United States Fourth Circuit - December 2009 Opinion Summaries

US v. Matthews

Criminal Law & Procedure, Evidence
Conviction of defendant for conspiracy to distribute marijuana and related crimes is affirmed where: 1) because the police department's policy...

Stone v. Instrumentation Lab. Co.

Administrative Law, Civil Procedure, Corporation & Enterprise Law, Government Law, Labor & Employment Law, Securities Law
In an employment retaliation action under the whistleblower provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, grant of defendant's motion to dismiss in favor of...

Sepulveda v. Allen Family Foods, Inc.

Government Law, Labor & Employment Law
In an action brought by employees and their union against a poultry processing plant under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), judgment of the...

Nemet Chevrolet, Ltd. v. Consumeraffairs.com, Inc.

Civil Procedure, Communications Law, Cyberspace Law, Government Law, Injury & Tort Law
In an online-automobile dealer's action against a defendant-website company that allows consumers to comment on the quality of businesses, goods, and...

Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. v. Holiday

Administrative Law, Attorney's Fees, Civil Procedure, Evidence, Government Law, Labor & Employment Law
In an action brought by plaintiff-longshoreman against defendant-employer, decision of the Department of Labor's Benefits Review Board (BRB) is...

Smith v. Smith

Civil Procedure, Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law & Procedure, Health Law
In an inmate's 42 U.S.C. section 1983 suit against a prison nurse claiming deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs, district court's...

AES Sparrows Point LNG, LLC v. WIlson

Administrative Law, Civil Procedure, Construction, Environmental Law, Government Law, Oil and Gas Law
Petition for review of the State of Maryland Department of the Environment's denial of a request for water quality certification, involving a proposed...

Levy v. Lexington County

Civil Procedure, Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Elections, Government Law
In plaintiffs' action challenging a district's method of electing school board members claiming that the election process dilutes the voting strength...

US v. Hawkins

Criminal Law & Procedure, Sentencing
District court's denial of a motion to sever carjacking charges from a felon possession charge by a defendant convicted of crimes related to...

Bostick v. FNU Stevenson

Criminal Law & Procedure, Habeas Corpus
In habeas proceedings involving claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, summary judgment against petitioner is reversed and remanded where: 1)...