An unsuccessful candidate for county sheriff sufficiently stated claims for malicious prosecution by a commonwealth’s attorney and a state police officer. The plaintiff said they conspired to prosecute him for election fraud with no evidence to support the charge. Background ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Elections Judge John A. Gibney Jr. Municipal Search & Seizure Tort U.S. District Court - Eastern District

West Point residents stated viable nuisance and trespass claims against a paper mill near their properties. The plaintiffs alleged that wood dust invades the air in their homes and cars, even with windows closed. Background In downtown West Point, Virginia, ...

Tagged with: Environmental Judge John A. Gibney Jr. Real Estate Real Property Tort U.S. District Court - Eastern District

The question whether the Lexington Carriage Company is protected by the limited grant of immunity in Code § 3.2-6200 et seq. may be one of first impression. Cases involving horse-drawn carriages are few in number. Many other states have equine ...

Tagged with: Judge Anita D. Filson Personal Injury Rockbridge County Circuit Court Tort Virginia Circuit Courts

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 Constitutional Federal Jurisdiction First Amendment Judge Norman K. Moon Second Amendment Tort U.S. District Court - Western District

Despite not providing school transportation to students with known disciplinary problems, municipal entities had no duty to stop the students from harming residents of the neighborhoods the students traversed to reach school. Background Richard Fletcher and his wife lived just ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Albert Diaz Municipal Personal Injury Tort

A woman charged with theft after she refused to return an emaciated dog to its owner sufficiently stated several constitutional and state tort claims against an animal control officer and his supervisor. Background In December 2017, Plaintiff Christen Waddle encountered ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Judge Jackson L. Kiser Personal Injury Tort U.S. District Court - Western District

Claims against a U.S. military contractor for its involvement in abuse of Abu Ghraib prison detainees can proceed and are not affected by the U.S. Supreme Court’s April decision in Jesner v. Arab Bank PLC. Background This civil action arises out ...

Tagged with: Constitutional International Law Judge Leonie Brinkema Tort U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A manufacturer stated a claim for defamation against the project-management company for whom it had provided turbines, based on oblique comments about “quality control” made by the company’s CEO on its shareholder earnings call. Background In this action, Plaintiff Fluor ...

Tagged with: Business Law Contract Judge M. Hannah Lauck Personal Injury Tort U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Based on her responsibilities as set forth in the Virginia Code, a school board’s Director of Budget & Finance was a “public official” who had to show actual malice to prove that a TV news station defamed her. She failed ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Constitutional Defamation Employment First Amendment Judge Henry F. Floyd Personal Injury Tort

A plaintiff claiming that her supervisor defamed her with crude comments at work could not hold their employer vicariously liable for the statements. The comments were outside the scope of employment, and the district court lacked any indication that this ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Employment Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III Personal Injury Tort