A law firm that sought attorneys’ fees before they came due under a homebuyer’s promissory note now faces discovery in an action under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The count against the firm is the only claim to ...

Tagged with: Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Judge M. Hannah Lauck U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where defendants who provided a loan for the purchase of real property allegedly demanded attorneys’ fees before they became due under the promissory note, the plaintiff alleged a plausible claim under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA. Background ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection Judge M. Hannah Lauck U.S. District Court - Eastern District

The employer was denied summary judgment on the ADA retaliation claim because the Fourth Circuit has not resolved whether placing an employee on a performance improvement plan, or PIP, after they engaged in protected conduct, could be an adverse employment ...

Tagged with: Employment Discrimination Judge T.S. Ellis III U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where the plaintiff moved to add Rehabilitation Act and Title VII claims to her second amended complaint through “joinder,” the motion was denied because a party cannot engraft claims on a complaint except through an amended pleading. Background Shawn Gonzalez ...

Tagged with: Employment Discrimination Judge M. Hannah Lauck U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where Virginia does not extend comity to a foreign divorce if neither spouse was domiciled in the foreign country at the time of the divorce, a Ghanaian divorce was not recognized because neither party was in Ghana at the time. ...

Tagged with: Immigration Judge Liam O'Grady U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where the company operating a prison argued it was entitled to summary judgment on a claim arising out of a guard’s sexual assaults of an inmate assigned to the laundry, because the guard was supervising the inmate during each of ...

Tagged with: Judge Mark S. Davis Tort U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where the used car dealership concealed the terms of the financing relationship so it could acquire more money from a customer, it was liable for fraud. The customer was awarded $2,000 under the Truth in Lending Act, nearly $100,000 in ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection Judge Liam O'Grady U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Although Cisco argued it was entitled to a new trial because a prior ruling ordering it to pay $1.9 billion for infringing a startup’s cybersecurity patents included new theories of infringement and damages not presented by the plaintiff, the infringement ...

Tagged with: Intellectual Property Judge Henry Coke Morgan Jr. U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where the disability administrator’s initial letter concluded the applicant was disabled due to a mental condition, but its final determination concluded that he was not, the claim was remanded to the administrator so that the applicant could administratively appeal the ...

Tagged with: Contract Judge T.S. Ellis III U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where investors alleged JUUL and Altria engaged in a scheme to allow the continued marketing of e-cigarettes to minors while publicly denying JUUL’s intention of targeting youths in an effort to avoid further litigation or regulation that could curb its ...

Tagged with: Judge David J. Novak Securities U.S. District Court - Eastern District