reconsideration motion was dismissed as untimely. Background In November 2018, Tony Perez Welch filed a negligence suit against defendants in the circuit court, alleging that he was injured in an automobile accident in the […]
Nonprofit directors immune from ex-employees’ claims
Where uncompensated directors of a nonprofit organization did not engage in “willful misconduct or a knowing violation of the criminal law,” they were immune from claims by former employees under the Virginia Nonstock Corporation Act, or VNCA. Background Patients Out of Time, or POT, is a nonprofit organization. Michael Aldrich, Denis Petro, Irvin Rosenfeld, Melanie […]
City, employees immune from whistleblower claims
Where a woman alleged that the City of Lynchburg, its fire chief and its city manager violated Virginia’s Fraud and Abuse Whistle Blower Protection Act, the defendants were entitled to sovereign immunity against this claim. Background Mary Lynn Shumate alleges that the City of Lynchburg violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 […]
Experts excluded in condemnation damages suit
Where two of the landowners’ experts in a condemnation damages suit provided opinions that were unreliable, and a third expert failed to provide a required report, they were excluded from the trial. Background Mountain Valley Pipeline, or MVP, is constructing an interstate natural gas pipeline. MVP commenced a condemnation action under the Natural Gas Act […]
Judgment entered against company for horse’s death
Where an equine transport company was sued for its alleged negligence in the death of a show horse, and the horse’s owner alleged that the company made material misrepresentations about its “superior insurance coverage for equine transport,” the company was liable for its constructive fraud. Background A show horse named Elton, who was owned by […]
Verdicts & Settlements
- Plaintiff injured in crash with oncoming vehicle — $235,000 settlement
- Driver killed in rear-end collision with tractor-trailer — $1.5M settlement
- Man died from pancreatic cancer after delayed response — $1.8M settlement
- Worker fell off roof, rendering him a paraplegic — $1.25M settlement
- Driver sustained permanent hearing loss after traffic collision — $240,000 settlement
- Plaintiff suffered concussion in rear-end collision — $81,000 verdict
- Builder misrepresented home status to buyers — $675,000 verdict
- Low potassium led to cardiac arrest, death of patient — $1M settlement
- Excessive propofol caused death in dialysis patient — $850,000 settlement
- Pedestrian struck in crosswalk in hit-and-run incident — $300,000 settlement
- Navy veteran killed in collision with box truck — $1.85M arbitration award
- Motorcyclist ejected from bike in collision with SUV — $1.5M settlement
Opinion Digests
- Company owner dodges breach of contract suit
- Employee’s own allegations doom minimum wage claim
- Federal government defeats former employee’s claims
- Principal wasn’t entitled to exclusively remote work
- USPTO properly redacted info in responsive documents
- Untimely lawsuit allowed to proceed
- Engineering consultant dismissed from suit
- Rule 60 motion was filed too late
- Nonprofit directors immune from ex-employees’ claims
- City, employees immune from whistleblower claims
- Experts excluded in condemnation damages suit
- Judgment entered against company for horse’s death
