By Amanda Whorton On December 18, 2015, the Fourth Circuit issued a published opinion in the civil case Williams v. Genex Services. The court affirmed the district court’s award of summary judgment to the defendant, Genex Services, LLC (“Genex”), in holding that Nancy Williams (“Williams”) was exempt from the mandatory overtime provisions of the Fair Labor […]

By Taylor Anderson On February 1, 2016, the Fourth Circuit issued its published opinion regarding the civil case Warfaa v. Ali. Farhan Warfaa (“Warfaa”), the plaintiff, appealed the district court’s summary dismissal of his Alien Tort Statute (“ATS”) claims after the district court found that Warfaa’s ATS claims did not sufficiently “touch and concern” the […]

By Sarah Saint On February 1, 2016, the Fourth Circuit amended its opinion in the civil case, Aikens v. Ingram (as amended), holding that the Feres “incident to service” test applies to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims alleging constitutional violations that arise out of or in the course of activity incident to federal military service. Because Appellant […]

By Whitney Pakalka On January 28, 2016, the Fourth Circuit published its opinion in the criminal case, United States v. Williams, clarifying when an appellate court may review a prison sentence imposed pursuant to a plea agreement made under Rule 11(c)(1)(C) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. The Court held that unless the sentence […]

By Elizabeth DeFrance On December 2, 2015, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a published opinion in the criminal case, United States v. Schnittker. Michael Schnittker appealed his conviction for receipt of child pornography in violation of  18 U.S.C. 2252(a)(2), arguing that it was barred by the Fifth Amendment’s Double Jeopardy Clause because he […]

By Sarah Walton On December 21, 2015, the Fourth Circuit issued a published opinion in the criminal case of United States v. Barlow. The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s holding in part, reversed in part, and remanded the case for resentencing. The District Court Enhances Barlow’s Sentence Based on Status as Armed Career Criminal […]

By: Mikhail Petrov On December 17, 2015, in the civil case of Pearson v. Colvin, the Fourth Circuit reversed and remanded the decision of the district court to deny Jeffrey Pearson (“Pearson”) his application for Social Security disability benefits. Pearson argues the administrative law judge (“ALJ”) failed to resolve a conflict between a vocational expert’s […]

By Kayleigh Butterfield On January 21, 2016, in the published civil case Colon Health Centers v. Hazel, the Fourth Circuit affirmed the Eastern District of Virginia’s decision upholding the constitutionality of the state’s certificate of need (“CON”) program. Colon Health Centers of America and Progressive Radiology (“Appellants”) argued that Virginia’s CON law violates the dormant […]

By Taylor Ey Chapter 11 Attorney vs. Bankruptcy Trustee Today, the Fourth Circuit issued its published opinion in the civil case, In re Anderson.  In this case, the debtor, Mr. Henry L. Anderson, Jr., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2010 and was represented by Stubbs & Perdue, P.A.  Subsequently, Anderson’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case […]

By Daniel Stratton On December 29, 2015, the Fourth Circuit affirmed in part, and reversed in part, a district court’s dismissal of an inmate’s Federal Tort Claims Act (“FCTA”) claim, after he was stabbed and severely beaten by fellow inmates  in the published civil case Rich v. United States. The appellant, Joshua Rich, argued on appeal […]

By Anthony Biraglia In United States v. Kenneth Rush, a criminal case decided and published on December 21, 2015, the Fourth Circuit reversed a West Virginia district court’s denial of a motion to suppress evidence. The Court found that the good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule did not apply, and that lying about the existence […]

By Cate Berenato On December 2, 2015, in the published case Fontanez v. O’Brien, the Fourth Circuit reversed and remanded the Northern District of West Virginia’s decision to dismiss a federal inmate’s habeas corpus petition. The Fourth Circuit held that Jeremy Fontanez properly brought his claim under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. The issue in this […]