By Malorie Letcavage On March 30, 2016, the Fourth Circuit released its published opinion in the criminal case of U.S. v. Under Seal Defendant. The Defendant was a juvenile and federal law prohibits the public release of that juvenile’s name in association with the proceedings, so the juvenile was referred to as Defendant. Defendant was […]
By Taylor Anderson On March 28, 2016, the Fourth Circuit issued its published opinion regarding the civil case Del Webb Communities, Inc. v. Carlson. Appellant PulteGroup, Inc. and its subsidiary Del Webb Communities, Inc. (together, “Pulte”) appealed the district court’s denial of its partial summary judgment motion and dismissal of its Petition compelling bilateral arbitration. […]
by Sarah Walton Today, the Fourth Circuit issued a published opinion in the civil case of Henson v. Santander Consumer USA. The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s holding that Santander was not considered a “debt collector” within the meaning of Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”). Origins of the Dispute Plaintiff Rick Henson and […]
By: Mikhail Petrov On March 23, 2016, in the published civil case of Belmora LLC v. Bayer Consumer Care AG, the Fourth Circuit considered whether the Lanham Act permits the owner of a foreign trademark to pursue false association, false advertising, and trademark cancellation claims against the owner of the same mark in the United […]
By Daniel Stratton Today, March 21, 2016, the Fourth Circuit issued a published opinion in the civil case Jane Doe #1 v. Matt Blair, vacating the district court’s decision. The Fourth Circuit held that the lower court incorrectly determined that there was no federal diversity jurisdiction because the defendant corporation failed to allege its principal […]
By Blake Stafford On March 17, 2016, the Fourth Circuit issued its published opinion in Raynor v. Pugh, a civil case regarding prisoner civil rights. James Herman Raynor, an inmate at a Virginia correctional facility, brought an action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that G. Pugh, the Prison Housing Manager at the facility, violated the Eighth […]
By Eric Jones On March 16, 2016, the Fourth Circuit issued a published opinion in the civil case Matherly v. Andrews. Thomas Shane Matherly was appealing the district court’s order granting summary judgment for the government on his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The Circuit held that a genuine question of fact remained […]
By George Kennedy On March 15, 2016, the Fourth Circuit issued its amended published opinion in the case of Pac Tell Group, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board. The Fourth Circuit held that the decision of the National Labor Relations Board [“the NLRB”] over a dispute between an employer and the union representing its employees […]
By Taylor Anderson On March 7, 2016, the Fourth Circuit issued its published opinion regarding the criminal case United States v. Alvarado. Jean Paul Alvarado (“Appellant”) appealed his conviction of knowingly and intentionally distributing heroin to Eric Thomas (“Thomas”) with Thomas’ death resulting from the use of the heroin so distributed, in violation of 21 […]
By Sarah Saint In the March 11 civil case Providence Hall Associates Limited Partnership v. Wells Fargo Bank, the Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision to give res judicata effect to sale orders issued during Providence Hall Associates’ (“PHA”) Chapter 11 bankruptcy and thus dismiss PHA’s lawsuit against Wells Fargo Bank. Procedural History of […]
By Sarah Walton On March 11, 2016, the Fourth Circuit issued a published opinion in the criminal case of United States v. Ragin. The Fourth Circuit vacated the district court’s decision, holding that Ragin was deprived of his Sixth Amendment right to counsel when his attorney slept for a substantial portion of his trial. The […]
By Daniel Stratton On March 8, 2016, the Fourth Circuit issued a published opinion in the civil case Peabody Holding Company, LLC v. United Mine Workers of America, vacating the district court’s decision. The Fourth Circuit held that under the complete arbitration rule, an arbitrator handling a labor dispute between Peabody Holding and United Mine Workers […]