When a BMW store applied for a renovation permit but then performed a demolition instead, the City of Rockville, Maryland, revoked the previously-granted permit. The company’s initial permit applications contained material misrepresentations, so it had no property interest that could ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Business Law Constitutional Due Process Judge Glen E. Conrad Municipal Real Estate

The Eastern District of Virginia’s Local Bankruptcy Rule 3070-1(C), which allows for dismissal without hearing, conflicts with the requirements of 11 U.S.C. § 1307. Background In January 2017, the Eastern District’s bankruptcy trustee certified under Local Bankruptcy Rule 3070-1(C) that ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Bankruptcy Judge Allyson K. Duncan

United States border authorities must have individualized, reasonable suspicion – but not a warrant – in order to forensically search a cellphone, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled May 9. The opinion is U.S. v. Kolsuz (VLW 018-2-091). ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

As in the Patent Act, a party prevailing on a Lanham Act claim need only prove an “exceptional” case meriting a fee award by a preponderance of the evidence. And no showing of bad faith is required. Background Appellant XYZ.com ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Attorneys Fees Business Law Evidence Judge Henry F. Floyd

The district court did not err in declining to reduce the defendant’s sentence on grounds that he accepted responsibility for his offenses, since he fled the country before his initial sentencing hearing. However, the defendant should have been granted leave ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Roger L. Gregory Sentencing

The Eastern District’s Local Bankruptcy Rule 3070-1(C), which allows for dismissal without hearing, conflicts with the requirements of 11 U.S.C. § 1307. Background In January 2017, the bankruptcy trustee certified under Local Bankruptcy Rule 3070-1(C) that Debtor-Appellant Sarah No had ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Bankruptcy Civil Procedure Due Process Judge Allyson K. Duncan

This case arises out of a constitutional challenge to Virginia Code § 46.2-395, pursuant to which anyone who fails to pay court costs or fines imposed after a conviction is subject to suspension of his or her driver’s license. The ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Civil Procedure Constitutional Due Process Equal Protection Judge Henry F. Floyd

RICHMOND (AP) A federal appeals court says a man who received two partial pardons from Virginia governors is not entitled to further judicial review. Travion Blount was initially sentenced to six life terms for his role in a 2006 Norfolk ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judicial review life sentence pardons U.S. Supreme Court

When asked to impose a shorter sentence based on the defendant’s well-documented history of mental illness, the sentencing court was required to explain why it rejected such mitigation. Defense counsel had argued that the defendant’s multiple death threats sent to ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Pamela A. Harris Sentencing

This litigation arises out of the tragic death of Yeardley Love, a University of Virginia student who died in 2010. Another student, George Huguely, was convicted of her murder. His petition for a writ of habeas corpus is pending. Yeardley’s mother, ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Insurance Per Curiam Opinion