Plaintiff pipeline company’s references to federal regulations in their complaint alleging defendant landowners violated plaintiff’s rights under an easement and Virginia state laws, do not show a basis for federal jurisdiction, and the Norfolk U.S. District Court remands plaintiff’s suit ...

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

In this litigation in a longstanding contest over salvage rights to the gold-laden wreck of the S.S. Central America, which sank in 1857 off the South Carolina coast, a Norfolk U.S. District Court does not have jurisdiction to rule on ...

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

Plaintiff detainees who suffered abuse at Abu Ghraib prison may pursue their suit against defendant government contractor under the Alien Tort Statute, an Alexandria U.S. District Court says; with this opinion, the court has set the legal standard for the ...

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

In this dispute between a receiver appointed by the bankruptcy court in a company’s chapter 7 proceeding and a creditor that took charge of certain collateral under a management agreement with the receiver, the creditor loses its challenge to the ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge James C. Cacheris U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In this suit by an employee of a government contractor challenging two transactions involving an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, the Alexandria U.S. District Court will not amend its  judgment awarding the ESOP over $29 million in damages, and the court ...

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

The Alexandria U.S. District Court affirms the magistrate judge’s decision and upholds defendant’s DUI conviction because there was sufficient evidence to support a finding of guilt, including an officer’s observation of defendant’s multiple lane violations, defendant’s smell of alcohol and ...

Tagged with: Judge Gerald Bruce Lee Traffic Offenses U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A government contractor that received payments from federal agencies cannot be sued under the False Claims Act for allegedly making false statements on a form identifying the contractor as a participant in the Small Business Administration’s Section 8(a) Business Development ...

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

A district court did not err in dismissing a landowner’s suit challenging a county’s comprehensive plan to extend sewer service, including a grandfather/merger provision designed to limit overdevelopment; finding a regulatory taking or constitutional violation in this situation would invalidate ...

Tagged with: Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III U.S. District Court - Eastern District Zoning

A Norfolk U.S. District Court grants plaintiff children’s hospital’s motion for emergency injunctive relief against the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ enforcement of FAQ 33, in order to reduce a statutory payment adjustment to hospitals that serve a disproportionate ...

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

Although plaintiff probation officer’s supervisor purportedly was only being a “caring supervisor” when he rubbed her hand with his thumb and said he “hoped they could work something out” so she could keep her job, plaintiff has presented a jury ...

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