In Rollins v. Wackenhut Services, No. 10-00047 (D.D.C. Aug. 10, 2011), the court dismissed wrongful death and survival actions brought against an employer and a pharmaceutical company by the mother of a twenty-three year old man who was working as an armed security guard when he committed suicide with his work-issued pistol… Read More

In The Charter Oak Fire Ins. Co. v. American Capital, Ltd., No. DKC 09-0100 (Aug. 9, 2011), the Court considered the issue of whether an insurer acted with reasonable promptness to rescind an insurance policy after learning of misrepresentations in the application for insurance. The district court denied the insured’s… Read More

In Portsmouth School Board v Harris, No. 0026-11-1 (Va. App. July 19, 2011), the Court reversed a decision by the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission, which held that the employer was responsible for paying for a six-person spa pool purchased by the claimant, as physician-ordered treatment which was reasonable, necessa… Read More

In Minnesota Lawyers Mutual Insurance Co. v. Batzli, Nos. 10-1684, 10-1839, 10-1910 (4th Cir. Aug. 4, 2011)(unpublished), the 4th Circuit affirmed the trial court’s denial of a post-trial motion for judgment as a matter of law, made by the insurer, that challenged the jury’s verdict that the insurer breached its… Read More

In Payne v. Clark, No. 09-CV-1492 (D.C. Aug. 4, 2011), the D.C. Court of Appeals held that with respect to a defamation claim, a qualified common interest privilege protects statements made by citizens and other third parties who communicate in good faith with District agencies during an investigation into alleged misconduc… Read More

In Linton v. Evans, the Plaintiff, in an attempt to avoid the three year statute of limitations period, argued that limitations began to run when she learned that her cancer was “probably noncurable,” rather than when she first learned she had cancer. The plaintiff argued that her claim was timely filed on May 7… Read More

In Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company and Liberty Insurance Corporation v. Testerman, No. 1484-10-3 (Va. App. July 12, 2011), the Court considered the issue whether a furlough from work of pre-defined and limited duration, applicable to all manufacturing employees, both those with and without restricted work capacity, ju… Read More

In Howard University v. Wilkins, Nos. 09-CV-318, 09-CV-319, and 09-CV-544 (D.C. June 30, 2011), the Court affirmed the plaintiff’s verdict, in a District of Columbia Human Rights Act action for retaliation, of $1.00 in compensatory damages, and $42,677.50 in punitive damages. The plaintiff had alleged that Howard Univ… Read More