Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly

Where procedural and substantive reasonableness requirements are necessary to ensure the broad remedial purposes of the First Step Act, but the district court here did not explain why it believed a large upward variance was warranted when it resentenced the ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Stephanie Dawn Thacker

Where the defendant published videos and sold merchandise that depicted a man’s face on the hind end of an animal and on a cartoon body, those creations, while repugnant, are parody images protected by the First Amendment. Background Kathy Steele ...

Tagged with: Judge John A. Gibney Jr. Tort U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where a company placed its vice president for enterprise sales on unpaid administrative leave, it was not required to pay her salary and commissions. She was not providing any “services” to the company as she had unilaterally taken unauthorized PTO. ...

Tagged with: Employment Judge Anthony J. Trenga U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where the plaintiff alleged that a company inaccurately reported his driver’s license number and state of issuance, but he only alleged emotional distress or wasted time damages in conclusory fashion, and his only economic damages were $1 in postage, the ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection Judge John A. Gibney Jr. U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where the Social Security Administration, or SSA, disqualified an attorney from representing disability claimants before the agency because he had been disbarred by two state bars, and the attorney challenged that decision on multiple grounds, each of his challenges was ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Judge David J. Novak U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where the mother of man who was fatally shot by Virginia state troopers after a high-speed chase sued the deputies involved in the shooting, her official capacity claims were dismissed. The Eleventh Amendment protects state officials acting in their official ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Judge Henry E. Hudson U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where the debtor previously claimed that her debt was obtained by fraud and forgery and the district court dismissed her claims in a final judgment, her claims were barred by res judicata. Background On June 5, 2017, Esther Mammie Yates ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where a student failed to plead facts showing that the Henrico County School Board acted with bad faith or gross negligence in implementing her individualized education program, or IEP, her Rehabilitation Act claim was dismissed.  Background Plaintiff A.C., a minor, ...

Tagged with: Administrative Judge Henry E. Hudson U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where a former employee alleged his former employer refused to rehire him because of his sexual orientation, but his charge of discrimination never mentioned that he applied for other positions, and instead stated that the last instance of discrimination took ...

Tagged with: Employment Discrimination Judge Thomas T. Cullen U.S. District Court - Western District

Where a nurse who was discharged for not providing proof of vaccination or obtaining a religious or medical exemption sued the University of Virginia, her claims were dismissed. UVA’s policy is related to the government interest in preventing COVID-19 from ...

Tagged with: Employment Judge Norman K. Moon U.S. District Court - Western District