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 Albert Diaz Judge Diana Gribbon Motz Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon Judge Henry Coke Morgan Jr. Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III Justice Stephen R. McCullough

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 Dennis W. Shedd Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III Judge James P. Jones Judge Norman K. Moon Judge Paul M. Black Judge Roger L. Gregory Judge T.S. Ellis III

Even if a debtor filed for bankruptcy in response to a judgment against him and possessed significant assets, the district court did not err in finding that the debtor did not file for bankruptcy in bad faith. Background Appellee Peter ...

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

Federal law permitted harsher sentencing for a defendant’s drug crimes because his prior conviction for voluntary manslaughter in North Carolina qualified as a “violent felony” under the applicable statute. In sentencing Appellant Antoine Smith for drug-possession convictions, the district court ...

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

A medical-implant manufacturer, the defendant at a consolidated trial arising from a much larger multidistrict litigation, did not demonstrate either that consolidation was unfair or that the trial court otherwise committed reversible error, the court of appeals held. Appellant Boston ...

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

The court of appeals upheld Appellant Michael Maynes Jr.’s convictions for sex trafficking, holding that the trial court properly instructed the jury on the definition of “fraud” and also excluded evidence of the victims’ past engagement in commercial sex. A ...

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

An exotic dance club could not enforce arbitration agreements it obtained from its entertainers when it used those agreements as an “insurance policy” for merits-based litigation, the court of appeals said. Plaintiff/Appellee Alexis Degidio performed as a dancer at Defendant/Appellant ...

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

The district court was correct to strike down a Baltimore ordinance requiring pregnancy centers that do not offer or refer for abortions to disclose that fact via waiting-room signage, the circuit court said. The Greater Baltimore Center for Pregnancy Concerns ...

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

In an Equal Pay Act case, an employer offering reasons for pay disparities between men and women must show it actually applied those reasons in the wage decision process to avoid liability, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Barbara Milano Keenan Judge Henry F. Floyd Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

Penley v. McDowell County Board of Education (VLW No. 017-2-203, 31 pp.) (Thacker, J.) (Wilkinson J., concurring) 16-2034; Nov. 28, 2017; USDC at Asheville, N.C. (Cogburn J.) 4th Cir. Holding: A state house member allegedly threatened the plaintiff-teacher – who ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Employment Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III Judge Stephanie Dawn Thacker