Where a third party that maintained confidential data for a defendant against whom plaintiffs’ claims had been stayed and the subject data was relevant to plaintiffs’ active claims against another defendant, the third party could produce the data without violating ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Judge Robert E. Payne U.S. District Court - Eastern District

After her deposition testimony, a plaintiff was allowed to change an answer by adding information that had been omitted by the court reporter but was not allowed to change another answer from “no” to “yes” where she failed to provide ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Judge Robert E. Payne U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A federal judge in Richmond has drawn a distinct line in his approach to witnesses who try to use written corrections to get the last word on their deposition answers. The judge said a deponent could correct a missing comment, ...

Tagged with: Judge Robert E. Payne U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where a state law prohibited plaintiffs from offering certain postsecondary educational programs without obtaining certification, plaintiffs could proceed on their claim that the law violated their First Amendment rights, but they were unable to demonstrate a likelihood of success on ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Judge Robert E. Payne U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A tribal entity officer could not quash a subpoena to testify about his employment before he began working for the tribal entity, even if the prior employment was related to his current position. Background Plaintiff Lula Williams filed a complaint ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Judge Robert E. Payne U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Although a medical condition made it difficult for the defendant to travel to the plaintiff’s chosen venue, she was not entitled to transfer the action because the plaintiff had a strong interest in keeping the action in the venue of ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Judge Robert E. Payne U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where a defendant was denied the effective assistance of counsel because his counsel failed to allege that his money laundering convictions presented a merger problem on appeal, the appropriate remedy was to vacate the defendant’s convictions for money laundering and ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Robert E. Payne U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Plaintiffs’ state law claims against Wells Fargo related to credit reporting were not removable to federal court because the Fair Credit Reporting Act does not preempt all claims related to credit reporting. Background Justin and Monica Newcomer filed this action ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Judge Robert E. Payne U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A woman who challenged the removal of her $400,000 slip and fall case against Food Lion from state court attempted to reduce damages to $74,000 if the case was remanded. But the court found her case met the standards for ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Judge Robert E. Payne U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A panel of arbitrators, ignoring previous guidance from the court, disregarded the law that FINRA rules provide no private right of action. The court remanded with specific instructions that a broker’s counterclaims be considered by a different FINRA arbitration panel. ...

Tagged with: Arbitration Judge Robert E. Payne U.S. District Court - Eastern District