Asserting due-process claims after his school disciplined him for cheating, the plaintiff couldn’t use a pseudonym because his potential embarrassment did not outweigh the court’s presumption of openness. Background The plaintiff is a currently a senior at Defendant Virginia Polytechnic ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Constitutional Due Process Judge Robert S. Ballou U.S. District Court - Western District

Although defendant, who allegedly participated in an investment fraud scheme, failed to attend a scheduled deposition, the Roanoke U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge will take under advisement plaintiff’s request for default judgment and order defendant to attend a rescheduled deposition. ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Judge Robert S. Ballou U.S. District Court - Western District

In this ERISA action filed by the Department of Labor seeking to hold defendants liable for purported breaches of fiduciary duties under a failed ESOP, the Roanoke U.S. District Magistrate Judge denies a defendant’s motion to compel DOL to produce ...

Tagged with: Employment Judge Robert S. Ballou U.S. District Court - Western District

A Caucasian hair stylist involved in a long-term relationship with an African-American man, who was fired after she complained to the salon owner about the African-American salon manager’s racially charged comments, may try her Title VII retaliation claim against the ...

Tagged with: Employment Judge Robert S. Ballou U.S. District Court - Western District

The decedent was a patient of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center from late 2011 through his death from can­cer in June 2013. He sought care beginning in December 2011 for thyroid-related symp­toms, including a prominent goiter. As part of the ...

Tagged with: Judge Robert S. Ballou Medical Malpractice Million-Dollar Settlements U.S. District Court - Western District

A hospital cannot resist a dyslexic se­curity guard’s request for documents rele­vant to his suit under the Americans with Disabilities Act by saying the third-party vendor fees for conducting the relevant document searches are not “proportional” because plaintiff worked only ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Judge Robert S. Ballou U.S. District Court - Western District

In this suit by a former assistant special agent in charge (ASAC) for law enforcement services at the Lynchburg office of the Department of Motor Ve­hicles, a Lynchburg U.S. District Court accepts a magistrate judge’s recom­mendation to grant plaintiff’s motion ...

Tagged with: Employment Judge Norman K. Moon Judge Robert S. Ballou U.S. District Court - Western District

This case involved two collisions, sec­onds apart, caused by two commercial vehicles. Plaintiffs were a family of four (two adults and two teenage children) travelling in their sedan on Interstate 77 in Wythe County when they were struck in the ...

Tagged with: Judge Robert S. Ballou Million-Dollar Settlements Personal Injury U.S. District Court - Western District

A plaintiff who lost her wrongful death products liability suit after her husband’s death in a riding lawn mower rollover accident will not have to pay a $23,069 bill of costs submitted by defen­dant manufacturer, says a Harrisonburg U.S. District ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Judge Michael F. Urbanski Judge Robert S. Ballou U.S. District Court - Western District

A Roanoke U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge denies employer’s motion to strike allegations in plaintiff’s Title VII suit alleging race-based harassment and hostile work environment related to an earlier and similar suit filed by a former coworker;  the allegations are ...

Tagged with: Employment Judge Robert S. Ballou U.S. District Court - Western District