Waterfront property owners who brought a groundless claim against their neighbor for working as a state agent to create a special tax district are liable for his attorneys’ fees. Background In this action, the Plaintiffs allege that Defendant Frank Gurdziel ...

Tagged with: Attorneys Fees Civil Practice Constitutional Due Process Judge Robert G. Doumar Municipal Real Estate Real Property U.S. District Court - Eastern District

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

In a defendant’s motion to dismiss his criminal indictment for illegal re-entry, he was entitled to some meaningful review of a deportation proceeding upon which his criminal prosecution was based. While he prevailed on his constitutional claim, he could not ...

Tagged with: Administrative Constitutional Criminal Due Process Immigration Judge M. Hannah Lauck U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Denying an incarcerated father’s request for transportation to his child’s adoption hearing, without offering him an alternative means to participate, was an abuse of the trial court’s discretion. Background On June 20, 2016, Appellee Shawn B. Foster, joined by his ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Domestic Relations Due Process Family Law Judge Teresa M. Chafin Parental Rights Prisons & Jails Virginia Court of Appeals

Asserting due-process claims after his school disciplined him for cheating, the plaintiff couldn’t use a pseudonym because his potential embarrassment did not outweigh the court’s presumption of openness. Background The plaintiff is a currently a senior at Defendant Virginia Polytechnic ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Constitutional Due Process Judge Robert S. Ballou U.S. District Court - Western District

An accreditation agency’s decision to withdraw the plaintiff’s accreditation as a cosmetology school was not unduly tainted by the fact that one of the commissioners was the executive and part-owner of a similar institution in a nearby city. Background This ...

Tagged with: Administrative Constitutional Due Process Education Judge Mark Davis U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A Virginia buyer could not bring suit in the Commonwealth against a Los Angeles-based Porsche franchise because, although the transaction was within the scope of Virginia’s long-arm statute, the dealer did not purposefully avail itself of the privilege of conducting ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Constitutional Contract Due Process Judge Norman K. Moon U.S. District Court - Western District

R.H., a 9-year-old girl, had lived her entire life with her mother and maternal grandmother, in her grandmother’s spacious home. R.H. was in good health and well-adjusted, with no developmental delays. R.H.’s father, who currently lives in a one-bedroom home ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Due Process Family Law Judge David W. Lannetti Norfolk Circuit Court Parental Rights Virginia Circuit Courts