Patent Suit Barred by Prior Judgment
A Richmond U.S. District Court grants judgment on the pleadings to defendant parking company in this suit by plaintiff software company attempting to enforce its ‘662 patent, a system that transforms data from one computer system into another format for use by a different computer system; under the doctrine of collateral estoppel, the present suit […]
No Jurisdiction from Securities Counterclaims
Plaintiff company’s suit against former employees and a competitor alleging conspiracy to misappropriate trade secrets is remanded back to state court by the Richmond U.S. District Court; language in the two federal securities statutes cited in defendants’ counterclaims does not trump the well-pleaded complaint rule that requires the court to look only to plaintiff’s complaint […]
New Defendant Added in Elevator-Drop Case
In this negligence action filed by a woman who was injured when she stepped into an elevator on the 12th floor of the tower at One Commerce Place in Norfolk and the elevator suddenly and violently dropped a number of floors, a Norfolk U.S. District Court will allow amendment of her complaint to substitute as […]
Contaminated Steroid Cases Go Back to State Court
A Roanoke U.S. District Court remands to state court multiple suits against defendant physicians, a corporation and a pain-management clinic alleging defendants acted negligently, fraudulently and in violation of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act by obtaining a contaminated injectable steroid from the New England Compounding Center and administering it to patients who contracted fungal meningit[...]
Contaminated Steroid Case Remanded to State Court
A Roanoke U.S. District Court remands to state court an estate’s suit against defendant physicians, a corporation and a pain-management clinic alleging defendants acted negligently, fraudulently and in violation of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act by obtaining a contaminated injectable steroid from the New England Compounding Center and administering it to decedent, who died from […]
Rule changes would deal with discovery
Lawyers are concerned that discovery is getting out of hand. The masses of data that are part of everyday operations in modern organizations are generating ever-more complicated discovery demands, even in simple cases. Responding to concern from litigators nationwide, the U.S. Courts’ Advisory Committee on Rules of Civil Procedure recently approved proposed changes to several […]
Wrongful Death Suit Remanded
A Big Stone Gap U.S. District Court remands to state court plaintiff administrator’s wrongful death suit against a health and rehabilitation center. Because plaintiff is a citizen of Virginia, it is now clear that there is no longer complete diversity between plaintiff and each defendant in this case and thus this court no longer has […]
Suit to Invalidate Trust OK in Federal Court
An Alexandria U.S. District Court says the probate exception to federal court jurisdiction does not apply to a suit that seeks to invalidate an inter vivos trust, and it denies plaintiff’s motion to remand this suit back to a Virginia state court. Col. William P. Oliver Jr., U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.), created the William P. […]
Fees Awarded in Suit to Enforce Settlement
In this suit to enforce the parties’ settlement of alleged breaches of an agreement between a Virginia business and a German corporation, the Alexandria U.S. District Court, on remand from the 4th Circuit, awards defendant, as prevailing party, $893,771.64 in attorney’s fees and $55,249.76 in costs. The parties’ 2008 settlement agreement provided that in the […]
Fees Reduced for Duplicate Work
In the wake of defendant AOL’s $5 million offer to settle class claims by AOL members who allege defendant violated electronic privacy laws by releasing for download 20 million search queries conducted by people using over 600,000 AOL screen names, the Alexandria U.S. District Court declines to award fees in the amount requested by class […]
Pakistani Forum Not Convenient for Hotel Explosion Suit
The family of a former naval commander who worked as a private security contractor and who was killed in a 2008 terrorist bombing at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, is entitled to heightened deference to their decision to sue Marriott in a Maryland federal court instead of a Pakistani court, and because the district […]
No Jurisdiction from Internet Pharmacy Sales
Defendant foreign banks cannot be sued in a Virginia federal district court for an alleged global cyber-crime conspiracy to collect funds from the sale of illegal counterfeit prescription drugs over the Internet to American consumers; the 4th Circuit affirms dismissal of this suit for injunctive relief for lack of personal jurisdiction over the foreign banks. […]
Verdicts & Settlements
- Jury reaches defense verdict in $4M med mal action
- Dental hygienist tripped, fractured right wrist, foot — $190,000 settlement
- Couple contracted Hepatitis A after dining at restaurant — $5.5M settlement
- Elderly man suffers hip fracture after attack by neighbor’s dog — $350,000 settlement
- Motorcyclist injured when vehicle abruptly changed lanes — $300,000 verdict
- Passenger ejected from car in high-speed chase crash — $685,000 settlement
- Defense verdict reached in fraud suit
- 8-year-old killed in crash involving tractor-trailer — $1,100,000 settlement
- Plaintiff conceived child after vasectomy — $250,000 settlement
- Delay in diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy led to surgery — $283,432.18 settlement
- Golfer stepped in sinkhole, fractured ankle — $442,000 verdict
- Jury sides with woman injured in rear-end collision — $300,000 verdict
Viewpoint
- The promise and peril of artificial intelligence in patent law
- Keys to becoming an unfrazzled lawyer
- Confused about federal COVID-19 emergencies ending? You’re not alone
- Generative AI in law: New survey of lawyer perspectives and plans
- Four misconceptions about appeals
- Font choice exposes fabricated document
- USPTO launches first-time filer expedited exam pilot program
- In times of crisis, the ‘tug of war’ is over
- The ever-evolving Fourth Circuit
- Federal protections for pregnant, nursing employees coming
- It’s time for employers to embrace the ‘Big Quit’ and adapt
- Tell the whole truth? I’ll do better than that