Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly

Where the district court on its own raised the issue of whether the inmate seeking compassionate release had satisfied the First Step Act’s administrative exhaustion requirement, and then dismissed the motion for failure to exhaust administrative remedies, that was error. ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal

Where media entities sought to unseal existing district court docket and filings as well as any future proceedings, and to vacate a nondisclosure order blocking their state public records requests, the appeal was dismissed because the district court effectively granted ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Civil Practice Judge G. Steven Agee

Where defendants challenged their sentence for conspiracy to distribute and possess ice-level purity methamphetamine, it was not clearly erroneous for the district court to rely on testing results and circumstantial and direct evidence to conclude the conspiracy was centered on ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr.

Where the district court dismissed claims against only one of several defendants, an appeal from that decision was dismissed because the order being appealed was neither final nor an appealable interlocutory or collateral order. Background Michael Green seeks to appeal ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Civil Practice

Where the appellant filed his notice of appeal more than 30 days after entry of the district court’s order denying relief, and he failed to obtain an extension or reopening of the appeal period, the appeal was dismissed. Background Charles ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Civil Practice

Where a litigant appealed the district court’s dismissal of his case for failure to inform that court of his address of record, and the district court then indicated its inclination to reconsider, the appeal was remanded to allow the lower ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Civil Practice

Where a party demonstrated a lack of good faith by repeatedly violating the court’s discovery orders, its conduct caused its own counsel to make misleading statements and obstruct meaningful discovery, and the defendants suffered prejudice, a magistrate judge’s sanctions order ...

Tagged with: Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr. Sanctions U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where the company claimed it terminated a long-time, 60-year-old employee because of poor performance, but there was conflicting testimony on whether his handling of general safety concerns was egregious enough to prompt termination, the company’s motion for summary judgment was ...

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

Where the defendant had served the majority of her original sentence for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, and her medical conditions combined with a high-risk pregnancy warranted a reduction in her prison term, her motion for compassionate release was granted. Background ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr. U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where a franchisor moved to dismiss a claim alleging it failed to pay royalties to its former consultant, its motion was denied because “royalties” could plausibly be ambiguous and construed against the franchisor. Background Plaintiffs sued JTH Tax LLC d/b/a ...

Tagged with: Contract Judge Raymond A. Jackson U.S. District Court - Eastern District