Litigation challenging government economic regulation has become more common, as courts appear increasingly less deferential to legislative and executive action. Most of this type of litigation focuses on federal regulation,...more
4/30/2024
/ Broadband ,
Due Process ,
Eleventh Amendment ,
Internet ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
Private Property ,
Railroads ,
SCOTUS ,
Sovereign Immunity ,
United States v Hansen ,
Virginia
Virginia’s Constitution automatically disqualifies all persons convicted of any felony from voting unless their civil rights are restored by the Governor. See Va. Const. art. II, § 1. In a recent case, two plaintiffs...more
4/1/2024
/ Eighth Amendment ,
Ex Parte ,
Felons ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Sovereign Immunity ,
Standing ,
State and Local Government ,
State Constitutions ,
Virginia ,
Voting Rights
A long line of cases in the EDVA demonstrates that defendants seeking to transfer venue out of the EDVA under 28 U.S.C. 1404(a) face an uphill climb if the plaintiff is a Virginia resident....more
2/2/2024
/ Airlines ,
Aviation Industry ,
Business Litigation ,
Choice-of-Law ,
Choice-of-Venue ,
Class Action ,
Forum ,
Forum Selection ,
Jurisdiction ,
Misleading Statements ,
Motion to Transfer ,
Principal Place of Business ,
Venue ,
Virginia
In a case involving a fact pattern that could be on a law school exam, EDVA Judge Mark Davis provides a detailed analysis of a series of issues in a complex dispute between a yacht owner and a marine engine manufacturer. What...more
1/30/2024
/ Breach of Contract ,
Breach of Warranty ,
Business Litigation ,
Choice-of-Law ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Terms ,
Duty to Disclose ,
Express Warranty ,
Fraud ,
Fraudulent Concealment ,
Jurisdiction ,
Parol Evidence ,
Release Agreements ,
Summary Judgment ,
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) ,
Virginia
It is not uncommon for plaintiffs based in the United States to bring claims against foreign parties in U.S. federal courts to obtain a favorable venue and avoid any bias in foreign courts in favor of local defendants. A...more
1/3/2024
/ Bailments ,
Business Disputes ,
Business Litigation ,
Contract Disputes ,
Conversion ,
Damages ,
Forum Non Conveniens ,
Gross Negligence ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Ports ,
Saudi Arabia ,
Transfer of Venue ,
Venue ,
Vessels ,
Virginia
Oatlands Historic House in Leesburg, VA was built in 1804 and is recognized as one of the finest federal-period country estate homes in the country. The home and approximately 400 surrounding acres were donated to the...more
As we posted here, a defining aspect of practice in the EDVA’s rocket docket is the ability to quickly obtain preliminary relief. A recent decision by Judge Leonie Brinkema again illustrates how swiftly the court can move. GW...more
In an October 3 decision, U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Ellis III granted a motion to transfer venue of a patent case brought in the EDVA to California under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). Monarch Networking Solutions LLC .v Juniper...more
10/10/2023
/ Affidavits ,
California ,
Evidence ,
Motion To Strike ,
Motion to Transfer ,
Out-of-State Companies ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Petitioner Reply Briefs ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Virginia
In a September 22 decision, District Judge David J. Novak denied the bulk of a motion to dismiss a suit alleging that a general contractor had infringed an architectural firm’s copyright on design plans for a brewery and...more
9/27/2023
/ Architects ,
Architectural Copyrights ,
Architecture ,
Construction Project ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Office ,
Copyright Registration ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Real Estate Development ,
The Copyright Act ,
Virginia
On September 18, in identical opinions issued in separate cases against Google and Apple, EDVA District Judge Michael Nachmanoff ruled that four patents directed toward geolocation of mobile devices claimed patent-ineligible...more
9/25/2023
/ Apple ,
CLS Bank v Alice Corp ,
Data Collection ,
Geolocation ,
Google ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Mobile Devices ,
Noninfringement ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Invalidity ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Section 101 ,
Virginia
It is common in commercial litigation for a company to offer an employee as a witness to testify about the design, capabilities and features of the company’s products or services. Usually, such a witness testifies as a fact...more
In June, four individuals and an advocacy organization for previously incarcerated individuals brought suit in the Eastern District of Virginia against several state and local officials alleging that Virginia was denying...more
In an August 11 decision, Judge Henry Hudson of the EDVA conditionally certified a class of food service workers employed by a federal contractor at Fort Pickett who sued for unpaid overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards...more
8/21/2023
/ Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Collective Actions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Virginia ,
Wage and Hour
Following up on our post on obtaining temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions in the EDVA, a recent decision by an EDVA judge clarifies that a motion to extend a temporary restraining order (TRO) filed after...more
Much like our recent egarding an EDVA judge’s denial of a joint request to vacate the court’s earlier rulings after a settlement, another recent EDVA decision reinforces that EDVA judges are unwilling to simply rubber-stamp...more
In significant and hard-fought litigation, it is not uncommon for parties to reach a settlement that includes an agreement to jointly move the court to vacate earlier rulings on key motions in the case. For a settling...more
On May 17, in an apparent case of first impression in the Fourth Circuit, an Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) judge granted an “anti-suit injunction,” barring a plaintiff from filing suit on a claim in any other...more
On April 24, Chief Justice Roberts forwarded to Congress amendments to Federal Rule of Evidence 702 governing the admission of expert testimony in the federal courts. The amendments will take effect on December 1 unless...more
From the mid-1990s until the mid-2010s, the EDVA typically ranked among the top 10 federal districts for patent litigation. See Gugliuzza, Paul R. and Anderson, Jonas, Why Do Judges Compete for (Patent) Cases? at 24-25...more
6/20/2023
/ Business Litigation ,
Forum Selection ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Jurisdiction ,
Motion to Transfer ,
Out-of-State Companies ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Transfer of Venue ,
Virginia