Excluding Trade-Secret Defense Evidence Was Error
The 4th Circuit vacates a $919.9 million jury award in DuPont’s suit alleging theft and misappropriation of 149 trade secrets involving production of para-aramid fibers used in bulletproof armaments;...
View ArticleCrime commission sets priorities for DNA testing notice
Persons in Virginia prisons, with case files that contain sperm evidence for DNA testing, should be at the top of the list for notice under the commonwealth’s testing program for decades-old cases, the...
View ArticleCourt finds spoliation, shrinks damages claim
A Norfolk federal court will not dismiss a products liability lawsuit as a penalty for the plaintiff’s destruction of critical evidence. Instead, it will downsize the potential damages, based on what’s...
View Article4th Circuit vacates $10M award based on ‘spoliation’
An Alexandria federal district court abused its discretion by imposing a too-broad preservation duty on a travel agency suing on an oral contract, prompting a federal appeals court to vacate the lower...
View ArticleSCV: “Dangling object” leads to child neglect conviction
During a traffic stop based on the size of the defendant’s car air freshener, officers found a substantial amount of drugs, hundreds of dollars in loose cash, a loaded gun – and the defendant’s...
View ArticleCAV: Defendant relied on “police officer” at his peril
Evidence was sufficient to uphold the defendant’s conviction for failing to provide required identifying information after causing an auto accident. The defendant claimed that he didn’t talk to the...
View ArticleCAV: Trial court adequately investigated juror contact
Although security footage showed a juror talking with a member of the public who was later seen hugging the mother of the murder victim in the juror’s case, the trial court didn’t err in accepting the...
View ArticleCAV: Psychological report admission was harmless error
Even if the circuit court erred in admitting a psychological evaluation that had not been considered by the Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court, the totality of evidence supporting termination of...
View ArticleVa. Cir.: Driver’s statements to insurer discoverable
A defendant driver said in his deposition that he couldn’t remember key details of a car crash, but his pre-suit description of the crash to his insurance company was not entitled to work-product...
View Article4th Cir.: Feds could use artist promo photo for ID array
The government didn’t violate due process by showing a kidnapping victim a photo array with the defendant’s image cropped from his music group’s promotional poster, which the victim had seen before....
View ArticleCAV: Reference to prior robbery didn’t warrant mistrial
Despite a pretrial order barring testimony regarding the defendants’ prior robberies, a witness’s brief reference to a “previous” robbery did not explicitly link this robbery to either defendant. The...
View ArticleCAV: Convictions for spitting at officers upheld
Although no one saw actual spittle, testimony from three witnesses who saw and heard the defendant spit at two law enforcement officers was sufficient to support her convictions for assaulting the...
View ArticleVa. Cir.: Discoverable info includes entire care history
The estate of a nursing-home patient who fell and broke her hip, allegedly due to inadequate care, was entitled to broad discovery of the facility’s patient care records, personnel files, and financial...
View ArticleEDVA: Experience insufficient to qualify expert witness
In an age discrimination suit, a federal court struck the plaintiff’s designation of a human resources expert whose opinion was based only on 30 years’ experience in the field, but no reliable...
View Article4th Cir.: Economic loss rule erases conversion win
A defendant on the hook for almost $2 million in compensatory and punitive damages for conversion is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, since the plaintiffs’ conversion claim was based entirely...
View Article4th Cir.: Feds could use artist promo photo for ID array
The government didn’t violate due process by showing a kidnapping victim a photo array with the defendant’s image cropped from his music group’s promotional poster, which the victim had seen before....
View ArticleEDVA: Experience insufficient to qualify expert witness
In an age discrimination suit, the plaintiff’s designation of a human resources expert whose opinion was based only on 30 years’ experience in the field was stricken. Background Plaintiff Angela...
View ArticleEDVA: Despite damning email, no spoliation sanctions
Although the defendant recovered an email advising the plaintiff to destroy relevant evidence, it was not apparent that the plaintiff followed that advice, and the defendant was able to recover most or...
View ArticleVa. Cir.: Terminal owner struggles to prove property values
The owner of a tract of land housing a marine container terminal challenged municipal tax assessments on both real and personal property. Neither party presented credible expert testimony on real...
View ArticleEDVA: Misappropriation damages present jury issues
A company seeking damages for misappropriation of trade secrets will be able to offer, through its expert, alternative methods among which the jury can choose to calculate an award. Damage calculations...
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