Every decision we've summarized from United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed a jury verdict holding four companies liable for falsely advertising aftermarket saltwater pool chlorination products. The court rejected arguments that the district court erred by admitting previously undisclosed evidence and by directing a verdict on alter ego liability.
The Fourth Circuit held that servicemembers suing over alleged Servicemembers Civil Relief Act violations lacked Article III standing because their injuries were not traceable to the acts of the Governor or state judges. The court vacated the lower court's judgment and remanded with instructions to dismiss the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed a 120-month sentence for firearm possession by a felon, ruling that any error in calculating the Sentencing Guidelines was harmless. The court held that the district court would have imposed the same sentence regardless of the Guidelines calculation and that the sentence was substantively reasonable given the defendant's conduct.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for mortgage servicers, holding that monthly statements, payoff requests, and tax forms sent during a debtor's Chapter 13 bankruptcy were purely informational and did not constitute prohibited debt collection. The court reasoned that explicit disclaimers clarifying the documents' non-collection purpose prevented them from violating the automatic stay or the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment against Tiffany Burnett on her retaliation and Equal Pay Act claims. The court held that Burnett failed to provide evidence beyond conclusory allegations to prove a causal connection between her protected activity and her termination, or that her job duties were substantially similar to those of her comparators.
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 clarified how coal mine employment years are calculated under the Black Lung Benefits Act. The court held that miners need only work one hundred twenty-five days within a calendar year to earn a year of credit, rejecting the requirement of a full three hundred sixty-five-day employment relationship.
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 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 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.