The likelihood that a former gang member would be tortured if removed to his home country because of his gang-related tattoos depended on the total risk of torture posed by rival gangs, anti-gang vigilantes and police forces in the aggregate. ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Immigration Judge Henry F. Floyd

Disputed evidence on whether an employee who struggles with mobility could have performed her job without extensive travel, whether the employer lacked a reasonable belief she could engage in such travel and whether she was terminated because of her disability ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Employment Discrimination Judge Henry F. Floyd

An applicant for supplemental security income will get another chance to convince an administrative law judge that she is entitled to benefits after the court held the ALJ’s initial opinion did not adequately explain her reasoning, including how the applicant’s ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Administrative Judge Henry F. Floyd

A mobile home park may have violated the Fair Housing Act by requiring residents to provide proof of their legal residency in the United States, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. Four Latino families allege that the ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Barbara Milano Keenan Judge Henry F. Floyd Judge James A. Wynn Jr. Judge T.S. Ellis III

Waste and water management systems in Iraq and Afghanistan were operationally controlled by the military, not its contractor. Thus, mass tort claims for harms caused by the contractors’ alleged environmental mismanagement were barred by the political question doctrine. Background As ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Class Action Constitutional Judge Henry F. Floyd Personal Injury

Based on her responsibilities as set forth in the Virginia Code, a school board’s Director of Budget & Finance was a “public official” who had to show actual malice to prove that a TV news station defamed her. She failed ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Constitutional Defamation Employment First Amendment Judge Henry F. Floyd Personal Injury Tort

As in the Patent Act, a party prevailing on a Lanham Act claim need only prove an “exceptional” case meriting a fee award by a preponderance of the evidence. And no showing of bad faith is required. Background Appellant XYZ.com ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Attorneys Fees Business Law Evidence Judge Henry F. Floyd

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

As seasoned attorneys know, the lofty principles that attract aspiring lawyers can quickly be overshadowed by client emergencies, Sisyphean scheduling conundrums, unreasonable opposing counsel, billing targets, intrafirm politics, and understaffed courts. But from time to time, our esteemed judges take ...

Tagged with: Judge Henry F. Floyd Judge Jackson L. Kiser Judge Randolph A. Beales Judge Robert J. Humphreys Judge Stephanie Dawn Thacker

A Taliban fighter’s conviction for conspiring and attempting to destroy a U.S. helicopter in 2009 was subject to the rules of non-international conflict under the Third Geneva Convention, and accordingly U.S. courts could adjudicate and review it. Background Appellant Irek ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Administrative Constitutional International Law Judge Henry F. Floyd