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Civil Practice: Court consolidates two related cases for discovery
Where two cases brought by a franchisor against former franchisees involved substantially common questions of law and fact, they were consolidated for discovery.
Civil Practice: Court lacked jurisdiction to enter declaratory judgment
Where the declaratory judgment sought by the plaintiff would not provide constitutionally adequate redress for cognizable injuries, the district court lacked jurisdiction to entertain it.
Civil Practice: District courts need not directly address an outstanding Rule 56(d) motion
In a case of first impression, the court joined the Fifth and Ninth Circuits in holding that district courts need not directly address an outstanding Rule 56(d) motion. Absent evidence of accidentally overlooking the motion, “[w]hen a district court enters a final judgment, it has implicitly denied any outstanding motions, even if the court does not explicitly deny a particular motion.”
The ‘Goldilocks Zone’ is the just right time for mediation
The goal in all cases should be to schedule mediation for a moment when the parties are ready to settle and can achieve maximum value — not too soon, not too late, but just right.
Know your court — and its unwritten rules
In any case, in any court, it’s essential to know your judge, your courthouse, everyone in it, and everything else that might contribute to your success or failure for your client, including and especially its unwritten rules.
In wake of ‘Trump v. CASA,’ class actions a lifeline to fighting illegal government action
At the close of its spring term, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a serious blow to the power of all Americans to protect themselves from illegal government actions.
Civil Practice: Pseudonymity denied in alleged erroneous felony drug conviction suit
Where a plaintiff who alleges his consumer report included an erroneous felony drug conviction moved to proceed under a pseudonym, his motion was denied. His speculation of future harm and fear of “retaliatory physical or mental harm” was insufficient to warrant pseudonymity.
Civil Practice: Jury demand stricken in suit challenging Confederate names on schools
Where the County School Board of Shenandoah County filed a jury demand after it was sued because it decided to reinstate the names Stonewall Jackson High School and Ashby Lee Elementary School, its jury demand was stricken. None of the claims provided a right to a jury trial.
Civil Practice: Class certified in Social Security miscalculation suit
Where the court previously concluded that the Social Security Administration has been applying the wrong formula in calculating social security benefits that are payable to children of parents who retire before reaching the full retirement age, it certified a class. But the class only went back 60 days before the complaint was filed, and not the 45 years proposed by the plaintiff. Any earlier peri[...]
Civil Practice: Defendant fails to vacate default judgment
Where a defendant that failed to respond to a complaint until months after a default judgment was entered argued that the default should be vacated, but it provided no evidence that it was free from fault or negligence when it did not respond to the plaintiff’s motion for judgment, its argument was rejected.
Civil Practice: Defendant not entitled to free transcripts from PI hearing
Where a defendant requested free copies of transcripts from three days of a hearing over the plaintiff’s request for an injunction, her motion was denied. Although the case involved conduct under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, that statute did not provide for free hearing transcripts in federal court proceedings.
Civil Practice: Plaintiff loses case because of scheduling order snafu
Where the medical malpractice plaintiff failed to file his proposed list of exhibits and witnesses with the circuit court, as required by the scheduling order, a divided court held the circuit court did not err in barring him from presenting any evidence through testimony or exhibits during his case in chief, and then granting defendants’ motion for summary judgment.
Legal Tech
- How large language models are leveling the personal injury playing field
- Attorney Share, Lawmatics integrate to automate law firm referrals
- How ransomware tactics against law firms are changing
Verdicts & Settlements
- Motor Vehicle Negligence – Motorcyclist suffers severe injuries in vehicle accident
- Medical Malpractice – Patient dies after alleged improper medicine admin
- Workers’ Compensation-Vehicle accident paralyzes Brazilian cement worker
- Medical Malpractice – Death from cancer followed stomach pain misdiagnosis
- Workers’ Compensation – Seasonal worker paralyzed in tobacco baler accident
Opinion Digests
- Criminal – Defendant convicted based upon Commonwealth witnesses’ testimony
- Zoning – Party failed to show its due process rights were violated
- Tort – Jury’s zero-damages verdict for inmate plaintiff affirmed
- Parent and child – Record supported termination of mother’s parental rights
- Criminal – Man convicted of grand larceny after stealing $26,000
- Parent and child – Brothers dispute who should be their mother’s guardian
- Tort – Allegedly defamatory statements lacked the requisite “sting”
