MEMORANDUM OPINION JAMES C. TURK, Senior District Judge. Pending before the court is a motion to dismiss by Fourth-Party Defendant Sam Rust Seafood & Produce ("Sam Rust"), ECF No. 40, in which it seeks dismissal of the common law indemnification claim brought by Performance Food Group, Inc. d/b/a Performance Food Service-Virginia ("PFG") in the Fourth-Party Complaint. The Court concludes that the express indemnification clause in the written contract between PFG & Sam Rust governs the...
MEMORANDUM OPINION MICHAEL F. URBANSKI, District Judge. This matter is before the court on defendant Ford Motor Company's ("Ford") Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim (Dkt. No. 5). Ford seeks, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), dismissal of Count II in so far as it is based on a breach of express warranty, 1 Count IV (punitive damages), and Count V (violation of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act). The parties have waived oral argument and the matter is fully...
MEMORANDUM OPINION NORMAN K. MOON, District Judge. This matter is before the Court on the parties' cross Motions for Summary Judgment (docket nos. 11 and 13), the Report & Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge Robert S. Ballou (docket no. 17, hereinafter "R & R"), and Plaintiff's Objections to the R & R (docket no. 19). Pursuant to Standing Order 2011-17 and 28 U.S.C. 636(b)(1)(B), the Court referred this matter to the Magistrate Judge for proposed findings of fact and a...
OPINION AND ORDER JAMES P. JONES, District Judge. In this Social Security disability case, I affirm the decision of the Commissioner. I Plaintiff Lisa M. Gibson filed this action challenging the final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security (the "Commissioner") denying her claim for disability insurance benefits ("DIB") and supplemental security income benefits ("SSI") under Titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act ("Act"), 42 U.S.C.A. 401-434, 1381-1383f (West 2011, 2012 &...
MEMORANDUM OPINION MICHAEL F. URBANSKI, District Judge. Plaintiffs Joanne Harris and Jessica Duff, an unmarried same-sex couple living in the Western District of Virginia, and Christy Berghoff and Victoria Kidd, a same-sex couple married under the laws of the District of Columbia and also living in the Western District of Virginia, brought this action against defendants Robert F. McDonnell, in his official capacity as the Governor of Virginia, Janet M. Rainey, in her official capacity as the...
MEMORANDUM OPINION GLEN E. CONRAD, Chief Judge. This employment discrimination action under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is presently before the court on the defendant's motion for summary judgment. For the reasons set forth below, the court will grant the defendant's motion. Factual Background The following facts are presented in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242 , 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) (...
OPINION AND ORDER JAMES P. JONES, District Judge. Deborah E. Atkins has sued her former employer, the Virginia Department of Transportation ("VDOT"), alleging that she was constructively discharged in retaliation for having engaged in activity protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"), 42 U.S.C.A. 2000e to 2000e-17 (West 2012). VDOT now moves to dismiss the Complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted or, at the least, to strike the...
ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR CERTIFICATE OF EXTRADITABILITY [Re: Dkt. 49, 57] HOWARD R. LLOYD , Magistrate Judge . The United States, on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany (Germany), seeks the extradition of Samir Azizi. Azizi is charged in Germany with 89 counts of tax evasion — i.e., 77 counts of providing tax authorities with incomplete or incorrect statements about tax-relevant facts and 12 counts of failing to inform them about tax-relevant facts, acting contrary to duty — in...
OPINION AND ORDER JAMES P. JONES, District Judge. In this Social Security disability case, I affirm the decision of the Commissioner. I Plaintiff Kent Jerome Ramsey filed this action challenging the final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security (the "Commissioner") denying his claim for a disability insurance benefits ("DIB") under Title II of the Social Security Act ("Act"), 42 U.S.C.A. 401-434 (West 2011 & Supp. 2013). Jurisdiction of this court exists under 42 U.S.C.A. 405(...
OPINION AND ORDER JAMES P. JONES, District Judge. In this action by a state prisoner under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act ("RLUIPA"), 42 U.S.C.A. 2000cc(1)(a) (West 2012), the plaintiff disclosed that he intends to call at the upcoming bench trial an expert witness, Theodore R. Swedenburg, Ph.D, a professor of anthropology at the University of Arkansas, to testify as to the religious character of the Nation of Gods and Earths ("NGE"), to which the plaintiff claims...
OPINION AND ORDER JAMES P. JONES, District Judge. In this action under 42 U.S.C.A. 2000cc(1)(a) (West 2012), the plaintiff Infinite Allah, a state prisoner, claims that the decision of the Virginia Department of Corrections ("VDOC") to deny religious recognition to his religious group, called the Nation of Gods and Earths ("NGE"), and restrict him and other NGE members from meeting or holding religious services, violates the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act ("RLUIPA")...
OPINION AND ORDER JAMES P. JONES, District Judge. In this civil diversity action, the plaintiff, Daniel G. Kamin, has sued U.S. Bank National Association ("U.S. Bank"). Kamin seeks a declaratory judgment that his liability under a personal Guaranty of a commercial mortgage loan has not been triggered under the loan documents. U.S. Bank has counterclaimed that Kamin is liable for the entire debt and associated losses based upon his Guaranty. U.S. Bank also counterclaims that Kamin is liable...
MEMORANDUM OPINION MICHAEL F. URBANSKI, District Judge. Petitioner Almaz Nezirovic seeks his immediate release from detention pending the outcome of the present habeas corpus proceeding. Nezirovic asserts that he poses no risk of flight and that special circumstances exist requiring his release on bond. Upon consideration of the appropriate legal standard, the entire record in this case and the extradition proceeding, In re Extradition of Almaz Nezirovic, No. 7:12cv039, the court is...
OPINION AND ORDER JAMES P. JONES, District Judge. In this action under 42 U.S.C.A. 1983 (West 2012) a jury found the defendant Marcus McClanahan, a state police investigator, liable for violating the constitutional rights of the plaintiff, Trey Adkins. The jury awarded only nominal damages of one dollar. Judgment was entered by the court on the jury's verdict on July 30, 2013. Thereafter, the plaintiff filed a timely motion for a new trial and after briefing by the parties, the court...
MEMORANDUM OPINION JAMES C. TURK, Senior District Judge. Petitioner, Zhenli Ye Gon ("Ye Gon"), filed this petition for habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. 2241 challenging the decision to extradite him to Mexico to face criminal charges for drug-related offenses (including importation into Mexico of psychotropic substances, the transportation and manufacture of psychotropic substances, and possession of such substances for the purpose of producing narcotics), participation in organized crime,...
MEMORANDUM OPINION NORMAN K. MOON, District Judge. Plaintiff Courtland Realty Associates ("Plaintiff") filed this action against the Nash Defendants and the United States of America, seeking a declaratory judgment to quiet title to a 100.6 parcel of real estate located in Appomattox County, Virginia. The Nash Defendants filed a motion to dismiss on March 29, 2013. In a July 9, 2013 order, I denied that motion to dismiss, finding that questions about ownership of the property remained. A one-...
OPINION AND ORDER JAMES P. JONES, District Judge. In this diversity civil action seeking damages against an engineering company for professional malpractice and breach of contract, I will deny the defendant's motion to transfer the action to another district. I Kentucky Fuel Corporation ("Kentucky Fuel"), a mining company incorporated in Delaware with its headquarters in Roanoke, Virginia, filed this action against Summit Engineering, Inc. ("Summit"), a Kentucky corporation with its...
MEMORANDUM OPINION NORMAN K. MOON, District Judge. This matter is before the court upon two motions filed in the protracted litigation between Plaintiff CVLR Performance Horses, Inc. ("Plaintiff") and Defendant John L. Wynne and the entities associated with him ("Defendant"). Defendant has filed a motion to dismiss counts III and IV of the complaint and Plaintiff has filed a motion for leave to amend their complaint for a second time. For the following reasons I will grant Defendant's motion...
OPINION AND ORDER JAMES P. JONES, District Judge. In this Social Security disability case, I affirm the decision of the Commissioner. I Plaintiff Deborah Kate Hensley filed this action challenging the final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security (the "Commissioner") denying her claim for a disability insurance benefits ("DIB") under Title II of the Social Security Act ("Act"), 42 U.S.C.A. 401-434 (West 2011 & Supp. 2013). Jurisdiction of this court exists under 42 U.S.C.A....
OPINION AND ORDER JAMES P. JONES, District Judge. This action under 42 U.S.C.A. 1983 (West 2012) arises out of the sexual assault of the plaintiff by his cellmate while the plaintiff was incarcerated at the Bristol, Virginia, City Jail. The plaintiff has sued the City of Bristol, Virginia ("City") and the Bristol Virginia Sheriff's Office ("BVSO"), alleging that they deliberately disregarded the danger that the plaintiff's cellmate posed. The issue is whether the City and the BVSO are...
