Under Virginia law, “smoke” composed of suspended particulate matter caused by concrete dust qualified for an exception to the “pollution exclusion” in the insured company’s policy. Background In this insurance coverage dispute, Plaintiff Allied Property & Casualty Insurance Co. and ...

Tagged with: Insurance Judge Anthony J. Trenga U.S. District Court - Eastern District

The actions of 28 Chinese entities selling counterfeit goods on the internet did not arise out of the same transaction or occurrence, and they must be severed into individual suits. Background The Defendants, 28 unrelated individuals and entities located in the People’s ...

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

Holding that “unclean hands” is not a defense to equitable relief in antitrust, the court excluded the defendant’s evidence that the plaintiff misappropriated its trade secrets, finding such evidence not probative under Federal Rule of Evidence 402. Background Plaintiff Steves ...

Tagged with: Evidence Judge Robert E. Payne U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A contract employee plausibly stated claims for FLSA violations and breach of contract based on allegations that his employer withheld two weeks of paychecks. Because the state court in his earlier-filed action on the same grounds had not made any ...

Tagged with: Judge M. Hannah Lauck U.S. District Court - Eastern District Wage & Hour

Defendants who asked the court to dismiss the case against them for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction had no basis to appeal the court’s denial without prejudice. The court had denied the motion on procedural grounds and ordered jurisdictional discovery to ...

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

Based on plausibly-alleged alternative theories of when her personal property sustained water damage, a plaintiff’s state-law claims against the company that both stored and shipped her property were not pre-empted by federal law governing interstate carriers. Background As alleged in ...

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

Because the existing record gave the court no grounds to determine whether (1) the defendant was lawfully present in the U.S. at the time a firearm was found in his residence or (2) whether the conviction statute could satisfy Second ...

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

Officers had probable cause to stop a vehicle for speeding and excessive window tinting. Upon smelling marijuana before even making contact with the driver, they lawfully searched the car and detained its passenger. Drugs found behind the passenger’s seat supported ...

Tagged with: Judge Robert G. Doumar Search & Seizure U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A warrant to search a vehicle was supported by probable cause, based on facts in the affidavit that a confidential witness observed child pornography on the owner’s laptop computer and that, based on the swearing officer’s experience, people who collect ...

Tagged with: Judge Robert E. Payne Search & Seizure U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A former attorney who liberally licensed a company’s patent portfolio without their knowledge and never paid them the license proceeds is liable for fraud, conversion, and breach of contract. He must disgorge more than $650,000 in ill-gotten gains and pay ...

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