In 1871, Congress passed a law “directed at the organized terrorism in the Reconstruction South,” now codified at 42 U.S.C. § 1985. Over 140 years later, the Ku Klux Klan, various neo-Nazi organizations, and associated white supremacists rallied in Charlottesville. ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Judge Norman K. Moon U.S. District Court - Western District

Genuine factual disputes remained as to whether a former university contract employee suffered pay discrimination. A male comparator with essentially equal duties received a significantly greater starting salary. Background In the fall of 2012, University of Virginia President Sullivan developed ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Employment Employment Discrimination Judge Norman K. Moon U.S. District Court - Western District

A county’s former Director of Tourism presented genuine factual disputes as to whether he was fired in retaliation for his past vote to censure members of the county board of supervisors who voted to raise taxes. Background At a Bedford ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Due Process Employment Employment Discrimination First Amendment Judge Norman K. Moon Municipal U.S. District Court - Western District

A Charlottesville counter-protester who claimed law enforcement stood by and watched white nationalist protesters assault him and others had no constitutional right to have officers intervene in the third-party misconduct. Background In response to Charlottesville’s renaming of Lee Park, Jason ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Equal Protection Fourteenth Amendment Judge Norman K. Moon U.S. District Court - Western District

A pipeline construction company had no legal right to use an access road on the defendants’ property, and therefore the company did not “possess” the land so as to require just compensation to the owner. Background This matter is before ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Judge Norman K. Moon Real Property U.S. District Court - Western District

A plaintiff alleging retaliation by his employer for an earlier charge of discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act could not rely solely on the retaliation provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The statutes protect different ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Employment Employment Discrimination Judge Norman K. Moon U.S. District Court - Western District

Plaintiffs seeking to have their insurance company defend and indemnify them in underlying defamation actions in Virginia state court didn’t present any “good reason” for the federal court not to exercise diversity jurisdiction to interpret their policy coverage. Background Rickey ...

Tagged with: Insurance Judge Norman K. Moon Tort U.S. District Court - Western District

Plaintiffs who sued a police officer for discriminatory traffic stops could not prove their selective-enforcement claim with statistics that failed to establish true comparator groups and to incorporate interracial base rates for committing the offenses at issue. Background Plaintiff Rodney ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Constitutional Equal Protection Evidence Judge Norman K. Moon U.S. District Court - Western District

Scheduling emails with a transferring judge’s chambers justified reconsideration of the plaintiffs’ motion to compel, initially denied on the court’s belief that the failed to set it for hearing, as well as the defendants’ motion for summary judgment. Background This ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Civil Procedure Discovery Judge Norman K. Moon U.S. District Court - Western District

In a selective law-enforcement case asserting claims of race discrimination, the plaintiffs could use arrest records to show the defendant officer’s intent to discriminate, but not to show a discriminatory effect on similarly situated individuals. In addition, the plaintiffs could ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Evidence Judge Norman K. Moon U.S. District Court - Western District