In a recent decision, EDVA Judge Rossie Alston invalidated the arbitration clause in the terms and conditions for online sales through the Lowe’s Home Centers website on the grounds that the terms and conditions were illusory...more
8/20/2024
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Contract Terms ,
E-Commerce ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Goods or Services ,
Illusory Contracts ,
Lowes ,
Service Contracts ,
Terms and Conditions ,
Unconscionable Contracts ,
Websites
A recent decision by EDVA District Judge Henry Hudson granting a preliminary injunction to a wealth management firm against four of its former employees who left to open a competing firm is a good example of the speed of the...more
Under the patent laws, the term of a patent may be increased for delays by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) during the application process. See 35 U.S.C. § 154(b)(1). Conversely, the USPTO can reduce a patent term...more
A recent decision by Judge Novak in a securities case provides some helpful reminders on expert witness practice, particularly in commercial litigation, in the EDVA....more
For many product manufacturers, post-sale repair and maintenance of their products is a significant source of revenue, and manufacturers use various incentives to entice their customers to return to them for post-sale...more
A pending EDVA case shows how the failure to address intellectual property rights in an asset sale can mushroom into multinational litigation, including a dispute over trademark rights in the United States....more
7/2/2024
/ Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Sale of Assets ,
Standing ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
A recent decision by Senior District Judge Robert Payne on a Daubert motion in class action litigation against a pension fund offers some helpful lessons on challenging expert witnesses in the EDVA. Trauernicht v. Genworth...more
6/4/2024
/ Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Daubert Standards ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Expert Witness ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Management ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Pensions ,
Popular ,
Retirement Plan
Parties involved in contract disputes often desire to avoid contractual limitations on recovery, fostering creative attempts to transform breach of contract claims into tort or other noncontractual causes of action. Such...more
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
It is not uncommon in litigation for parties to introduce testimony through depositions taken for use at trial. It is very uncommon, though, for a party to request to use their own deposition testimony as their trial...more
In a lengthy and detailed opinion, EDVA Judge Hannah Lauck has dismissed a suit alleging infringement of seven patents relating to coordinating drivers to transport vehicles between locations, holding that the patents were...more
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
One issue a patent owner faces when attempting to enforce its patent is the notice given to a potential infringer. By sending a demand letter to a potential infringer, a patentee runs the risk of creating a basis for a...more
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