Historical pricing data, discussions about pricing and failed corporate expansion documents that were attached to motions or expert reports in an antitrust case will not be sealed because the public’s rights of access outweighed the litigants’ privacy concerns. Individual phone ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Judge John A. Gibney Jr. U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Breach of contract claims brought by a teacher who alleges he was improperly terminated after he refused to refer to a transgender male student by male pronouns do not arise under federal law, even though federal law could inform the ...

Tagged with: Employment Judge John A. Gibney Jr. U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Customers alleging that their bank’s imposition of overdraft fees violated the deposit agreement asserted facts suggesting the deposit agreement was ambiguous and that the bank exercised its contractual discretion in bad faith. The breach of contract claim survived the motion ...

Tagged with: Banking Judge John A. Gibney Jr. U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A homeowner’s carrier has no duty to cover injuries caused when the homeowner’s son punched another person because the intentional act was not an “accident,” and thus did not qualify as an “occurrence” under the policy. Background On Feb. 12, ...

Tagged with: Insurance Judge John A. Gibney Jr. U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where the Ashburn Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department, or AVFRD, was sued for patent infringement after it purchased an allegedly infringing product, the suit was dismissed because AVFRD was merely a customer and a separate declaratory judgment action between the ...

Tagged with: Intellectual Property Judge John A. Gibney Jr. U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Despite cooperation by both sides to trigger coverage for a broken jaw, a judge ruled a homeowners insurance company owes no duty of coverage because the injury was the natural consequence of an intentional act. U.S. District Judge John A. ...

Tagged with: Insurance Judge John A. Gibney Jr. U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where an insurance company had already paid $211,800 on three warranty bonds, and then received additional claims, the indemnitors were ordered to tender $950,000 to cover the money already paid and future losses. Background Great American Insurance Company filed this ...

Tagged with: Contract Judge John A. Gibney Jr. U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where indemnity provisions in agreements with an engineering consultant did not clearly exclude first party claims, and where courts construing similar provisions had not limited them to third-party claims, the consultant’s motion to dismiss the indemnity claims was denied. Background ...

Tagged with: Contract Judge John A. Gibney Jr. U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where debt collectors did not meaningfully disclose their identities and made false representations, they violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA. The plaintiff was awarded $1,000 in actual damages, $1,000 in statutory damages and $18,000 in attorneys’ fees. ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection Judge John A. Gibney Jr. U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Although the former executive of a Richmond-based advertising agency alleged a New York-based reporter and publisher conspired to harm his reputation by publishing false and defamatory articles about his resignation, the targeted conduct— news-gathering, fact-checking and publication—is typical of news ...

Tagged with: Judge John A. Gibney Jr. Tort U.S. District Court - Eastern District