A plaintiff is entitled to actual and statutory damages, attorneys’ fees, and litigation costs arising from debt-collection calls she allegedly received from the defendant, who did not respond. Background Plaintiff Betty West’s lawsuit arises out of a series of interactions ...

Tagged with: Attorneys Fees Consumer Protection Judge Joel Hoppe U.S. District Court - Western District

A recent U.S. Supreme Court case did not require dismissal of putative class claims that might arise from illegal prerecorded calls to class members outside Virginia. While that approach may be logical in the mass-tort context, it is unnecessary in ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Class Action Consumer Protection Federal Jurisdiction Judge Norman K. Moon U.S. District Court - Western District

In a suit alleging usurious loans, two online-lending companies created by Chippewa tribal leaders failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that they were entitled to sovereign immunity as arms of the tribe. Background The Lac Vieux Desert ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection Corporate Judge Robert E. Payne U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A bond company under state investigation for consumer-protection violations has no basis to demand a confidentiality agreement before turning over its client information to the Commonwealth. Although the company said some disclosures might reveal clients’ immigration information and other personal ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection Evidence Judge William R Marchant Virginia Circuit Courts

A plaintiff who said he contacted Dish merely to comparison shop for TV plans sufficiently alleged a consumer-protection claim against the company, arising from an inquiry that appeared on his credit report that the company failed to have removed. Background ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection Judge Robert E. Payne U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Although the Virginia Consumer Protection Act covers interment rights, a plaintiff suing a cemetery owner failed to offer evidence of the misrepresentation needed to prove her claim. She said she asked for plots right next to her parents’ plots, but ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection Contract Judge David W. Lannetti Norfolk Circuit Court Virginia Circuit Courts

The “Important Opinions” that appear each week on the front page of Virginia Lawyers Weekly are those chosen by our editors as the most likely to impact law practice or a given subject area of law. Below is a listing, ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Administrative Banking Bankruptcy Civil Procedure Civil Rights Commercial Constitutional Consumer Protection Contract Corporate Criminal Domestic Relations Employment Evidence Federal Jurisdiction First Amendment Government Immigration Intellectual Property Personal Injury Real Property Search & Seizure Supreme Court of Virginia Traffic U.S. District Court - Eastern District U.S. District Court - Western District Virginia Circuit Courts Virginia Court of Appeals Wills & Trusts

A foreign company could not establish common-law trademark rights in the United States for the domain “klumba.com” because no American citizens used the company’s service. Hosting Google AdSense on the company’s Ukrainian site also didn’t put its mark in U.S. ...

Tagged with: Business Law Consumer Protection Intellectual Property Judge T.S. Ellis III U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Even though discovery was still open at the trial level, class-action plaintiffs could not present evidence creating a triable dispute about whether security-system manufacturers were vicariously liable for retailers’ TCPA violations. Background Appellee UTC Fire & Security Americas Corp. sold ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Business Law Consumer Protection Contract Judge Allyson K. Duncan Telecommunications

In October 2015, wind and rain damaged Plaintiff Constance Moss’s home. Moss’s homeowner’s insurer soon issued a claim check for over $15,000. In a move she has lived to regret, Moss sent the check to her mortgage company, Defendant Manufacturers ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection Contract Insurance Judge John A. Gibney Jr. Mortgage Real Property U.S. District Court - Eastern District