A plaintiff can proceed to trial on his claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 that a sheriff’s deputy initiated a traffic stop without probable cause. The deputy’s explanation that the plaintiff made a concerning gesture was not constitutionally sufficient. Background ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights First Amendment Judge Jackson L. Kiser Search & Seizure U.S. District Court - Western District

Even if a litigious gadfly under police scrutiny gave the finger to a sheriff’s lieutenant, the lieutenant was not justified in stopping the car the man was in, according to a federal judge. A traffic stop merely for “gigging” an ...

Tagged with: Judge Jackson L. Kiser U.S. District Court - Western District

An inmate was entitled to partial injunctive relief related to his ongoing pain after another prisoner broke his jaw. Dental care to date has not ameliorated his pain or ability to chew food, and he is entitled to further evaluation. ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Judge Jackson L. Kiser Prisons & Jails U.S. District Court - Western District

A woman charged with theft after she refused to return an emaciated dog to its owner sufficiently stated several constitutional and state tort claims against an animal control officer and his supervisor. Background In December 2017, Plaintiff Christen Waddle encountered ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Judge Jackson L. Kiser Personal Injury Tort U.S. District Court - Western District

After taking a homebuyer’s account of foreclosure purchase at face value, a sheriff and his subordinates may go to trial for events that transpired when they accompanied her to the home to remove the previous owners. Background Plaintiffs James and ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Constitutional Due Process Judge Jackson L. Kiser Personal Injury Search & Seizure Tort U.S. District Court - Western District

Law enforcement officers who forced two family members out of their Patrick County home after a foreclosure auction and blocked them from retrieving personal property face a jury trial on conversion and civil rights claims, a Danville federal judge has ...

Tagged with: Judge Jackson L. Kiser Real Estate U.S. District Court - Western District

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 plaintiff who persistently overwhelmed the court with meritless filings was sanctioned under Rule 11 and banned from filing in the Western District for two years. The court also ruled that violations could incur further sanctions of $300 each. Background ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Civil Procedure Judge Jackson L. Kiser U.S. District Court - Western District

Although written documents were unclear as to whether a therapy service contract transferred to a subsequent facilities operator, the successor’s acceptance of therapy services as if the service contract applied created a contract implied-in-fact, with the same payment terms as ...

Tagged with: Attorneys Fees Business Law Civil Practice Contract Judge Jackson L. Kiser U.S. District Court - Western District

Inmates file lawsuits all the time, sometimes attacking their convictions, sometimes complaining about prison conditions. Some are pretty good jailhouse lawyers. But a Virginia federal judge expressed surprise this month when he realized that the inmate plaintiff in a civil ...

Tagged with: Judge Jackson L. Kiser U.S. District Court - Western District