Surety must arbitrate disputes based on contract incorporated by reference in bonds
January 19th, 2011
In Developers Surety and Indemnity Co. v. Resurrection Baptist Church, Case No. RWT 10cv1224 (D. Md. Dec. 1, 2010), the Court held that the surety must arbitrate disputes related to performance bonds where the performance bonds specifically incorporated by reference construction contracts containing an arbitration clause. I…
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No immediate right in D.C. to appeal an order compelling arbitration and staying the lawsuit
January 19th, 2011
In Stuart v. Walker , No. 09-CV-900 (D.C. Oct. 28, 2010), the Court held that a trial court’s order granting a motion to compel fee arbitration and to stay the case, was not a final judgment and therefore, was not immediately appealable. In this case, the plaintiff, who is an attorney, brought suit to recover attorney…
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Fourth Circuit affirms summary judgment on Title VII claims
January 17th, 2011
In Bonds v. Leavitt, No. 09-2179 (4th Cir. Jan. 3, 2011) the Fourth Circuit affirmed the District Court’s award of summary judgment to the defendant employer for three Title VII claims. (Note: the Court reversed the dismissal of the federal whistle blowing statute claims which are not addressed here.) The employment r…
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Categories: Employment Discrimination
Legal and tax malpractice summary judgment reversed by D.C. Court of Appeals
January 15th, 2011
In Pair v. Queen, No. 08-CV-1646 (D.C. Aug. 26, 2010), the Court reversed the trial court’s award of summary judgment to the attorney who allegedly was responsible for a million dollar tax bill from the IRS. The relationship between the Pairs and Mr. Queen broke down after Mr. Queen informed appellants that the Distri…
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Undocumented Workers Are Covered by D.C. Workers Compensation Act
January 14th, 2011
In Asylum co. v. D.C. Depart. of Employment Services, No. 08-AA-1158 (D.C. Dec. 23, 2010), the Court of Appeals considered an issue of first impression in D.C.: whether a worker who is an undocumented alien is covered under the District of Columbia Workers’ Compensation Act. The Court affirmed the Compensation Review…
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Fourth Circuit affirms award of summary judgment to defense in employment discrimination case
January 13th, 2011
In Mascone v. American Physical Society, Inc., the Fourth Circuit affirmed the District Court’s award of summary judgment to the defendant, and the District Court’s denial of the plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration. The Court affirmed summary judgment on the wrongful termination claim, finding that the…
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Legal Malpractice Claim Arising From Criminal Representation Barred By Collateral Estoppel
January 6th, 2011
In Johnson v. Sullivan, the Court dismissed a legal malpractice claim arising out of prior criminal representation, based in part on the doctrine of defensive collateral estoppel. The plaintiff brought a legal malpractice action against his former criminal attorneys, who had represented him at trial and in post-trial procee…
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Legal Malpractice Claim Barred by Virginia Statute of Limitations
January 5th, 2011
In Van Dam v. Gay, No. 091659 (Va. Sept. 16, 2010), the Court affirmed the trial court’s award of summary judgment to an attorney in a legal malpractice case based on the statute of limitations. The alleged malpractice involved the representation of the former wife in a divorce case. As part of the divorce settlement,…
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Countering A Plaintiff’s Counsel’s Minimal Expert Witness Disclosures in Lead Paint Litigation
January 4th, 2011
In the Jamal Logan v. LSP Marketing Corp., et al., the Court of Special Appeals upheld the trial court’s granting of an order in a lead paint case precluding all but one of plaintiff’s 12 experts as a sanction for failure to comply with Md. Rule 2-402(g) (i.e. failing “to state the subject matter, substanc…
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