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Employment: Coal miner’s wife is awarded Black Lung Benefits
Where a doctor reached his diagnosis of pneumoconiosis based, in part, on terminal arterial blood gas studies, the administrative law judge did not err in finding the report sufficiently “linked” the studies results to the decedent’s pneumoconiosis.
Criminal: Convicted sex offender violated SORNA
Where the district court did not err when it instructed the jury on the relevant elements of Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, the defendant’s conviction was affirmed.
Habeas Corpus: District court must consider inmate’s actual innocence claim
Where the district court held an inmate failed to proffer new, reliable evidence in support of his actual innocence claim, it erred. The exculpatory declaration by the perpetrator of the underlying murder, who was the only witness to ever connect the inmate to the crime, was both new and reliable.
Immigration: BIA failed to consider evidence supporting torture petition
Where the immigration judge and Board of Immigration Appeals ignored evidence showing that the Honduran government was unable or unwilling to protect the petitioner, incorrectly placed the burden on him to show otherwise and failed to meaningfully engage with evidence that the Honduran government is corrupt, colludes with gangs and turns a blind eye to torture, the Board of Immigration Appeals’ [...]
Tort: Trade secrets claim is reinstated
Where the district court dismissed a trade secret claim because it concluded that a company did not plausibly allege it took reasonable measures to protect the secrecy of the proprietary software, it erred. The company plausibly alleged that the proprietary software was covered by the confidentiality provision, which was a reasonable measure intended to keep it secret.
Immigration: Felony charge dooms cancellation of removal application
Where an immigration judge indicated her intent to grant a man’s application for cancellation of removal, but the man was charged with a felony before the application was granted, the man’s application was denied.
Criminal: Court refuses to enforce appeal waiver
Where the district court failed to inform the defendant of the terms of the appeal waiver, mischaracterized the plea agreement’s material terms and failed to ensure the defendant understood the meaning of the appeal waiver, this court refused to enforce the appeal waiver.
Criminal: Former Baltimore City state’s attorney’s mortgage fraud conviction vacated
Where the former Baltimore City state’s attorney was convicted of mortgage fraud, but the jury was improperly instructed regarding venue, and the error was not harmless, the mortgage fraud conviction and resulting forfeiture were vacated.
PI limitations period applies to Title IX claims
In agreement with sister circuits, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has applied the statute of limitations from South Carolina’s personal injury cause of action to analyze whether an appellant’s Title IX claims were timely filed.
Education: State personal injury statute of limitations applies to Title IX claim
The court agrees with other circuits and holds that Title IX claims in this circuit borrow the statute of limitations from a state’s personal injury cause of action.
Search and Seizure: Divided court affirms suppression of child sexual abuse evidence
Where a warrant allowed seizure of a cell phone but did not authorize its search, but investigators nevertheless searched the phone and found evidence of child sexual abuse material, a divided court affirmed suppression of the evidence. The government cannot fall back on the good faith exception when it unreasonably exceeds the scope of an unambiguous warrant.
Criminal: District court chastised for ‘frequent and repeated disregard’ of rights
Even if the appeal waiver was valid, this court would not enforce it. This particular district court’s practice of frequent and repeated disregard for a defendant’s right to necessary information during plea colloquies and indifference to proper procedure during sentencing hearings – which stems from the court’s knowledge that its conduct would be effectively shielded by an appeal waiver �[...]
Verdicts & Settlements
- Medical Malpractice-Patient dies following blood loss in surgery
- Motor Vehicle Negligence – Defense points to plaintiff’s prior collision, stressors
- Medical Malpractice – Ingrown toenail removal leads to CRPS type 2
- Motor Vehicle Negligence Rear-seat passenger injured when car hits telephone pole
- Motor Vehicle Negligence- Car crash after back surgery causes additional injuries
- Medical Malpractice – Jurors side with cardiologist over treatment of strokes
- Negligence and Tort- Ice pack use during tattoo removal causes frostbite
- Workers’ Compensation Struck by metal door at workplace, plaintiff sustains subdural hematoma
- Motor Vehicle Negligence Woman struck by vehicle loses senses of taste, smell
- Motor Vehicle Negligence – Pedestrian struck by car while in parking lot
- Motor Vehicle Negligence- Driver fractures right leg in tractor-trailer collision
Opinion Digests
- Freedom of Information – Exemption 5 protects draft PTAB written decision
- Fraud – Homeowners’ RICO claim is dismissed
- Criminal – Sex-offender convicted of providing false information
- Evidence – Defendants must respond to post-judgment discovery
- Patent and trademark – Several claims found to be ineligible for patent protection
- Criminal – Evidence supports robbery conviction
- Administrative – Internal Communications Among Patent Judges – Withheld Materials
- Criminal – Denial of continuance wasn’t abuse of discretion
- Criminal – Felony eluding conviction violated Double Jeopardy clause
- Criminal – Defendant was wrongly convicted of two counts of hit-and-run
- Criminal – Sexually-violent predator denied conditional release
- Constitutional – Redistricting effort violated Virginia Constitution
