Every decision we've summarized from United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Bloosurf's lawsuit against T-Mobile, holding that federal law barred the plaintiff's claims. The court ruled that the Federal Communications Act's election-of-remedies provision and express preemption clauses prevented the state-law and federal claims from proceeding.
The Fourth Circuit vacated Sang Thanh Huynh's sentence due to a material discrepancy between the district court's oral pronouncement of supervised release conditions and the written judgment. Even though the Government conceded the error, the Court independently reviewed the record and found that such discrepancies require resentencing under established precedent.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a systemic IDEA lawsuit, holding that plaintiffs failed to exhaust administrative remedies, had duplicative litigation pending, and lacked standing. The court rejected arguments that administrative exhaustion was futile due to alleged systemic bias in Virginia's hearing officer system.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed Jalen Craig McMillan's convictions for bank fraud conspiracy, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft. The court rejected McMillan's challenges to the admission of non-expert witness testimony and the denial of his motion for judgment of acquittal, finding no reversible error.
The Fourth Circuit denied a certificate of appealability to Benjamin Forrest Carter, finding he failed to show that reasonable jurists could debate the district court's denial of his habeas relief. Consequently, the court dismissed the appeal without oral argument.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed a lower court ruling denying a motion to compel arbitration of a Bankruptcy Code automatic stay violation claim. The court held that resolving such adversary proceedings in bankruptcy is constitutionally authorized and that forcing arbitration would undermine the uniform administration of bankruptcy cases.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed a district court's reduced award of attorney's fees in a Title VII employment retaliation case, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion. The appellate court emphasized that determining reasonable fees requires substantial deference to the trial judge's intimate knowledge of the case.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the revocation of William Waters's supervised release but vacated his sentence due to a procedural error. The court held that the district court failed to adequately explain the imposition of discretionary conditions during the oral pronouncement of the sentence.
The Fourth Circuit denied Antonio Edwards's petition for a writ of mandamus because the district court had already ruled on his underlying motions. The court found the issue moot since the alleged delay no longer existed.
The Fourth Circuit denied a petition for review challenging an award of Black Lung Benefits to a retired West Virginia miner. The court upheld the lower tribunal's finding that the miner was totally disabled by pneumoconiosis and that his claim was filed within the statutory time limit.