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Tag Archives: Judge Thomas T. Cullen

Federal right to sue notice does not apply to Virginia Values Act

Man standing at fork in the road

Claims of disability discrimination and retaliation against an employer survived summary judgment, but the Western District of Virginia said the worker failed to administratively exhaust his claims under the Virginia Values Act, or VVA. In Moss v. Saja Restaurant Group ...

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Scope of expertise exceeded: Court tosses life care planner’s report

A life care planner’s expert report was excluded from an auto accident trial after a federal judge ruled that the planner rendered medical opinions that she was not qualified to in her report. U.S. District Judge Thomas T. Cullen handed ...

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Salvation Army bell ringer alleges retaliatory discharge

Where a seasonal bell ringer for The Salvation Army was terminated shortly after he complained about white employees getting better, more lucrative bell ringing assignments, he plausibly alleged a claim for retaliation. Background In late 2021, George Weatherford was hired ...

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Expert testimony limited in motor vehicle suit

Where an expert neurosurgeon did not review any of the plaintiff’s pre-accident medical records, she could not opine about the woman’s “significant prior medical history” or whether any pre-accident hypertension caused her headaches. Background This case arises from a serious ...

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Life care planner’s expert report excluded in suit

Where a life care planner selected which medications, treatments, therapies or modalities she believed an injured party would require in the future, she was rendering medical opinions without sufficient medical grounding or expert support. Her expert report was excluded as ...

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Employee’s lack of recall not enough to avoid arbitration

Where an employer provided digital forensic evidence showing a woman assented to an arbitration agreement, the woman’s statement that she did “not recall” doing so was insufficient to avoid arbitration. Background Natalie Lynn Soucie alleges that Virginia Utility Protection Service ...

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No qualified privilege for extra-organizational communications

Where a vendor argued her communications to a government employee’s supervisor were privileged as a matter of law because both parties shared an interest in discussing the employee’s conduct, that argument was rejected. Because Virginia courts have not explicitly extended ...

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