Where the record showed that several individuals made half a dozen material misrepresentations in connection with a telemarketing scam, and that consumers were misled as a result, the verdicts for violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Telemarketing ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Consumer Protection Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

Where an immigrant from El Salvador failed to show that she was persecuted on account of her membership in a particular social group, the Board of Immigration Appeals, or BIA, did not err in denying her petition for asylum or ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Immigration Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

Where two men sentenced for their roles in multiple murders argued their sentences should be reduced under the First Step Act, their motions were denied. In addressing drug offense sentencing disparities, Congress did not want a sentence reduction to apply ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

Where a company twice failed to assert an Appointments Clause challenge to an administrative law judge, or ALJ, or to the Benefits Review Board, it forfeited its ability to raise that argument at the eleventh-hour. Background After Austine Salmons filed ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Administrative Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

Where a mother sued school officials for failing to report that a teacher was abusing her son, the officials were granted immunity because their decisions involved the exercise of discretion and there were no allegations showing they acted with malice. ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III Negligence

Where the defendant could not be convicted under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) for personally carrying a gun during a Hobbs Act conspiracy, his conviction for carrying a firearm during a crime of violence nevertheless stood because he was liable for ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

Where South Carolina terminated its enrollment agreements with Planned Parenthood because it provided abortion services, a woman who used Planned Parenthood for her gynecological care had standing to sue to enjoin the termination on the grounds it violated Medicaid’s free-choice-of-provider ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Civil Practice Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

Where unions sued a construction company for liquidated damages after it made a series of tardy payments to an employee health and welfare fund, the court joined three other circuits in holding that punitive damages are not recoverable in cases ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III Labor

Where a pharmaceutical company’s interpretation of a complex Medicaid statute was “objectively reasonable,” and there was no authoritative guidance from the government that clarified its interpretation of the statute, the relator failed to show the alleged false statements were “knowingly” ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Commercial Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

Where a mortgage company argued that it was not a “debt collector” under the Maryland Consumer Debt Collection Act because it only accepted monthly payments and did not actively enforce the payment obligations of defaulting borrowers, its argument was rejected ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Consumer Protection Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III