Various statements by a contractor related to its performance on a contract (estimated to be worth over $100 million) were optimistic or maybe even false, but the plaintiff’s allegations did not sufficiently allege executives’ scienter, i.e. a motive to deceive ...

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

At the time of the medical care at issue in December 2014, the plaintiff was 48 and employed as a Public Affairs Specialist. She had just been promoted five weeks before the procedure in question. The plaintiff is married, has ...

Tagged with: Medical Malpractice Million-Dollar Settlements 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: Contract Judge Mark Davis Property Tort 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: Business Law Civil Procedure Discovery Judge Robert E. Payne 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 Intellectual Property Judge T.S. Ellis III U.S. District Court - Eastern District

The plaintiff in this case was negligently shot by a friend who was playing with a handgun. The victim was airlifted to INOVA Fairfax Hospital. The shooter pled guilty to the reckless handling of a firearm in violation of Virginia ...

Tagged with: Insurance U.S. District Court - Eastern District Verdict

A out-of-state defendant is subject to the court’s jurisdiction, based on the numerous purchase orders (of large dollar value) that it placed with a Virginia health-care-products company. Background Plaintiff Belmora, a Virginia pharmaceutical company, is suing Defendant Midway Importing Inc. ...

Tagged with: Business Law Civil Procedure Constitutional Due Process Fifth Amendment Judge Liam O'Grady U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In a suit alleging usurious loans, two online-lending companies created by Chippewa tribal leaders failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that they were entitled to sovereign immunity as arms of the tribe. Background The Lac Vieux Desert ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection Corporate Judge Robert E. Payne U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A company that obtained a trademark for the phrase “we buy houses” cannot enforce it, because the phrase was used extensively by industry participants to describe a class of services rather than any particular service provider. Background Plaintiff Express Homebuyers ...

Tagged with: Business Law Intellectual Property Judge T.S. Ellis III U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A plaintiff allegedly trying to assume the loan obligations on a home owned by her late husband did not plausibly allege facts to support her breach-of-contract claims against the lender. The entity that conducted the foreclosure sale was dismissed as ...

Tagged with: Banking Contract Judge M. Hannah Lauck Mortgage Real Estate Real Property U.S. District Court - Eastern District