-
6 days ago | 
valawyersweekly.com | Nick Hurston
In brief 4th Circuit reinstates no-poach lawsuit against shipbuilders Alleged secret agreement suppressed wages in naval engineering Plaintiffs claim fraudulent concealment tolls statute of limitations Court finds unwritten conspiracies can trigger antitrust liability Allegations that the nation’s largest shipbuilders and naval engineering consultancies formed a “gentlemen’s agreement” not to recruit each other’s employees in an effort to drive down wages were sufficient to survive dismissal,...
-
1 week ago | 
valawyersweekly.com | Nate Delesline III |Nick Hurston
Judge allows FOIA production claim to proceed despite agency’s denial Conflict Kinetics seeks 452 emails on Tunisia defense contract Court says mootness does not apply to unresolved FOIA exemptions Agency cited FOIA exemptions 3, 4, and 5 to withhold documents A government agency’s response that it withheld records responsive to a Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, request, did not negate subject matter jurisdiction for a determination of whether a FOIA exemption applied, the Eastern...
-
2 weeks ago | 
valawyersweekly.com | Nick Hurston
In brief4th Circuit affirms debtor’s Chapter 11 reorganization plan. Court rejects liability insurance provider’s fraud and bad faith objections. Plan found to meet Bankruptcy Code’s good faith and statutory requirements. Trust structure complies with § 524(g) for asbestos-related claims.
-
3 weeks ago | 
nclawyersweekly.com | Nick Hurston
SUMMARYAppeals court reinstates advisor’s claim for unpaid services. Consultant alleges handshake deal promised 20% equity stake. Contract and estoppel claims dismissed for lack of agreement. Case remanded for damages on quantum meruit grounds. Although a consultant failed to present sufficient evidence of a contract for ongoing real estate advisory services, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that summary judgment was premature for the consultant’s quantum meruit claim.
-
3 weeks ago | 
nclawyersweekly.com | Nick Hurston
SUMMARYFourth Circuit affirms Kaiser Gypsum’s Chapter 11 reorganization plan. Court rejects Truck Insurance’s fraud and bad faith objections. Plan found to meet Bankruptcy Code’s good faith and statutory requirements. Trust structure complies with § 524(g) for asbestos-related claims.
-
3 weeks ago | 
valawyersweekly.com | Nick Hurston
Although a consultant failed to present sufficient evidence of a contract for ongoing real estate advisory services, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that summary judgment was premature for the consultant’s quantum meruit claim. The consultant alleged that he was entitled to an equity share in return for extensive advisory services based on a handshake deal with the property owner. The district court granted the owner summary judgment on all claims.
-
1 month ago | 
nclawyersweekly.com | Nick Hurston
SUMMARY4th Circuit upheld $3.8M fee award for Montgomery Park in long-running lease dispute. Court found defense and counterclaims shared a “common core of facts.”Demand for fees under lease deemed valid through litigation motion. Case remanded for recalculation of $1.6M in interest based on timing of demand.
-
1 month ago | 
valawyersweekly.com | Nick Hurston
A terminated employee may amend their religious discrimination complaint although their accommodation request following their employer’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate neither explicitly referenced religion nor connected their stated beliefs to any specific faith practices. A magistrate of the Western District Court of Virginia recommended that the court grant the employer’s motion to dismiss because the proposed amended complaint would be futile. But U.S. District Judge Robert S.
-
1 month ago | 
valawyersweekly.com | Nick Hurston
A foreign company’s emails, phone calls, wire transfers and mailings to Virginia residents were insufficient to establish that it purposefully availed itself of the privilege of conducting business in Virginia, a per curiam panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has held. The plaintiffs appealed the district court’s dismissal of their complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction, asserting that the defendant’s numerous communications with them showed sufficient contact with Virginia.
-
1 month ago | 
valawyersweekly.com | Nick Hurston
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed and remanded a case in which three unhappy West Virginia customers sued their internet service provider but attempted to evade their arbitration obligations. Incongruous with the parties’ claims, the district court found that the matter was controlled by an earlier version of the arbitration agreement. Based on that determination, the court denied the defendants’ motions to compel arbitration.
