Most of a tenant couple’s debt to their former landlord, based on unpaid rent and the poor conditions in which they left the rental, was dischargeable. The court held a small percentage to be non-dischargeable based on evidence that, in ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge Paul M. Black Landlord/Tenant U.S. District Court - Western District

The court granted default judgment against infringement defendants who did not respond to the plaintiff’s lawsuit, but awarded only the minimum in statutory damages and found counsel’s requested fees unreasonable. Background According to its complaint, Plaintiff LHF Productions holds the ...

Tagged with: Intellectual Property Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon U.S. District Court - Western District

On July 28, 2017, the plaintiff was a 17-year-old rising high school senior who was driving a Saturn in the right lane on Interstate 81 near Staunton when a tractor-trailer merged into the back of her car, causing it to ...

Tagged with: Judge Michael F. Urbanski Personal Injury U.S. District Court - Western District Verdict

The court granted default judgment against infringement defendants who did not respond to the plaintiff’s lawsuit, but awarded only the minimum in statutory damages and found counsel’s requested fees unreasonable. Background According to its complaint, Plaintiff LHF Productions holds the ...

Tagged with: Intellectual Property Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon U.S. District Court - Western District

A factfinder could conclude that a rail company bargained in bad faith in its contract with a coal shipper. Evidence supported an inference that the rail company actively incentivized third parties to frustrate the shipper’s performance and then refused good-faith ...

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

A photographer sufficiently stated a claim against Congressman Tom Garrett and his 2016 campaign for the unauthorized use of a photo depicting people crossing the U.S. border with Mexico, a U.S. district court held. Background Plaintiff and photographer Todd Bigelow ...

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

Even though a plaintiff male employee admitted his male workplace tormenter was not homosexual, the co-worker’s alleged persistent, sexually charged harassment was enough to let a Title VII hostile work environment claim go to trial, a federal judge has ruled. ...

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

A photographer sufficiently stated a claim against Congressman Tom Garrett and his 2016 campaign for the unauthorized use of a photo depicting people crossing the U.S. border with Mexico, a U.S. district court held. Background Plaintiff and photographer Todd Bigelow ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Copyright Elections Intellectual Property Judge Norman K. Moon U.S. District Court - Western District

A plaintiff is entitled to actual and statutory damages, attorneys’ fees, and litigation costs arising from debt-collection calls she allegedly received from the defendant, who did not respond. Background Plaintiff Betty West’s lawsuit arises out of a series of interactions ...

Tagged with: Attorneys Fees Consumer Protection Judge Joel Hoppe U.S. District Court - Western District

A recent U.S. Supreme Court case did not require dismissal of putative class claims that might arise from illegal prerecorded calls to class members outside Virginia. While that approach may be logical in the mass-tort context, it is unnecessary in ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Class Action Consumer Protection Federal Jurisdiction Judge Norman K. Moon U.S. District Court - Western District