187 results for 'court:"USDC Eastern District of North Carolina"'.
J. Flanagan denies an insurance company’s motion to show cause as a part of a dispute over a $1 million water damage claim following Hurricanes Florence and Dorian. The company alleges that claim’s appraisers should be sanctioned for appealing the company’s discovery requests as a violation of the court’s orders. However, the district court has refused to grant the appraisers’ motion for protective order from discovery, so this part of the litigation is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction and stayed until the appeal is resolved.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Flanagan, Filed On: February 16, 2024, Case #: 4:22cv42, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Jurisdiction, Discovery
J. Boyle denies a major consumer electronics producer’s motion for a temporary restraining order and anti-suit injunction after a European competitor brought patent infringement allegations against it. The producer, in a counterclaim, seeks the injunction to stop its competitor from implementing injunction orders in Colombia and Brazil, preventing the producer from selling its products in those countries. However, the producer fails to sufficiently evidence that entering a global licensing agreement with its competitor would resolve the underlying infringement claims.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Boyle, Filed On: February 14, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv569, NOS: Patent - Property Rights, Categories: Patent, Technology, Injunction
J. Boyle grants two insurance companies’ joint motion for entry of a consent order, instructing each on how to proceed regarding evidence, confidentiality and discovery.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Boyle, Filed On: February 13, 2024, Case #: 4:22cv8, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Evidence, Insurance, Discovery
J. Boyle grants seven agents of a county government their motion to dismiss allegations of emotional distress, defamation and discrimination brought by a register of deeds. Specifically, she claims the county did not assign to her the best assistant and that it has discriminated against her in some way. However, she has not provided enough information for her claim to survive and she has failed to respond to the county’s motion.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Boyle, Filed On: February 12, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv520, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Defamation, Employment Discrimination
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J. Flanagan grants a county caseworker’s motion for leave to file a second amended complaint against her employer in this age discrimination suit. Initially, she sued the county’s social services department, but this entity cannot be sued under federal discrimination law. She next moved to sue individuals involved in the allegations, but individuals cannot be sued under this law either. The caseworker’s suit is deemed to not be frivolous, so she will need to determine whether she is employed by the county or the state, and sue that party.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Flanagan, Filed On: February 12, 2024, Case #: 4:22cv81, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Employment, Employment Discrimination
J. Dever partially grants two sister insurance companies’ motions to dismiss allegations of telephone consumer protection law violations brought by a cell phone owner. The owner received multiple calls from the companies even after she requested them to stop. However, the owner fails to present enough information about the calls, including the dates of the calls and which company made them, so se fails to state a claim.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: February 12, 2024, Case #: 7:23cv1081, NOS: Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) - Other Suits, Categories: Consumer Law, Technology
J. Boyle partially grants a former staff member of the state’s corrections department her motion to compel after suing the department for alleged race, gender and age discrimination. Specifically, the department, which has had over six months to produce documents, must generate records of past job postings for the staff’s position to complete the discovery process. The staff member has demonstrated the standing to make this request.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Boyle, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 5:21cv225, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Government, Employment Discrimination
J. Dever grants Walmart’s motion to dismiss allegations of race discrimination brought a driver employed by Walmart after another employee crashed into his truck, causing $5,000 in damage. The driver, a Black man, claims that because Walmart did not require the employee, a white man, to pay the damages, Walmart favored the employee based on race. However, the driver’s allegations are not sufficient for a Title VII claim.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv226, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Employment, Employment Discrimination
J. Boyle grants summary judgment to a police department following allegations of retaliation brought by a former officer when the department fired him after he took FMLA leave. The officer, who needed to help his father after a debilitating accident, took leave for over a year then returned to work. However, someone called the department to file a complaint against the officer, who had been working as a contractor at his father’s business while on leave. The officer reportedly did poor contracting work, lied about having retired as an officer, and did not notify the department about working while using FMLA time. While the officer claims the department fired him solely because he took leave, he offers no evidence refuting the other reasons the department fired him.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Boyle, Filed On: February 7, 2024, Case #: 5:21cv491, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Employment Retaliation, Labor
J. Myers and three additional judges grant the federal government’s motion to strike the jury trial demand brought by a group of military service members and their families in an ongoing dispute about allegedly contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. The service members and families claim some of them developed cancer or died after exposure to toxic substances in the water when they lived at the military base. The government enacted a law allowing affected individuals to sue it under certain conditions, but nothing in the law requires a jury trial.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Myers, Filed On: February 6, 2024, Case #: 7:23cv897, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Tort, Water, Military
J. Dever denies an engineering firm and associated individuals their motion for a partial dismissal of an alleged breach of fiduciary duty brought by the firm’s former president, who claims the owners mismanaged stock and ERISA funds for personal benefit. Although the former president did not hold that position at the time of this filing, he was still a member of the firm’s stock plan, so he has standing to bring the claim.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: February 6, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv324, NOS: Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) - Labor, Categories: Erisa, Trade, Fiduciary Duty
J. Dever grants a police detective’s motion to dismiss allegations of malicious prosecution brought by the nephew of an elderly woman who acted as her power of attorney. The nephew had access to and certain control over the woman’s bank account, which she had granted him. He went on vacation to Thailand and could not return as planned due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Shortly after, the woman passed away and Wells Fargo locked her account until her nephew could prove his power of attorney, which he could not do until he returned to the U.S. Suspecting foul play, the detective arrested the nephew accusing him of exploitation. Although this was not the case, the detective had just cause, so the nephew’s claim fails.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: February 5, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv466, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Malicious Prosecution, Elder Abuse, Banking / Lending
J. Dever denies a homeowner couple’s motion for summary judgment after Hurricane Florence damaged their house, causing water damage that a contractor valued over $240,000. State Farm covered only $66,000 of their claim because the existence of vapor barriers within the walls could have caused further damage after the hurricane ended, which State Farm claims its policy does not cover. The couple argues the policy should cover all damage including that sustained as a result of the vapor barriers, thus, there is an unresolved issue of material facts.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: February 2, 2024, Case #: 4:21cv146, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Property, Contract
J. Boyle grants partial summary judgment to a utility pipeline firm in this suit for right-of-way to restore land on which it had begun to build a 600-mile underground line to funnel natural gas from West Virginia to North Carolina. Recently, the firm abandoned the project and now seeks permission to restore the land, and its motion is unopposed by the landowner.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Boyle, Filed On: February 1, 2024, Case #: 4:18cv15, NOS: Land Condemnation - Real Property, Categories: Corporations, Environment, Property
J. Flanagan denies a former county sheriff’s motion to dismiss allegations of race discrimination brought by a former captain of the county’s detention center after the sheriff demoted her then fired her shortly after he was elected to office. The captain, the only Black woman on staff at the time, worked in the office since 1998, had several promotions since, and allegedly had an excellent performance record. Within a month of his placement, the sheriff, a white man, demoted the captain and replaced her with a less-qualified white woman. He also demoted another Black employee, and on a phone call with a white staff member, was recorded saying, “I’m sick of these Black bastards. I’m gonna clean house and be done with it,” along with other derogatory remarks. When the sheriff fired the captain not long after, he cited an incident when she had forgotten to pay for some bags of pecans at a store, then returned to pay for them, characterizing this as behavior as “unbecoming.” The state filed a removal petition against the sheriff based on the race discrimination claims, at which time he resigned. He was elected again, and again he demoted Black staff members. The state filed a removal petition a second time, and again he resigned. The captain has sufficiently evidenced a claim for race discrimination.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Flanagan, Filed On: February 1, 2024, Case #: 7:23cv1177, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Employment, Employment Discrimination
J. Flanagan denies a Butterball employee’s motion for reconsideration of a previous denial of leave to amend in this race discrimination suit. The employee alleges he just wanted to change pseudonyms in the original complaint to the individuals’ real names, to add them as defendants. However, suits under Title VII of the Civil Right Act may not be brought against individuals.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Flanagan, Filed On: January 31, 2024, Case #: 4:22cv147, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Employment, Employment Discrimination
J. Dever denies two voters from a majority-Black Senate district in northeast North Carolina their motion for an extraordinary, mandatory preliminary injunction, which they claim is necessary to then establish a racially gerrymandered district in order to abide by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The voters allege that the General Assembly violated the Act precisely because it did not engage in race-based district creation, disadvantaging Black voters in majority-white state. However, as the 2024 elections are already under way, the two voters fail to show that the Voting Rights Act needs this injunction to initiate race-based grouping of voters, and doing so would likely confuse voters and create chaos that could compromise election integrity.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv193, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Elections, Government
J. Flanagan partially denies a crop insurance company’s motion for summary judgment after a farm alleged the company’s agent breached fiduciary duty and committed fraud and negligence when the company did not properly pay on a claim. The farm was able to show sufficient evidence that the agent misrepresented the kind of coverage and amount available to the farm, so their allegations against him survive, but not their claims against the company itself.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Flanagan, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 7:21cv126, NOS: Other Fraud - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: Fraud, Fiduciary Duty, Negligence
J. Boyle grants a hospital’s motion to dismiss allegations of religious discrimination brought by an employee who claims the hospital did not provide her a religious exemption in regards to a Covid-19 vaccine mandate. However, the employee failed to name any discriminatory behavior to which the hospital subjected her, nor did she explain what religious beliefs on her part are in conflict with the mandate.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Boyle, Filed On: January 23, 2024, Case #: 5:22cv507, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Employment, Employment Discrimination
J. Dever grants the City of Raleigh’s motion to dismiss the amended complaint of a former training and development analyst who brought allegations of sexual harassment, gender discrimination and retaliation against it. The analyst claims that her male supervisor stared at and touched her breasts and made inappropriate comments such as, “You’re buttering the wrong bread. I’m the one you need to talk to if you want to get what you need.” The analyst complained to human resources, and even though an investigation found her claims to be true, she was fired. She filed for her right to sue with the EEOC too late, however, and it was time-barred, so she cannot proceed.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: January 22, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv49, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Boyle denies partial summary judgment for a medical imaging systems dealer after it sued a former field service engineer for compromising its trade secrets. The engineer had signed an ethics agreement in 2012 promising not to share confidential company information, but that was only contingent on his employment there, and he resigned in 2020. Also, the dealer has not provided specific enough documentation it alleges the engineer compromised to satisfy the trade secrets violation claim.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Boyle, Filed On: January 19, 2024, Case #: 5:20cv657, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Trade, Trade Secrets, Contract
J. Boyle denies Equifax’s motion to dismiss allegations of fair credit reporting law violations brought by a consumer after a credit company blocked her from accessing her account, even though it was the only way she could pay off her debt. The company began to report her debt to Equifax and other credit agencies as delinquent despite the fact it continued to block her access. The consumer contacted the company and the agencies regarding the matter, but none took any steps to remedy the situation and the delinquency affected her credit negatively. Because Equifax took no action and continued to report the consumer’s debt as delinquent, the consumer’s claim will proceed.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Boyle, Filed On: January 19, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv279, NOS: Consumer Credit - Other Suits, Categories: Debt Collection, Consumer Law
J. Boyle grants a city government’s motion for summary judgment after a Black former police lieutenant alleged that two of his white deputies racially discriminated against him when they called for a state and federal investigation into whether he was working a second job while on the clock for the city. As it was discovered, a third deputy initiated the investigation, which ultimately found that the lieutenant and the police chief, also a Black man working the same second job, had inconsistencies between recorded hours at both jobs, leading to their arrests. Thus, the lieutenant’s claims fail.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Boyle, Filed On: January 18, 2024, Case #: 7:21cv130, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Employment, Employment Discrimination