4th Circuit Court

Recent Law Grad Got $3M Bonus, Plus Porsche, in Fen-Phen Case

A recent law grad working on a massive diet drug case got a $3 million bonus and a Porsche when the civil fen-phen litigation settled for $200 million in 2001. David Helmers testified today about his lavish bonus in the Covington, Ky., federal fraud trial of three senior lawyers accused…

May 15, 2008 6:12 PM CDT

Appeals Court Reviews Va. Lethal Injections, Considers ‘Excruciating Death’

A federal appeals court considered yesterday whether Virginia’s method of lethal injection is constitutional. The oral arguments before the Richmond, Va.-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals were the first to be held at the appellate level since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Kentucky’s three-drug lethal injection cocktail in April,…

May 15, 2008 3:55 PM CDT

Trial Allowed in Suit By Woman Banned for ‘Dirty Dancing’

A federal appeals court has ruled that a North Carolina woman may sue a municipality for permanently banning her from town dances. Marshall, N.C., officials permanently banned Rebecca Willis from the town’s community center in December 2000, citing her provocative dancing at the Friday night dances held there. Willis, now…

May 2, 2008 3:26 PM CDT

Defense Seeks Gag on Duke Plaintiffs’ Website in ‘06 Lacrosse Team Case

An Internet site about a federal lawsuit that 38 Duke University men’s lacrosse team players on the 2006 team filed against the school and the city of Durham, N.C., has become the focus of the litigation, as the defense seeks a gag order requiring it to be taken down. The…

Apr 15, 2008 4:32 PM CDT

Judge Overturns Rule Changes to Streamline the Patent Process

A federal judge in Virginia has ruled the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office doesn’t have the authority to make rule changes designed to streamline the patent process. Patent applicants had been “apoplectic” over the PTO proposal, which was designed to make the patent process more efficient by encouraging patent applicants…

Apr 2, 2008 2:26 PM CDT

Pentagon Has 50 Interrogation Tapes of Two Enemy Combatants

Defense Department officials told the New York Times that a review has turned up 50 videotapes of interrogations at military facilities that show interrogations of two men held as enemy combatants. The suspects who were videotaped are Jose Padilla, recently convicted of plotting overseas attacks for al-Qaida, and Ali al-Marri,…

Mar 13, 2008 11:51 AM CDT

Ex-Client Alleges Altered E-Mail, Seeks Womble Carlyle Sanctions

In the latest salvo in a contentious dispute by a former Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice client over the firm’s representation of an adverse party, the former client, Advanced Internet Technologies Inc., is accusing both the law firm and Dell Inc., of submitting altered e-mail evidence in a federal court…

Mar 7, 2008 5:02 PM CST

Zacarias Moussaoui Asks to Withdraw Plea, Cites Secret Evidence

Convicted al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui has asked a federal appeals court to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea because his lawyers were barred from sharing exculpatory information with him. Moussaoui says the trial judge, Leonie Brinkema, made two mistakes that hurt his defense, Adam Liptak writes in his Sidebar…

Feb 26, 2008 2:09 PM CST

‘06 Lacrosse Team to Sue Duke U

The 38 members of the 2006 men’s lacrosse team at Duke University reportedly plan to sue the school in federal court today, contending that Duke officials remained silent about exonerating evidence as a rape investigation took an emotional toll. Although only three players were charged—and later determined to be innocent—in…

Feb 21, 2008 5:21 PM CST

Judge Cuts $11M Award to $5M in Funeral Picketing Case

A federal judge has upheld the $2.9 million in compensatory damages awarded to the father of a fallen U.S. Marine whose funeral was picketed by a fringe Kansas church. But he has cut a Baltimore federal jury’s award of $8 million in punitive damages to $2.1 million, reducing the total…

Feb 5, 2008 10:44 PM CST

Getchell Withdraws 4th Circuit Nomination

E. Duncan Getchell Jr. has withdrawn his name for a seat on the Richmond, Va.-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, citing a lack of support from the Senate Democratic leadership. Getchell’s September nomination proved controversial because his name was not on a list of five potential nominees drawn up…

Jan 24, 2008 12:43 PM CST

New Suit in Duke Lacrosse Rape Case

The fallout continues over a botched investigation and prosecution of an escort service dancer’s allegations—eventually determined to be false—that she was gang-raped in March 2006 by former members of the Duke University men’s lacrosse team. Three former team members who were never charged in the case have filed a 400-page…

Dec 19, 2007 5:15 PM CST

eBay Owes $30M for ‘Buy It Now’ Patent Infringement

A $30 million payday is pending for a Virginia company that owns a patent on the “Buy It Now” mechanism that allows online eBay auction bidders the alternative of purchasing an item immediately at a preset price. A federal judge in Norfolk, Va., declined yesterday to overturn a previous jury…

Dec 12, 2007 10:43 PM CST

Terrorism Judge Warns Government About Wiretap Secrecy

The federal judge who presided over the trial of confessed terrorism conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui appeared to be out of patience with the government yesterday in a hearing in another terrorism case. Judge Leonie Brinkema of Alexandria, Va., said she might order a new trial for Islamic scholar Ali al-Timimi, convicted…

Nov 21, 2007 1:59 PM CST

Louis Vuitton Wins Hummer-Dinger Suit, Ruffed Up by Parody Ruling

Music lost and humor won in two recent rulings in lawsuits filed by Louis Vuitton. The luxury goods maker succeeded in getting a Britney Spears video showing Vuitton-like fabric pulled from the Internet but lost an infringement suit against “Chewy Vuiton” dog toys. Spears’ “Do Somethin’ ” video features a…

Nov 20, 2007 6:17 PM CST