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Fire chiefs burnt in overtime lawsuit
Ten Alexandria fire department battalion chiefs who claimed they were owed overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA, saw their claim snuffed out by the Eastern District of Virginia.
CIty prevails in overtime suit by fire battalion chiefs
Where Alexandria fire department battalion chiefs argued they were owed overtime under federal and state law, but they qualified as a highly compensated employee, or HCE, they were exempt from the overtime rules. Background Plaintiffs are or have been fire department battalion chiefs, or BCs, for the City of Alexandria. From 2019 to 2022, when […]
Trademark attorney sanctioned by USPTO
Where a trademark attorney failed to act diligently and promptly in representing her clients before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, she was issued a public reprimand and placed on probation for 12 months. Background This matter comes before the court on Elizabeth Pasquine’s amended petition for review of an agency order […]
Nutritional formulations ineligible for protection
Where an inventor argued the United States Patent and Trademark Office wrongfully denied patent protection to his nutritional formulations, but each of the claims dealt with products of nature or abstract ideas that are patent ineligible and the additional claim elements did not transform the natural products into a patent-eligible application, the USPTO was granted […]
Man fired for deception, not FMLA leave
Where a salesperson argued he was terminated because he took leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, or FMLA, but the record showed his employer terminated him after learning that he was permanently banned from entering Inova facilities, which he failed to disclosure after being made aware that Inova was the largest client in […]
Boot’s functional features don’t suggest single source
Timberland boots have an iconic look that has been copied by numerous competitors. That didn’t stop a federal court from upholding the USPTO’s denial of an application seeking registration of several specific features of one of its boots as a trademark. TBL Licensing LLC argued its alleged trade dress satisfied the requirements for registrability — […]
Trademark protection denied to Timberland boots
Where the company that makes Timberland boots argued that eight specified features of one of its boots qualified for a trademark, but the evidence showed that the features were functional, the boots were ineligible for registration under the Lanham Act. Background TBL Licensing LLC filed a trademark application, seeking registration of eight specified features of […]
Trademark infringer still liable years later
Even though a cybersecurity company stopped selling goods online using an unregistered mark years before a competitor registered a similar mark, its continued use of the mark online subjected it to liability for trademark infringement. Judge Claude M. Hilton of the Eastern District of Virginia rejected the defendant’s argument that it couldn’t be held liable […]
Defendant infringed on company’s trademark
Where GoSecure owns the mark GOSECURE and operates in the cybersecurity space, a man was liable for trademark infringement for using GOSECURE on his website, blog and Twitter account, all of which contained information about cybersecurity services and goods. Background GoSecure Inc. has raised a federal trademark infringement claim under the Lanham Act against Billa […]
Res judicata bars fifth suit arising from same facts
Where the court previously dismissed with prejudice a suit brought by disgruntled bank customers for failure to state a claim, their current complaint — which was their fifth complaint — was substantially similar to the previously filed complaints and the five suits involved the same parties, the latest suit was barred by res judicata. Background […]
Petitioner failed to show eligibility for citizenship
Where the petitioner was required to demonstrate that he was lawfully admitted to the United States, but he had been previously deemed inadmissible to the United States because of a prior conviction for embezzlement, he failed to meet his burden of demonstrating he was lawfully admitted when he last entered this country. Background On July […]
Sanctions levied for Rule 11 violations
The plaintiff in a long-running dispute over the management and distribution of the assets of a bankrupt partnership must pay the defendant’s legal fees, a federal judge has ruled. In this case, the plaintiff’s amended complaint “is baseless on all counts in terms of evidentiary support,” U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton of the Eastern […]
Verdicts & Settlements
- Worker fell off roof, rendering him a paraplegic — $1.25M settlement
- Driver sustained permanent hearing loss after traffic collision — $240,000 settlement
- Plaintiff suffered concussion in rear-end collision — $81,000 verdict
- Builder misrepresented home status to buyers — $675,000 verdict
- Low potassium led to cardiac arrest, death of patient — $1M settlement
- Excessive propofol caused death in dialysis patient — $850,000 settlement
- Pedestrian struck in crosswalk in hit-and-run incident — $300,000 settlement
- Navy veteran killed in collision with box truck — $1.85M arbitration award
- Motorcyclist ejected from bike in collision with SUV — $1.5M settlement
- Jury rules in plaintiff’s favor in defamation suit with city — $300,000 verdict
- Woman missed step on walkway, rupturing Achilles tendon — $160,000 settlement
- Court dismisses suit in hit-and-run death of 2-year-old
Opinion Digests
- Debtor fails to show that signatures were forged
- Alleged defect in service of process excused
- Sales reps defeat injunction motion by former employer
- Court refuses to strike damages expert’s report
- Company can’t dismiss securities class action
- Defendants sued for not repaying loan
- No claim for ACA retaliation outside employment arena
- Plaintiffs awarded $33K in damages, $324K in fees
- Bank dodges claim for customer’s in-person transfer
- Jury to decide who is on hook for $207K loss
- Woman claims hospital did not offer appropriate exam
- Board members accused of political patronage
