Freedom of speech is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. In the employment context, the First Amendment offers special protection to state and federal employees. Public employees have some extra job security as they cannot (at least not legally) be terminated for exercising their free-speech rights.…
A successful civil lawsuit generally results in a judgment for some amount of money. Interest accumulates on that judgment, either at the rate lawfully specified in the contract or at Virginia’s standard “judgment rate” of six percent. (See Va. Code § 6.2-302). Money judgments can consist of many different types…
If it’s important, put it in writing. Seems like common sense, doesn’t it? Yet you’d be surprised how much business gets done in the absence of a written agreement. Legally speaking, written contracts aren’t strictly necessary in many situations. A contract will exist, regardless of whether reduced to writing, if…
When I wrote about how to enforce a noncompete agreement against a departed employee a couple of years ago, I made it sound pretty easy: write an enforceable noncompete agreement, then move for a preliminary injunction to prevent the employee from doing further damage to your business. It should be…
The Virginia Uniform Trade Secrets Act (“VUTSA”) contains a section stating that “this chapter displaces conflicting tort, restitutionary, and other law of this Commonwealth providing civil remedies for misappropriation of a trade secret.” (See Va. Code § 59.1-341). Known as the preemption provision, it is designed to prevent inconsistent theories…
Virginia is considered a “notice pleading” jurisdiction, which means that a complaint need only contain allegations of material facts sufficient to inform a defendant (i.e., put the defendant on notice) of the true nature and character of the plaintiff’s claim. To meet this standard, though, a plaintiff must allege actual…
According to the allegations of a complaint filed by Amy H. Tang, a professor of microbiology and molecular cell biology, against the Eastern Virginia Medical School (“EVMS”), EVMS misappropriated her trade secrets and discriminated against her due to her Chinese ethnicity. She sued the school for violations of both the…
The fiduciary duty owed by corporate officers and directors includes an obligation not to usurp a corporate business opportunity for personal gain but to allow that opportunity to be enjoyed by the corporation, to which it is said to belong. (See Feddeman & Co. v. Langan Assocs., P.C., 260 Va.…
Emotional distress claims are tricky because they are so easily faked. Anyone can assert that they suffered unbearable pain and suffering as the result of a defendant’s wrongful act, regardless of the degree of humiliation actually felt. It’s kind of hard to disprove another person’s subjective emotions. The Fourth Circuit…
If you get sued in an inconvenient, far-away forum and want the court to consider moving the case to a court closer to home–and you want to flex your Latin proficiency–file a motion for “forum non conveniens.” This common law doctrine allows a court to dismiss or transfer a case,…