Where one of the parties in a settlement action previously agreed to pay its law firm a portion of settlement proceeds as attorneys’ fees, the firm cannot assert claims under state statutory or federal common law liens, but it can ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Judge Joel Hoppe U.S. District Court - Western District

Although the single-vendor policy of the Virginia Department of Corrections substantially burdened the prisoner’s exercise of his religion by restricting the vendors from whom he could buy prayer oils, the policy served compelling interests in maintaining prison security and efficiency, ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Judge Joel Hoppe U.S. District Court - Western District

A former county employee asserting claims for employment discrimination and retaliation is entitled to various categories of documents from the defendant, including material in the personnel files of other employees. Background Lynda Minke sued her former employer, Page County, alleging ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Judge Joel Hoppe U.S. District Court - Western District

A patent owner who brought a large number of infringement claims against a manufacturer was not permitted to amend its complaint to assert new claims after the manufacturer successfully challenged the claims before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, or ...

Tagged with: Intellectual Property Judge Joel Hoppe U.S. District Court - Western District

Where the discovery in plaintiff’s lawsuit was voluminous, disorganized and contentious, and a significant amount of discovery could still be outstanding, there was good cause to delay the start of trial and allow plaintiff to amend its complaint to add ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Judge Joel Hoppe U.S. District Court - Western District

Although there is already a dispute between the same parties and involving the same issue pending before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), that proceeding has been stayed. Because this case is likely to proceed at a faster pace, ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Judge Joel Hoppe U.S. District Court - Western District

A plaintiff in a premises liability action was entitled to discover the policies and procedures used by the defendant to maintain the safety of its premises at the time of plaintiff’s injury because even though the policies and procedures could ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Judge Joel Hoppe U.S. District Court - Western District

Where a plaintiff whose original claims were based on state law used a mechanism created by state law to aid in its enforcement of a state court judgment of less than $10,000, the defendant, who was a citizen of the ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Judge Joel Hoppe U.S. District Court - Western District

The court rejected the county board of supervisors’ reliance on the Virginia Freedom of Information Act to resist disclosure of closed-session discussions about the plaintiff’s termination, finding that federal law, not state law, governed. Addressing the board’s claims of attorney-client ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Judge Joel Hoppe U.S. District Court - Western District

A plaintiff is entitled to actual and statutory damages, attorneys’ fees, and litigation costs arising from debt-collection calls she allegedly received from the defendant, who did not respond. Background Plaintiff Betty West’s lawsuit arises out of a series of interactions ...

Tagged with: Attorneys Fees Consumer Protection Judge Joel Hoppe U.S. District Court - Western District