United States Fourth Circuit - Opinion Summaries

AMERICAN LEGION POST 7 OF DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA v. CITY OF DURHAM

Constitutional Law
The City's flag size restrictions are content-neutral and reasonably limit the time, place, and manner of speech in a fashion that preserves ample...

LOWN v. CONTINENTAL CASUALTY CO.

ERISA
Employee's long term disability plan was governed by ERISA, not a church plan, where no religious institution played any official role governing her...

US v. VILLARINI

Criminal Law & Procedure
A defendant who transported criminal proceeds from one district to another in order to launder them in the latter district can be tried only in the...

US v. WHITE

Criminal Law & Procedure
Because USSG 5G1.2(d) requires the imposition of consecutive terms on each count of conviction until the guideline punishment is achieved, failure to...

YOUNG v. CITY OF MOUNT RANIER

Civil Rights
Where police subdued someone on PCP using pepperspray, then left him face down and alone at emergency room, his parents' claims for failure to protect...

SEC. AND EXCHANGE COMM'N v. ZANDFORD

Securities Law
Where defendant's fraudulent actions were not sufficiently connected with a securities transaction, federal securities laws do not reach a claim for...

HCMF CORP. v. ALLEN

Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Government Benefits
Where a federal policy, rather than a federal statute, creates a federal right, a proposed amendment to the complaint may contain a different claim,...

VIRTUAL WORKS, INC. v. VOLKSWAGEN OF AM.

Cyberspace Law, Intellectual Property
Where company founders admitted a dual purpose in registering domain name - designating their own company, but also selling to trademark holder if the...

BRADFORD v. ROCKWELL SEMICONDUCTOR SYS., INC.

Dispute Resolution & Arbitration, Labor & Employment Law
Where plaintiff failed to show that a fee-splitting provision made the costs of arbitration prohibitive, or that he was deterred from pursuing his...

BALTIMORE SCRAP CORP. v. THE DAVID J. JOSEPH CO.

Antitrust & Trade Regulation, Constitutional Law
Surreptitiously financing citizen group litigation in state court to prevent or delay another company's entry into the market does not violate the...