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Consumer Protection – Bundled Auto Loan Buyer Not ‘Debt Collector’
Henson v. Santander Consumer USA Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-059-16, 21 pp.) (Niemeyer, J.) No. 15-1187, March 23, 2016; USDC at Baltimore, Md. (Bennett, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: A company that purchased defaulted auto loans as part of an investment bundle of receivables was acting on its own behalf when it attempted to collect on […]
Criminal Practice – Second Look for Sex Offender Detention
Matherly v. Andrews (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-058-16, 19 pp.) (Traxler, J.) No. 14-7691, March 16, 2016; USDC at Raleigh, N.C. (Dever, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: A district court erred in granting summary judgment to the government on a habeas petition asserting the government could not declare petitioner a “sexually dangerous person” under the Adam Walsh […]
Civil Rights – Documents Raise Issues on Inmate Assault
Raynor v. Pugh (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-057-16, 18 pp.) (Motz, J.) No. 14-7746, March 17, 2016; USDC at Alexandria, Va. (Brinkema, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: A plaintiff inmate who has filed a verified complaint, copies of medical reports and an affidavit from an inmate witness to a prison assault has raised factual issues regarding whether […]
Civil Practice – Sua Sponte Remand Order Reversed
Doe v. Blair (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-056-16, 11 pp.) (Floyd, J.) No. 15-1211, March 21, 2016; USDC at Beckley, W.Va. (Berger, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: The 4th Circuit reverses a district court order remanding to state court a case the district court said failed to establish jurisdiction based on diversity; because the district court based […]
Labor & Employment – ‘Supervisors’ Could Vote in Union Election
Pac Tell Group Inc. v. NLRB (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-055-16, 20 pp.) (Keenan, J.) No. 15-1111, Dec. 23, 2016; Published March 15, 2016; On Petition for Review; 4th Cir. Holding: Four “putative” supervisors at a South Carolina polyester fiber plant were not supervisors disqualified from voting in a union election, and substantial evidence supports the […]
Labor & Employment – No Suit for Missed Settlement Offer
Groves v. Communication Workers of America (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-054-16, 14 pp.) (Diaz, J.) No. 14-1854, March 10, 2016; USDC at Anderson, S.C. (Cain, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: Plaintiff AT&T sales representatives who were fired based on sales records the company later found were flawed may not sue the union in a hybrid § 301 […]
Labor & Employment – Labor Arbitrator Should Decide Remedy
Peabody Holding Co. LLC v. United Mine Workers of America (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-053-16, 19 pp.) (Wilkinson, J.) No. 14-2032, March 8, 2016; USDC at Alexandria, Va. (Brinkema, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: In this dispute between the United Mine Workers union and the Peabody Coal Company, the district court acted prematurely in confirming an arbitrator’s […]
Criminal Practice – No Gun Charge After Rights Restoration
U.S. v. Burleson (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-052-16, 17 pp.) (Harris, J.) No. 15-6589, March 8, 2016; USDC at Greensboro, N.C. (Eagles, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: A defendant who had his civil rights restored following his discharge from parole for felony offenses committed between 1964 and 1985 cannot be convicted of weapon possession as a felon; […]
Criminal Practice – Defense Lawyer Naps Led to Habeas Relief
U.S. v. Ragin (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-051-16, 31 pp.) (Gregory, J.) No. 14-7245, March 11, 2016; USDC at Charlotte, N.C. (Conrad, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: In a case of first impression for the 4th Circuit, the court holds that a defendant’s right to effective assistance of counsel is violated when his lawyer sleeps during a […]
Criminal Practice – Defendant Can’t Show ‘Extraordinary Circumstances’
Moses v. Joyner (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-050-16, 15 pp.) (Wilkinson, J.)) No. 15-2, March 8, 2016; USDC at Greensboro, N.C. (Schroeder, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: A defendant convicted of the drug-related first-degree murder of two men in 1997 cannot overturn a district court’s denial of his Rule 60(b)(6) motion for relief from judgment as untimely; […]
Civil Rights – Specialty License Plate Upheld After Walker
American Civil Liberties Union of N.C. v. Tennyson (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-049-16, 14 pp.) (Traxler, J.) No. 13-1030, March 10, 2016; 4th Cir. Holding: The 4th Circuit upholds North Carolina’s specialty license plate program that includes a “Choose Life” license plate, but no pro-choice plate, against a First Amendment challenge by the ACLU, on remand […]
Civil Practice – Bankruptcy Sale Order Is Res Judicata Bar
Providence Hall Associates LP v. Wells Fargo Bank NA (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-048-16, 23 pp.) (Diaz, J.) No. 14-2378, March 11, 2016; USDC at Alexandria, Va. (O’Grady, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: A principal of the debtor-partnership cannot sue Wells Fargo on a claim that a particular transaction was a “sham”; a bankruptcy court’s final orders […]
Top Legal News
- O’Connor, first woman on US Supreme Court, has died at 93
- Judicial activists subpoena vote splits Judiciary Committee
- Judges block GOP’s election board changes
- Federal judge blocks first TikTok app ban
- Wisconsin unions sue to reverse bargaining limits
- Justices seem doubtful of SEC’s authority
- $120M judgment entered against failed dam’s owner
- Minneapolis stores where Floyd was killed sue city
- Bessie Sorge: Finding her passion as a freelance paralegal
- Teen charged as juvenile in fatal stabbing at school
- Star’s handwritten will used to distribute real estate
- Families offer to settle Jones’ $1.5B legal debt
Commentary
- Name game can end up being blame game
- Stericycle decision forces evaluation of policies, practices
- Are workplace DEI policies still legal after SCOTUS decisions?
- N.C. justices to decide many interesting cases
- Amotion sees resurgence after almost a decade
- The flip side of generative AI in law and how to address it
- The fight for equal educational opportunity continues
- Court’s term was rough on big business
- Ex-president, bar association have made their choice
- Ruling sharpens boundaries in attorney-client privilege
- Lawyers Weekly debuts new and improved web experience
- US Supreme Court bites back at parody’s use of the First Amendment
