Battle of the Bishops. Parallel jurisdiction in the Fourth Circuit (Round 2)

By / April 7, 2017

The Right Reverend Charles G. Vonrosenberg v. The Right Reverend Mark J. Lawrence. Plaintiff sued seeking declaratory and injunctive relief and claiming that Defendant violated the Lanham Act by falsely advertising himself as the Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina. At Defendant’s request, the district court deferred to related state court proceedings. In Round …

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Police chief entitled to immunity after firing officers who encouraged citizen complaint – Fourth Circuit

By / April 6, 2017

Crouse v. Town of Monks Corner. In October, 2013, a man, Berkeley, fell asleep in his car in a Wal-Mart parking lot. HIs three sons could not wake him and alerted securit, who then called the police. The responding officer, Roach, pulled the man from the car and threw him to the ground. He and another …

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N.C. Court of Appeals Opinions for April 4, 2017

By / April 4, 2017

The North Carolina Court of Appeals released a batch of opinions today: State v. Rice  (16-906) stolen firearms; constructive possession [It’s not Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, that’s for sure.] Brackett v. Thomas  (16-912) DWI; willful refusal of chemical test; administrative review; NCGS 20-16.2 Conleys Creek Ltd. P’ship v. Smoky Mountain Country Club Prop. …

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Assistant county attorney properly terminated for election to city council – Fourth Circuit

By / April 3, 2017

Loftus v. Bobzien. Bobzien, the Fairfax, Virginia, County Attorney, fired Loftus, an assistant county attorney, after she was elected to Fairfax City Council. The termination was “solely because she had been elected to the City Council.” Loftus sued claiming the termination violated her First Amendment rights, as well as Virginia Statute and a local Fairfax …

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Redacted minutes = adequate public general account of a closed meeting – N.C. Court of Appeals

By / April 1, 2017

Times News Publishing v. The Alamance-Burlington Board of Education. Times News, a newspaper publisher, originally sought to compel the Board of Education to provide unredacted minutes of a series of closed-session meetings. The meetings at issue involved the resignation of the superintendent and an agreement to pay more than $220,000 in severance and vacation pay. After a …

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Puffery alive and well in TLD operator marketing – Fourth Circuit

By / March 31, 2017

Verisign, Inc. v. XYZ.COM LLC. Verisign sued XYZ for false advertising under the Lanham Act. XYZ’s ad campaign for it’s new top level domain “.xyz” included claims that there was a scarcity of .com domains. Verisign is the exclusive operator of the .com and .net domains and so was understandably not thrilled with this ad …

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N.C. Court of Appeals Opinions for March 21, 2017

By / March 21, 2017

The North Carolina Court of Appeals released a batch of opinions today: Bell v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.  (15-1299) Workers’ Compensation; Compensable Injury; Causal Relationship; Compensation Benefits; Trial Return to Work; Sanctions Harris & Hilton, P.A. v. Rassette  (16-809) Rule 3.7 of NC Rules of Professional Conduct; necessary witness; witness-advocate rule [Trial court did …

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N.C. Supreme Court opinions for March 17, 2017

By / March 17, 2017

In re Redmond, (86A16) (View COA Opinion) Appeal from Industrial Commission’s denial of benefits under the N.C. Eugenics Compensation Program based on deceased claimant’s constitutional challenge to a statutory requirement to qualify for the Program; whether the Court of Appeals has jurisdiction over the appeal; application of N.C.G.S. 1-267.1(a1). In re Hughes, (87A16) (View COA …

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State secrets doctrine bars claim against CIA for employment discrimination/retaliation – Fourth Circuit

By / March 8, 2017

Abilt v. Maryland. The Fourth Circuit barred a claim of discrimination and retaliation by a clandestine CIA operative because the claim necessarily implicated state secrets. The opinion provides a good overview of the state secrets privilege doctrine. Abilt (not his real name) was hired as an applications developer for the CIA in June 2006. About the …

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North Carolina Court of Appeals Opinions for March 7, 2017

By / March 7, 2017

The N.C. Court Appeals released a batch of opinions today: Harris v. N.C. Dep’t of Pub. Safety  (16-341) Standard of review of decision of ALJ; just cause; unacceptable personal conduct; use of force; NCGS 150B-51; NCGS 126-34.02 Key Risk Ins. Co. v. Peck  (16-872) Third party workers’ compensation claim – NCGS 97-10.2; Motion to substitute …

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