A detective seeking to clear his name in connection with several criminal cases presented no countervailing interest to the public right of access to exhibits he had attached to an earlier public filing. The exhibits contained his personal employment records, ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Judge Michael F. Urbanski U.S. District Court - Western District

Protracted litigation repeatedly put consumer-plaintiffs on notice that their complaints failed to meet Rule 8 pleading standards, but they never amended their complaints during this time despite having leave to do so. Thus, the district court did not err in ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Civil Procedure Class Action Judge Stephanie Dawn Thacker

After a landlord obtained a default judgment against a commercial tenant for unpaid rent, the circuit court erred in finding that the guarantor waived any objection to the validity of the default judgment by entering a general appearance during post-judgment ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Justice D. Arthur Kelsey Landlord/Tenant Supreme Court of Virginia

The trial court erred in holding a father in contempt for failing to notify the mother of their child of the date of their son’s first communion. Background Father and Mother, who separated in 2008, are subject to a final ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Domestic Relations Family Law Judge Rosemarie Annunziata Virginia Court of Appeals

The material terms of the parties’ contract for services were committed to writing in daily sales tickets and an invoice for hours of services performed. Absent additional conditions agreed upon by the parties, an unsigned writing can be a written ...

Tagged with: Business Law Civil Procedure Construction Contract Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Bruce D. White Virginia Circuit Courts

Although the plaintiff’s choice of venue would ordinarily be entitled to great weight, several factors tipped the balance in favor of transfer to California, including the location of the defendant company’s headquarters, the location of key witnesses, and the small ...

Tagged with: Business Law Civil Procedure Class Action Judge M. Hannah Lauck U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Under Code § 19.2-306, the circuit court had jurisdiction to hear the case against the appellant when it revoked her “indefinite” probation and ordered her to serve 90 days of her previously suspended sentence. Background Appellant Dorothy Cilwa was convicted ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Judge Marla Graff Decker Sentencing Virginia Court of Appeals

This court granted judgment by default against all three Defendants for $85,851, attorney’s fees, and costs. After the Plaintiffs attempted to execute the judgment several times, the Defendants moved to set aside the default judgment on four grounds. The court ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Contract Judge Everett A. Martin Jr. Norfolk Circuit Court Real Estate Real Property Virginia Circuit Courts

Experts’ calculation and application of statistical significance (p-values) must be relevant, reliable, and not likely to confuse jurors. After plaintiffs’ expert opinions were excluded, their non-expert evidence was not sufficient to survive summary judgment, and the district court appropriately granted ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Civil Procedure Evidence Judge Albert Diaz Personal Injury

A company waived the confidentiality of its business information presented at trial. First Amendment principles and the company’s failure to follow Local Rule 5(C) also weighed against sealing the records. Background In this products liability action, a jury trial was ...

Tagged with: Business Law Civil Procedure Constitutional First Amendment Judge Robert E. Payne Public Records U.S. District Court - Eastern District