A federal judge’s ruling on attorney-cli­ent privilege has brought to light a novel Virginia lawsuit claim: Lawyers alleged­ly induced student loan debtors to stop making payments in order to trigger ac­tionable collection calls. A student loan debt servicer claims the ...

Tagged with: Judge Theresa C. Buchanan Student Loans U.S. District Court - Eastern District

The City of Richmond prevailed on the failure-to-accommodate claim because merely informing a supervisor about disabilities is not sufficient to trigger an interactive process. Background Plaintiff Tyrus Yerby alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Plaintiff alleges that the ...

Tagged with: Employment Discrimination Judge Henry E. Hudson U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In a case involving an ERISA-covered plan, the parties’ briefs on the motion to dismiss assumed that Virginia law applies to the corporate veil piercing claim. Supplemental briefing was ordered on whether the federal common-law standard should instead apply, and ...

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

Where employment agreements contained non-solicitation clauses covering employees, customers and suppliers, only the employee non-solicitation clause was enforceable and could be severed from the other unenforceable clauses. Background The defendants moved to dismiss certain counts of the complaint, and all ...

Tagged with: Employment Judge Rebecca Beach Smith U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A party that failed to comply with a prior court order was found to be in civil contempt and given five days to come into compliance before a $1,000 daily fine begins to accrue. The moving party is entitled to ...

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

Where all the elements for collateral estoppel were established, the bankruptcy court did not err in finding a contract was formed between the trustee and a defendant. But because the court did not articulate its reasoning on damages, the issue ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge Leonie Brinkema U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A hearing officer’s conclusion that the Loudoun County School Board provided a 9-year-old student with a free appropriate public education, or FAPE, required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, was not erroneous. Background Plaintiffs Kewin and Elizabeth ...

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

Disputed terms such as “packet(s),” “configured to” and “proxy system” in a patent case involving threat detection computer technology were resolved after a hearing. Background These matters come to the court on eight disputed terms found in the asserted claims ...

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

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 preempts a suit contesting a multimillion-dollar withdrawal liability owed to the trade association that offers the pension plan because the claims challenge the plan’s terms as violative of ERISA. The plaintiffs could ...

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

Where Norfolk Southern did not fail to accommodate a conductor allegedly suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, the conductor failed to establish a viable nonconductor job that would have accommodated his disability. Background Plaintiff alleges that defendant failed to accommodate his ...

Tagged with: Employment Discrimination Judge Henry Coke Morgan Jr. U.S. District Court - Eastern District