When she pleaded guilty to misconduct in office and misuse of public funds, plaintiff also admitted to facts that would have sustained convictions for forgery and perjury. When plaintiff subsequently filed this civil suit based on allegations that directly contradicted ...
Read More »Civil Practice – Rule 11 Sanctions – Guilty Plea Admissions – Contradictory Complaint Allegations
Tort/Negligence – Fraud – Payment of Wages Act – Sales Commissions – Civil Practice – Statute of Limitations – Discovery Rule 
Although a check itself is not a factual assertion, here it was defendants’ action of sending plaintiffs deficient commission checks, pursuant to an agreement that full commission would be paid, that constituted the misrepresentation. Defendants’ motion to dismiss is granted ...
Read More »Insurance – Auto – Stacking vs. Portability – Civil Practice – Declaratory Judgment – Unrelated State Proceedings 
Defendant Ladue argues that the issue before the court is whether the estate of his decedent—who was fatally injured while driving a car covered by neither of the two policies in question—can recover simultaneously from separate, portable underinsurance motorist coverages. ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – Rape, burglary do not qualify as violent felonies 
Where a defendant was convicted of possessing a firearm and sentenced under the heightened penalties of the Armed Career Criminal Act, or ACCA, based on prior felony convictions, because the Virginia rape and burglary statutes can be satisfied with proof ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – Hearing ordered on ineffective assistance claim in capital case 
Where a defendant who was sentenced to death for his role in a murder for hire plot alleged his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to investigate adequately his brain injury and potential mental illness, and failing to introduce ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – No hearing required to investigate juror’s Twitter use 
Where a defendant convicted of the misuse of public assets sought an evidentiary hearing into the conduct of a juror who followed journalists covering the trial, there was no evidence she read a tweet about the trial. Background After Allen ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – Grammatical error in jury instruction upsets sentence 
The government was required to show the defendant engaged in sex with a minor for “the purpose” of creating a video. By instructing the jury that it could convict the defendant if the video was “a purpose” of the sexual ...
Read More »Contract – N.C. ‘flooding’ lawsuit against railroad resurrected 
Where residents of Lumberton, North Carolina, alleged a railroad prevented the city from closing a dike across the railroad’s tracks, in contravention of a contract between the railroad and city, resulting in significant damage to their properties from Hurricanes Matthew ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – Failure to raise double jeopardy not ineffective assistance 
Where a defendant challenged his convictions stemming from his involvement with MS-13, the court joined other circuits in finding the Double Jeopardy Clause prohibits imposition of cumulative punishments for § 924(c) and § 924(j) convictions based on the same conduct. ...
Read More »Administrative – Disability established by objective, subjective evidence 
The administrative law judge erred by requiring objective evidence about the persistence and limiting effects of fibromyalgia on the claimant’s daily life. This error was compounded by the fact that objective evidence was present, but ignored. The record as a ...
Read More »