Every decision we've summarized from United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a correction order to amend a previously filed opinion. The amendment addresses clerical errors regarding the spelling of a name within the document.
The Fourth Circuit imposed a public admonishment on attorney Eric Chibueze Nwaubani for submitting appellate briefs containing citations to three nonexistent judicial opinions. The court held that this conduct violated ethical rules prohibiting actions that seriously interfere with the administration of justice, regardless of whether artificial intelligence was used to generate the errors.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a federal employee's race discrimination and hostile work environment claims but vacated summary judgment on his retaliation claim. The court held that while the plaintiff failed to prove an abusive work environment, evidence of a supervisor's threat to fire him for filing an EEO complaint created a genuine dispute of material fact on retaliation.
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Ronald Shaw's appeal because he failed to obtain a required certificate of appealability. The court found that Shaw did not make a substantial showing that the district court's denial of his habeas motion was debatable or wrong.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of an environmental consultant's negligent misrepresentation claim against an insurance adjuster, holding that North Carolina law imposes no duty of care on independent adjusters toward third-party claimants. The court reasoned that imposing such a duty would create conflicting loyalties for adjusters who are employed by insurers.
The Fourth Circuit held that individuals maintain a reasonable expectation of privacy in files stored in private cloud-based accounts, requiring law enforcement to obtain a warrant before searching them. Although the court found the warrantless search of the defendant's Google Drive files unconstitutional, it affirmed the conviction because the evidence was sufficiently attenuated from the illegal search.
The Fourth Circuit reversed and vacated a district court's class certification order in an ERISA fiduciary breach case involving a defined contribution plan. The court held that individualized monetary claims in such plans cannot be joined in a mandatory class under Rule 23(b)(1) and that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate commonality.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a suit against a bank for seizing funds to satisfy a Texas judgment, holding that banks perform a ministerial function when complying with court enforcement writs. The court ruled that the bank acted with legal right under West Virginia law and that the judgment debtors must challenge the underlying judgment rather than sue the bank.
The Fourth Circuit dismissed an appeal filed by a federal prisoner seeking relief under Section twenty-eight U.S.C. Section two thousand two hundred fifty-five. The court denied a certificate of appealability because the appellant failed to make a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.
The Fourth Circuit vacated and remanded a district court order because the defendant filed a second or successive habeas petition without first obtaining appellate authorization. The court held that the district court lacked jurisdiction to consider the motion and denied the request to file the successive petition.