Where the pleadings in the underlying suit alleged offensive publications were made during the policy period that differed in substance from those published before commencement of coverage, the “prior publication” exclusion did not obviate insurer’s duty to defend. Background In ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Insurance Judge James A. Wynn Jr.

Although the defendant challenged the search warrant that led to his plea to possession of child pornography, there was probable cause for the warrant because the facts in the affidavit supported a reasonable inference that someone using his IP address ...

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

Although the government persuaded the district court to impose a sentence above the guidelines range, the plea agreement allowed only the defendant, not the government, to ask for a sentence outside the recommended range. Background Pursuant to a plea agreement, ...

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

Where a child placement agency did not exercise sufficient control over foster parents to be held vicariously liable for their alleged negligence, the mother of the child placed in home could not sue the agency for wrongful death. Background The ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Julius N. Richardson Negligence

Where agents demonstrated that a wiretap was necessary in light of the defendant’s remote location and the lack of success that traditional investigative methods had against his co-conspirator, the defendant charged with conspiracy could not suppress the evidence. Background Demetrius ...

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

Where an administrative judge explained why an expert convincingly opined that a miner who smoked two packs of cigarettes a day for 50 years did not suffer from black lung disease, the miner was not entitled to benefits under the ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Julius N. Richardson Workers' Compensation

Where a company licensed the use of a trademark without disclosing that the company itself was under a license to use that mark, and failed to disclose the license at any point during the discovery process, barring the company from ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Intellectual Property Judge Barbara Milano Keenan

Although the United Mine Workers Benefit plan argued that Consol Energy’s change in benefits violated federal law, the alleged risk of harm to the beneficiaries was too speculative to confer standing. Background Consol Energy Inc. is required under the Coal ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Albert Diaz Labor

The defendants, who persuaded their elderly victims to transfer money to the defendants based on postured romantic relationships, failed to persuade the court that the district court made errors during their trial that would have changed the outcome. Background The ...

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

While members of the Double Nine Goon Syndikate failed in their challenge to their convictions because the district court did not err in empaneling an anonymous jury, in its evidentiary rulings or in its jury instructions, four of the defendants ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Barbara Milano Keenan