Actor Kevin Costner is in the middle of a contract dispute in South Dakota over the placement of 17 buffalo and Lakota warrior sculptures that he had commissioned from artist Peggy Detmers. The sculptures were originally intended for Costner’s proposed resort The Dunbar, but the resort itself was never built…
When former attorney Ann Marie Miller had a bone to pick with Jennifer Ann Kelley, Miller used her knowledge of the legal system to represent herself in numerous suits of questionable merit against Kelley, according to Judge Wilson of the Western District of Virginia. In Miller v. Kelley, the court…
In Virginia, to state a claim for tortious interference with contractual relationships, a plaintiff generally must allege (1) the existence of a valid contractual relationship or business expectancy; (2) knowledge of the relationship or expectancy on the part of the interferor; (3) intentional interference inducing or causing a breach or…
The Navajo Nation has sued retailer Urban Outfitters and its subsidiaries for trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and related claims. In the suit, filed in the District of New Mexico, the tribe seeks monetary damages and an injunction against using the “Navajo” and “Navaho” names in connection with marketing goods that…
Under Virginia law, covenants restricting the free use of land are not favored and must be strictly construed. Restrictive covenants that are unreasonably broad will not be enforced. There is a growing body of case law in Virginia governing noncompete covenants in employment contracts, but does that body of law…
Arbitrability–whether a contract creates a duty for the parties to arbitrate (rather than litigate) a particular grievance–is ordinarily a question of law to be decided by the court. Virginia, however, adheres to a public policy favoring freedom to contract. If two sophisticated businesses reach a deal providing that any arbitrability…
“Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” is one of the most popular holiday songs around and is played on radio stations across the country every Christmas season. It is also now the subject of contentious copyright litigation after a federal judge ruled recently that litigation over an allegedly unauthorized…
In Virginia, employment is presumed to be at-will, but that presumption can be rebutted with evidence that the employment is for a specific period of time or that it can be terminated only for just cause. Virginia law says that contracts are to be construed as written and if the…
Does an employer have any sort of ownership interest in its employees’ tweets or Twitter following? This very current social-media question may be tested in a lawsuit originally filed last July in federal court in California by PhoneDog, a South Carolina-based company that reviews mobile phones and services online, against…
In a dispute between two Virginia lawyers, a U.S. District Judge has rejected attorney Cynthia Smith’s claim that another attorney, Timothy Purnell, interfered with her contract with a client and caused her to suffer nearly $4 million in financial losses. Smith had been representing a Northern Virginia family, the Wieses,…