The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia dismissed RICO claims brought by a defense industry consulting company against a former employee. More after the break.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.Archive for the ‘Litigation’ Category
Employer Loses Effort To Apply RICO Statute To Employee Double-Billing
Monday, July 26th, 2010Waiver of Attorney Client Privilege
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010In a case worth reading for any “client,” the Virginia Supreme Court held in Walton v. Mid-Atlantic Spine Specialists, P.C. that the defendant doctor had waived the attorney-client privilege when he inadvertently produced a letter he had written to his attorney because he failed to take sufficient precautions to prevent the disclosure. A copy of the opinion can be found here. More after the break.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.Judicial Hell Holes
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009The WSJ Law Blog has a post on the most recent list of judicial hell holes put out by the ATRA. The list is after the break.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.Fire Caused By Employee Overnight In Hotel Room Could Be Within The Scope Of Employment
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009In Rivett Group, LLC, et al. v. Chelda, Inc. et al., while denying a motion for summary judgment the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia found that a restaurant employee’s conduct that led to a fire and damages at a hotel could be considered within the scope of that employee’s employment because he was required to stay at the hotel during his training. More after the break.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.Litigation Tidbits
Friday, October 16th, 2009For those interested in news relating to litigation, we have the following news items:
The fastest circuit courts in Virginia — VLW
Fulbright & Jaworski annual litigation survey — where to get it here. Commentary on it here and here.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.Western District of Virginia Allows Ex Parte Contact With Non-Supervisory Employees
Friday, September 25th, 2009In Smith v. United Salt Corp., the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia held that the plaintiffs and their counsel were not prohibited from engaging in ex parte communications with employees of the defendant employer so long as those employees were nonsupervisory. The opinion can be found here. More after the break.
Unfounded Trade Secrets Claim Against Former Employees Leads To $1.6 Million Judgment
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009Court Grants Additional Compensation To Plaintiff To Offset Tax Liability
Friday, April 17th, 2009In Eshelman v. Agere Systems, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that a trial court has discretion in granting additional compensation to offset tax liability in back pay awards. More after the break.
Best venue for discrimination suits?
Thursday, February 26th, 2009A recent study suggests (again) that the state court systems are a better venue for employment discrimination lawsuits for plaintiffs. The study is here. (Hat tip to Wage Law.) The Wall Street Journal recently ran an article on the topic here, and the WSJ Blog also had a post here (with the catchy title “Do Federal Judges Discriminate Against Discrimination Claims?”). We have a prior post on the topic here.
There are many different opinions offered as to why federal court appears to be a less hospitable venue for employment discrimination plaintiffs. The flip side is that there are many “judicial hellholes” for employers in state courts around the country. Those who bemoan the lack of success of plaintiffs in federal court should be patient — the legislative agenda in Congress promises to open up the floodgates for new and expanded causes of action in employment law in federal court.
4th Circuit Decides Case On Exhaustion Of Administrative Remedies
Monday, January 12th, 2009On January 5, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a published opinion in the matter of Jones vs. Calvert Group, Limited. The case considered several issues involving the exhaustion of administrative remedies in a Title VII case by filing a charge of discrimination with the EEOC or State Human Rights Commission. A copy of the decision is here. More after the break.
Attorney’s Fee Decision Points out Cost of Litigating Employment Cases
Monday, December 22nd, 2008In a published decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, dated December 3, 2008, the court analyzed a fee award to the attorney for a former employee of the defendant. The opinion in Grissom vs. The Mills Corporation can be found here. Although the case may interest those entertained by technical legal doctrines involving offers of judgment under Rule 68 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the more interesting point for purposes of this blog was the amount of attorney’s fees claimed by the plaintiff’s attorney in the case.
The attorney’s fee petition was filed after discovery but before the trial of the case. The plaintiff had accepted an offer of judgment by the employer shortly before trial. The offer of judgment did not include attorney’s fees and costs. The petition submitted by the plaintiff sought over $325,000 for attorneys’ fees and costs. (One can only imagine what the employer spent on its attorneys in this case.) Although the award will be reduced as a result of the appeal, it certainly should give pause to employers considering slashing their budgets for human resources in 2009.
2008 “Judicial Hellholes” Announced
Friday, December 19th, 2008The winners of this year’s American Tort Reform Association “Judicial Hellholes” are:
- West Virginia
- South Florida
- Cook County, Ill.
- Atlantic County, NJ
- Montgomery and Macon Counties, Ala.
- Los Angeles County, CA
- Clark County (Las Vegas), Nev.
The “watch list” includes Rio Grande Valley/Gulf Coast, Texas; Madison County, Illinois; Baltimore, Maryland; and St. Louis, Missouri.
Overlawyered has the story here. The original report is here.
Things Not To Say In An Email
Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008UPDATED 12/4/2008
CIO.com has an entertaining article entitled “10 Things You Should Never Write in An Email or Instant Message.” The list was complied by a company that writes e-discovery software. The Connecticut Employment Law Blog has a employment law post here on the same issue. Although the posts are humorous, it is important to take away the correct lesson — be careful what you say in email. Would you want that email you are typing to be displayed on a blown-up exhibit easel in a courtroom someday?
Termination Based on Online Misconduct Firing Upheld
Friday, October 17th, 2008Although the case arises in the public employee/First Amendment context, the Connecticut Employment Law Blog has a post today here on a decision by the U.S. District Court in Connecticut finding against a teacher fired based on inappropriate conduct on his MySpace page. The MySpace page drew attention when a guidance counselor viewed it, only to discover pictures of naked men with inappropriate comments underneath them on it.
Study Suggests Employers Fare Better In Federal Court
Monday, September 22nd, 2008The Ohio Employer’s Law Blog has a post on a study performed on employment lawsuit outcomes in federal court from 1979 to 2006. The conclusion? No surprise — it is better for defendants in employment lawsuits to be in federal court. Apparently the plaintiff’s bar has discovered this as well, as the study shows a steep drop in federal court employment law filings — 37% from 1997 to 2006.
