The Fourth Circuit clarified last week that after a case is filed in state court, a defendant desiring a federal forum should seek removal rather than file a separate declaratory judgment action in its federal district court of choice. In VRCompliance v. HomeAway, Inc., the court noted that the federal…
A shareholder acting on behalf of a corporation may bring a “derivative suit” against corporate directors and management for fraud, mismanagement, self-dealing or dishonesty. Before bringing such a suit, the shareholder must make a written demand that clearly identifies the alleged wrong and demands the corporation take action to redress…
Musical artist Cameron Jibril Thomaz, better known as “Wiz Khalifa,” recently saw his breach of contract case against It’s My Party get dismissed. Mr. Thomaz had hired The Agency Group as his booking agent for a new tour which would have included a concert at The Patriot Center in Northern…
When Cecil Addison was passed over for promotion, he sued Volvo Trucks North America and Ivan Mitchell in the Western District of Virginia for breach of contract and discrimination. Volvo Trucks had a contract agreement with the United Auto Workers Union. Addison alleged the defendants changed the contract’s job requirements…
Federal laws protect whistleblowers from retaliation because the government wants people to report fraud in government contracts. When Weihua Huang, a principal investigator on a National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grant at the University of Virginia, discovered unauthorized changes that diverted grant money to unrelated salaries and expenses, he…
If a literal reading of 28 U.S.C. 1441 (the forum defendant rule) would lead to an absurd result, then it should not be interpreted that way, according to a recent decision of Judge Morgan of the Norfolk Division of the Eastern District of Virginia. Eddie Campbell sued his former employer,…
Jennifer Taylor worked for Allied Waste Industries. When Allied merged with Republic Services, Inc., Taylor found the new management’s style different and problematic. Her new supervisors were described as “micromanagers,” and Taylor clashed with them over many issues, including her job performance with which her supervisors’ were dissatisfied. Taylor attempted…
Spoliation of evidence can result not only in an adverse inference instruction to the jury, but in an award of attorneys fees and expenses incurred in proving the spoliation. As demonstrated by the contentious trade secret litigation between E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company and Kolon Industries, Inc., those fees…
If you’re going to file a lawsuit against someone, you’d better explain the basis for it. A complaint doesn’t need to include much detail, but it must at least allege facts showing that you’ve been wronged and that you are entitled to a remedy of some sort. In federal court,…
When analyzing personal jurisdiction, the Fourth Circuit (which includes both Virginia and South Carolina) had held that it is proper to consider the location where the effects of the alleged wrongdoing are felt. The so-called “effects test” is applied narrowly, however, and cannot be used to supplant the minimum contacts…