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Judge F. Bradford Stillman

Sep 26, 2012

Payroll Count May Show Title VII ‘Employer’

A daycare teacher who alleges she was demoted then terminated in violation of Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act has raised a genuine issue of material fact that defendant daycare center is a covered employer, says a magistrate judge for the Norfolk U.S. District Court. Plaintiff alleges she was demoted in 2009 and […]

Aug 31, 2012

Collection Agency Owes Fees After FDCPA Default

A debtor wins $9,385.50 in damages and attorney’s fees in a default judgment against a Georgia debt collection agency in her suit alleging the agency violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act when it threatened legal action it could not take and called her supervisor to suggest debtor was about to be arrested; a Newport […]

Aug 9, 2012

Law firm not disqualified, but referred to the VSB

A Norfolk law firm violated ethics rules when it simultaneously represented two clients who were in adverse legal positions, a U.S. magistrate judge in Norfolk has held. The judge said he found no prejudice in the current case and would not disqualify the firm. He did, however, refer the matter to the Virginia State Bar. […]

Aug 8, 2012

Law Firm Not Disqualified for Conflict

Although a law firm has violated ethics rules by simultaneously defending a union local in a “hybrid” Section 301 case while still representing the employee suing the union in a workers’ comp case, the Norfolk U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge finds no prejudice to plaintiff to justify disqualifying the law firm in the case; but […]

Aug 8, 2012

Subs Win Defaulted Miller Act Claims

Two subcontractors on a government project for improvements at the Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach have stated valid claims for unpaid bills under the Miller Act, and a magistrate judge for the Norfolk U.S. District Court awards default judgment and damages against the surety, which is in liquidation. These cases concern an underlying […]

Mar 28, 2012

SCRA Fee Award Not ‘Retroactive’

An enlisted Navy seaman who sued Pete’s Auto Service for the loss of his 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which Pete’s towed and sold while plaintiff was deployed, wins his case under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, and the Newport News U.S. District Court reserves for jury trial the amount of damages plaintiff may recover, and […]

Jan 12, 2012

Seaman Wins SCRA Claim for Towed Jeep

An enlisted Navy seaman who sued Pete’s Auto Service for the loss of his 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which Pete’s towed and sold while plaintiff was deployed, wins summary judgment from a Newport News U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge on his claim under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, but the court will try the claim […]

Sep 14, 2011

Home Built Too Late for Flood Coverage

A Poquoson homeowner does not have coverage for certain flood damage to his elevated home near Roberts Creek, within a FEMA-designated Special Flood Hazard Area, because public records submitted by defendant insurance carrier establish that plaintiff’s home was built after May 16, 1977, the date the initial Flood Insurance Rate Map, took effect; the Newport […]

Aug 4, 2011

Judge Takes Slip & Fall Case from Jury

A man who allegedly slipped on a smashed piece of fruit in defendant grocery store’s produce section, and suffered a knee injury that required reconstructive surgery, has his negligence suit heard by a jury but dismissed by a magistrate judge for the Newport News U.S. District Court under FRCP 50(b). None of the trial testimony […]

Jul 13, 2011

Carrier Has No Duty to Defend Harassment Suit

A Newport News U.S. District Court adopts a recommendation from a magistrate judge and holds that plaintiff insurance company has no duty to defend an architect who alleged sexually harassed a coworker who was an interior designer at the design firm, under a Business Policy issued to the design firm’s owner; the claims asserted against […]

May 18, 2011

Plaintiff Challenges Flood Insurance Payout

A pro se suit alleging defendant insurance company failed to fully pay plaintiff’s claim for flood insurance prompts a Newport News U.S. District Court to take a first-impression look at federal preemption of coverage issues under the National Flood Insurance Program, and the magistrate judge says plaintiff’s only surviving claim for breach of contract belongs […]

May 5, 2011

No Attorney’s Fees for ERISA Plaintiff

A magistrate judge for the Norfolk U.S. District Court denies attorney’s fees under the fee-shifting provision of the ERISA statute to a woman who won a lawsuit demanding reimbursement for over $20,000 in vacation and disability benefits the plaintiff fund said it overpaid to the woman; the woman showed bad faith in dissipating part of […]

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