Where a professor moderating a microaggression panel allowed a student to speak for several minutes before moving on to another attendee’s question, her refusal to let him continue asking questions was not First Amendment retaliation. Background This memorandum opinion provides ...

Tagged with: Judge Norman K. Moon Tort U.S. District Court - Western District

Where a woman alleged a man sent false and defamatory emails to her employer after their relationship ended, including that she had used government property to harass him, her defamation claim survived his motion to dismiss. Background When a relationship ...

Tagged with: Judge Norman K. Moon Tort U.S. District Court - Western District

Where the exclusive dealer for wood-chipping equipment in Virginia alleged it was terminated without a reasonable opportunity to cure the alleged performance deficiencies and for reasons beyond its control, its statutory and breach of contract claims survived the manufacturer’s motion ...

Tagged with: Commercial Judge Norman K. Moon U.S. District Court - Western District

Where a homeowner alleged a county official violated the Fourth Amendment by entering his property without a warrant, but the property does not contain a home, the entirety of the property is considered an open field and, under the “open ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon U.S. District Court - Western District

Where a doctor asserted claims for defamation, tortious interference and illegal retaliation arising out of the termination of his employment relationship, an arbitrator will decide if two non-parties can take advantage of an arbitration provision in the doctor’s employment agreement. ...

Tagged with: Arbitration Judge Thomas T. Cullen U.S. District Court - Western District

Where a shopper sued for injuries allegedly suffered when he slipped on dog food while shopping at a retail store, but there was no evidence the store was actually or constructively aware of the dog food prior to the accident, ...

Tagged with: Judge James P. Jones Negligence U.S. District Court - Western District

Where the plaintiff sued the owner of a rental house, the property manager and the property management company, alleging she was injured when a wooden railing failed, but the negligence and negligence per se claims were foreclosed by fraud claims, ...

Tagged with: Judge Norman K. Moon Negligence U.S. District Court - Western District

Where the plaintiff in a wrongful death case offered a former police chief/crime-scene investigator to testify that the decedent did not die from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, but he lacked knowledge, training or experience in medical science or forensic pathology, ...

Tagged with: Evidence Judge Michael F. Urbanski U.S. District Court - Western District

Where the record showed a company terminated an employee because she violated her duty not to disclose confidential information about employees to a third party, and because she misrepresented important details of the allegations during an investigation, the company prevailed ...

Tagged with: Employment Discrimination Judge Norman K. Moon U.S. District Court - Western District

Where the installer of a grain elevator that was sued for improper installation argued the suit was barred by the statute of limitations, but a longer statute of limitations applied to written contracts for services, and it was possible to ...

Tagged with: Contract Judge Norman K. Moon U.S. District Court - Western District