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    The Lawletter Blog

    TAX:  Retroactive Documentation of “Bona Fide Loans”

    CORPORATIONS:  The Nature of a Shareholder-Derivative Action

    BUSINESS LAW:  Considerations Before Taking on a Cannabusiness Client

    TORTS:  Duty of Care by a Supplier of Tools or Chattels

    ELECTION LAW:   Federal District Court Judge Orders Georgia Lawmakers to Redraw Congressional Map for the 2024 Election

    CRIMINAL LAW:    The Extent of Judicial Power in Sentencing Pursuant to a Federal Plea Agreement

    CORPORATIONS:   When Traditional Standing Rules Do Not Apply to Shareholder Derivative Actions

    BUSINESS LAW: ChatGPT, LLMs, and Legal Research

    CIVIL PROCEDURE:     The Utility of a Declaratory Judgment Action

    PROPERTY SCOTUS: Government Cannot Sell House to Recover Unpaid Taxes and Keep the Excess

    AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE:   UIM Changes

    ESTATES:  Personal Representatives/Methods for Determining Fair Compensation

    PUBLIC LAW:  The Continued Vitality of Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics

    EMPLOYMENT: Disparate-Impact Cases Under the ADEA Are Not for the Faint of Heart

    BANKRUPTCY: Eleventh Circuit Addresses Nuances in Preference Litigation

    BANKRUPTCY:   The Bankruptcy Court's Discretionary Authority Under Rule 1016 to Allow Further Administration of a Chapter 13 Case

    CIVIL RIGHTS:   SCOTUS: Use of Un-Mirandized Statement Does Not Serve as Basis for § 1983 Claim

    CIVIL PROCEDURE:   Rule 60(b)(1) “Mistake” Includes a Judicial Error of Law

    FAMILY LAW:  Prejudgment Attachment and Child Support

    ATTORNEY AND CLIENT—LEGAL ETHICS “Reply All” Only When You Mean It

    TORTS:  Claims for Both Direct Negligence and Vicarious Liability

    BANKRUPTCY:  Exceptions to Bankruptcy Discharge for Fraudulently Incurred Debts

    ESTATES:  Is It Legal to Inherit Objects Made from Endangered Species Parts?

    CIVIL PROCEDURE:  Fourth Circuit Reverses Course on Case-by-Case Approach to What Is a “Final Decision”

    TAX: Foster-Home or Difficulty-of-Care Health Services by Individuals

    PROPERTY: Effect of Divorce on Judgment Lien for the Debt of One Spouse

    EMPLOYMENT: Workplace Drug-Use Policies and State Medical/Adult-Use Marijuana Laws

    CONTRACTS LAW: Importance of Carefully Drafting Contractual Choice-of-Law Clauses

    ADMIRALTY: Statute of Limitations for Wrongful Death

    INSURANCE: Limits on Homeowner’s Insurance Coverage for Farm-Type Vehicles

    PROPERTY: Short-Term Rentals, Such as VRBO and Airbnb, and Use Restrictions

    INSURANCE: Evidence—Admissibility of Tortfeasor’s Insurance Coverage

    ESTATES: Estate Planning—Gifts by an Attorney-in-Fact

    CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: Ban on Possession of Large-Capacity Magazines Did Not Facially Violate the Second Amendment

    BANKING: Standing to Enforce UCC Midnight Deadline Rule

    LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW: Love in the Time of COVID-19

    ATTORNEY AND CLIENT: Ethical Considerations in a Virtual Practice

    CIVIL RIGHTS/CRIMINAL LAW: In Pursuit of Fleeing Misdemeanants: SCOTUS Rejects Categorical Rule of Exigency

    CIVIL RIGHTS/CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: Pitt Bull Owners’ § 1983 Action May Proceed

    EMPLOYMENT: Title VII Plaintiff May Seek Punitive Damages After Releasing Compensatory Claim

    CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: History and the Application of the Second Amendment

    BANKRUPTCY: Damages Awarded for Pursuit of Divorce Case in Violation of Automatic Stay

    CRIMINAL LAW: Sex Offender Registration Requirement

    LANDLORD AND TENANT: Reimbursement of Tenant for Improvements to Leased Premises

    WILLS: Construction of Survival Clause—Beneficiaries Who Predecease Distribution

    CIVIL PROCEDURE: Successive Motions for Summary Judgment—When to Try for a “Second Bite at the Apple”

    CORPORATE LAW: Delaware’s New Universal Test for Demand Futility—A Game Changer?

    PERSONAL INJURY: Bystander Recovery for Grandparents

    PROPERTY: Landlord’s Due Process Rights Not Violated by COVID-19 Moratorium on Evictions

    BANKRUPTCY: TALC Powder Bankruptcy

    ATTORNEY AND CLIENT—LEGAL ETHICS: In the Matter of Rudy Giuliani

    CRIMINAL LAW: Ineffective Assistance—Death Penalty

    EMPLOYMENT: Supreme Court Rebuffs Another Challenge to the ACA

    PERSONAL INJURY: Technology Expands Recovery for Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress

    TAX: Sales Tax Pandemic—Facemasks

    EMPLOYMENT: Title VII and "Supervisors"

    CONTRACTS: An Object Lesson in How Not to Mitigate Damages

    PERSONAL INJURY: Tort Immunity for Nonprofit Volunteers Is Limited to Their Organizational Roles

    ESTATE PLANNING: Pet Trusts

    CIVIL PROCEDURE: Attorney's Fees as Damages for Breach of Covenant Not to Sue

    PROPERTY: Virginia Civil Forfeiture Eclipsed by Tenancy-by-Entirety Immunity

    EMPLOYMENT: Exotic Dancers—Employees or Independent Contractors?

    GIFTS: Beneficiaries/Disqualification to Take/Ingratitude

    CIVIL PROCEDURE: Responding Competently to Incompetently Drafted Pleadings

    CIVIL PROCEDURE: What Happens to a Derivative Action When the Company Settles a Parallel Lawsuit?

    TAXATION: Taxation of Early Withdrawal from Retirement Account; COVID Exception

    ADMINISTRATIVE/IMMIGRATION LAW: Chevron Deference Does Not Always Result in Support for the Government's Position

    CIVIL PROCEDURE: COVID-19 Venue Issues and Relevant Practical Problems

    ESTATES: Multiple Wills—Reconciliation—Choice of Personal Representative

    EMPLOYMENT: Gay and Transgender Employees Are Protected by Federal Antidiscrimination Statute, Supreme Court Holds

    CRIMINAL LAW: Insanity Defense

    CIVIL PROCEDURE: Maritime Law—Could COVID-19 Cruise Ship Passenger Litigation Sink the Cruise Line Industry?

    PROPERTY: Landlord Liability for Wrongful Death

    CIVIL PROCEDURE: Bid to Recover Picasso Painting Foiled in Rare Case Where Laches Defense Overcomes Express Statute of Limitations

    CORONAVIRUS: Hoarding During the Pandemic

    CONTRACTS: Emergency Orders and Delayed/Excused Action

    FEDERAL TORTS CLAIMS ACT: Feres Doctrine Cracked? Opening of Pandora's Box or Further Encasement in Stone?

    ESTATES: Can Legitimacy of a Putative Heir Be Challenged in an Intestacy Administration?

    INSURANCE: Business Interruption—COVID-19 Claims

    FIRST AMENDMENT/PUBLIC HEALTH: Freedom of Religion During the COVID-19 Pandemic

    PROPERTY: Landlord Tenant/Constructive Eviction and Breach of Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment

    CONTRACTS: Virginia Unconscionability Decision Shows That Extreme Facts May Indeed Make Bad Law

    CONTRACTS:  Contract Excuses and the COVID-19 Pandemic

    FAMILY LAW: Custody, Visitation, and COVID-19

    EMPLOYMENT: Recent Legislation Provides Coronavirus Relief for the American Workforce

    CIVIL PROCEDURE: Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on Discovery Deadlines

    TRUSTS: Release of Trustee from Liability for Retaining an Investment

    PROPERTY: Court Requires Cemetery to Remove a Decedent Mistakenly Buried in Plaintiff's Gravesite

    EMPLOYMENT: Virginia Values Act—Employment & Public Accommodation Discrimination Against LGBT

    CIVIL RIGHTS: Solitary Confinement of Juvenile Offenders Struck Down in Florida

    CRIMINAL LAW: Fourth Circuit Panel Rules That Probable Cause Is a Mere Click Away

    CONSTITUTIONAL LAW:  Court Upholds Ordinance Prohibiting Discrimination Against Public Assistance Recipients

    CIVIL PROCEDURE:  Is Virginia Inching Toward The Federal Twiqbal Pleading Standards?

    PROPERTY: When Partition by Division of Sale Proceeds Is Appropriate

    PATENTS: A Federal Agency Is Not a "Person" for Purposes of Review of the Validity of a Patent Under the Leahy-Smith Act

    PERSONAL INJURY: Medical Malpractice—Liability Without a Doctor-Patient Relationship

    CIVIL PROCEDURE: Contractual Waivers of the Statute of Limitations Unenforceable in Virginia

    APPELLATE PRACTICE:  Sanctions Including Dismissal and Fines Imposed over Noncompliant Briefs

    TORTS: Immunity of Yelp for Derogatory User Comments

    PROPERTY: Barking Dogs Results in Competing Nuisance Claims Between Neighbors

    WILLS: Succession to the Estate of French Rock Star Johnny Hallyday

    CIVIL RIGHTS: The ADEA's Numerosity Requirement Does Not Apply to Governmental Defendants

    CRIMINAL LAW: Mere Possession of Concealed Firearm Does Not Justify Terry Stop

    CIVIL PROCEDURE: Dismissal of Frivolous Prisoner and In Forma Pauperis Actions in Federal Court

    CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: Requiring Major Political Party Affiliation for State Court Judges Runs Afoul of First Amendment Right of Association

    ESTATES: Gifts Under a Power of Attorney

    FAMILY LAW: Modern Technology and the Definition of "Writing"

    TORTS: Government's Liability for Child Abuse by Foster Parents

    WILLS: Scope of Description "Personal Effects"

    TAX: Minimum Contacts Necessary for Taxation of Trust

    EMPLOYMENT LAW: When Can an Employer Require an Employee to Undergo a Medical Exam Under the ADA?

    CIVIL PROCEDURE: Seeking Appellate Relief Under Mandatory Standard of Review Theory

    EMPLOYMENT: Arbitration—“Gateway Issues”

    CRIMINAL LAW:  No Constitutional Right to Engage in Bestiality

    CIVIL RIGHTS: Noncitizen Charged with Deportable Crime Is Entitled to Jury Trial

    ATTORNEY AND CLIENT: Maintaining Professional Competence in the Digital Age

    FAMILY LAW: Admissibility of GPS Surveillance Data in Civil Cases

    PERSONAL INJURY: Liability for Employer's Failure to Obtain Workers’ Compensation Insurance

    CIVIL PROCEDURE: Facebook's Alleged Intrusion on Users' Privacy Confers Standing to Maintain Class

    BUSINESS LAW: Is Predictive Dialer an Autodialer Subject to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act?

    EMPLOYMENT: Disability Discrimination in Employment—Health-Care Employer

    TORTS: Therapist's Liability for Eliciting False Memories of Sexual Abuse

    TAX: Free Like-Kind Exchanges of Property

    EMPLOYMENT: Age Discrimination—Public Employers

    FAMILY LAW: Role of Assets in Determining Amount of Alimony

    CONTRACTS: Investigating and Defending Against Student Loan Claims

    PRODUCTS LIABILITY: No Due Process Violation in Application of Collateral Estoppel

    ESTATE PLANNING: Lifetime Gifts of Closely Held Business Stock to Family Members

    EMPLOYMENT LAW: EPA Prohibits Using Prior Salary in Establishing Initial Pay

    CREDITOR’S RIGHTS: IRS Form 1099-C—Reporting Requirement or Debt Extinguishment Trap?

    BANKRUPTCY: Reluctant Judicial Enforcement of Prepetition Automatic Stay Waivers

    INSURANCE: Automatic Revocation of Beneficiary upon Divorce

    ESTATES: Succession to the Estate of Charles Manson

    EMPLOYMENT: Breach of Fiduciary Duty and Unfair Competition

    CRIMINAL LAW: Fourth Amendment Applies to Cell Site Location Information

    TAX: Sales and Use Tax: The End of the “Physical Presence” Test

    CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: Convicted Domestic Abuser's Gun Rights Go Up in Smoke

    PROPERTY: Do Short-Term Vacation Rentals Violate Covenant Prohibiting Commercial Activity or Use?

    CIVIL PROCEDURE: Submission of Materials Outside the Pleadings in Response to a Rule 12(b)(6) or Rule 12(c) Motion

    CIVIL RIGHTS: SCOTUS Overturns Lower Courts' Conclusions on Probable Cause And Qualified Immunity

    TORTS: Is Your Computer Tracking You?

    BANKRUPTCY: Effect of Prior Bankruptcies on Civil Litigation

    WORKERS' COMPENSATION: Exclusivity—Employer’s Failure to Obtain Insurance

    PROPERTY/LANDLORD TENANT: Can a Tenant Use the Exclusionary Rule When Fighting an Eviction?

    CRIMINAL LAW:  Second Circuit Upholds Restrictions on Removing "Premises Licensed" Handguns from Premises

    FAMILY LAW: Social Security Dependency Benefits and Alimony

    CONTRACTS: The Importance of Distinguishing a Contracting Party from a Stranger

    PROPERTY:  Landlords' Liability to Guest of Tenant for Dog Bite Injury

    TORTS:  Expanding Virginia's Anti-SLAPP Legislation

    CRIMINAL LAW:  Was Traffic Stop Unlawfully Prolonged in Violation of Rodriguez?

    CONTRACTS:  Obligation to Support Parent Under Taiwanese Law

    CONTRACTS:  Like Oil and Water: Contract and Tort Claims Don't Mix in Virginia

    ESTATES: Removal of an Executor or Trustee

    PROPERTY:  Construction of Structure Blocking a Neighbor’s View Not a Nuisance

    LOCAL AND STATE GOVERNMENT: State Is Immune from Liability for Sexual Abuse by Adopted Child

    Civil Procedure:  Laches in Cases Where Suit Is Commenced

    TORTS: Social Host's Legal Duty to Render First Aid

    PERSONAL INJURY: Comparative Fault in Crashworthiness Cases

    FRAUD: CFTC Sues Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme Operator

    CREDITORS RIGHTS/CONTRACTS LAW: Revoking Contractual Consent to Receive Creditor Phone Calls

    PRODUCTS LIABILITY: Similar Incident Evidence Admissible in Unintended Acceleration Case

    PROPERTY: Expansion of Easements by Necessity in Virginia

    CRIMINAL LAW: No Right to Use Forfeited Substitute Assets to Pay for Appeal Counsel

    Civil Rights Litigation: The Supreme Court Further Restricts Bivens Actions

    TAX: U.S. Tax Court Quotes Show Business Celebrity

    PROPERTY: Landlord's Liability for Collapsed Deck

    EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION: Long-Term Leave Is Not a Reasonable Accommodation

    CRIMINAL LAW: Digital Cameras Held Outside Scope of Search Incident to Arrest Exception

    CIVIL RIGHTS: Third Circuit Joins Sister Circuits in Recognizing Right to Record Police

    PERSONAL INJURY: Suicide as Intervening Event

    CIVIL PROCEDURE: International Service of Process via Twitter

    TRUSTS: Creation/Timing of Self-Proving Affidavits

    CIVIL PROCEDURE: Issue Preclusion Between Claims Arising Under Two Different Statutes

    PERSONAL INJURY: Effect of Injured Party's Immigration Status

    EMPLOYMENT LAW: Are Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Employees Protected from Discrimination Under Title VII?

    EDUCATION LAW: Scotus Offers Circuits Guidance as to Scope of 20 U.S.C. § 1415(l) and the Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies

    CONTRACTS: Breach-of-Contract Claims in Medical Malpractice Cases Require Breach of Additional Promise

    TORTS/SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY: Foreign-Country Exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act

    PATENT LAW: Laches Defense No Longer Available in Patent Infringement Cases

    MARITIME LAW: Is Consumption of Fuel Stores During a Hijacking Event Covered by General Average?

    CRIMINAL LAW: Due Process Demands Return of Court Costs, Fees, and Restitution When Conviction is Overturned

    CONTRACTS—Arbitration: Nonexistence of Designated Arbitral Institution at Time of Dispute May Void Mandatory Arbitration Requirement

    CRIMINAL LAW: Texas Good-Faith Exception to Exclusionary Rule Applied to Illegal Drug Sniff

    TAX:  Corporate Income Tax Reform

    ATTORNEY AND CLIENT: Attorneys Must Preserve Confidential Information While Executing Judgment for Fees

    CIVIL PROCEDURE: Effect of Dismissal Without Prejudice in Mortgage Foreclosure Suits

    PROPERTY: Landlord and Tenant: Landlord's Waiver of Right to Charge Penalty for Late Rent Payment

    PROPERTY: Realtor's Written Contract with a Co-Owner Binding on the Other Owners

    CONSTITUTIONAL LAW:  Maryland "Assault Weapon" Ban Upheld by Fourth Circuit

    CIVIL PROCEDURE: Objecting to Requests for Production under the Federal Rules

    Vanguard Profiles NLRG

    Federal Tort Claims Act—Effect of State Time Limitations

    TAX: Legal Issues Arising from Tax-Related Identity Theft

    FAMILY LAW: Custody Is Determined in Child's Home State, Not State Where Divorce Is Filed

    TRUSTS: Charitable Trusts and Bankruptcy Proceedings

    CRIMINAL PROCEDURE: Ninth Circuit Adopts "Plain Hearing" Doctrine

    PROPERTY: Flipper's Folly—Virginia Supreme Court Rules That Buyer Not Entitled to Reimbursement After Improving Wrong Property

    FAMILY LAW: Imputing Investment Income for Purposes of Spousal Support

    CRIMINAL LAW: Sentencing—New Rule in Johnson Was Substantive as Applied to Advisory Sentencing Guidelines

    PROPERTY/MORTGAGES: Implied Duty of Good Faith: Impact of Loan Modification Request

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