It is common in commercial litigation for a company to offer an employee as a witness to testify about the design, capabilities and features of the company’s products or services. Usually, such a witness testifies as a fact witness offering testimony based on his or her personal knowledge under Fed. R. Evid. 602, rather than as an expert witness offering opinion testimony under Fed. R. Evid. 702.
Virginia Moves to Dismiss Suit Claiming Denial of Voting Rights to Felons Violates Civil War Era Statute
In June, four individuals and an advocacy organization for previously incarcerated individuals brought suit in the Eastern District of Virginia against several state and local officials alleging that Virginia was denying voting rights to some felons in violation of an 1870 statute, which set conditions for readmission of Virginia’s representatives to Congress after the Civil War. King, et al. v. Youngkin, et al., Case No. 3:23CV408 (EDVA June 26, 2023).
EDVA Judges Wade Into Circuit Split Over Certifying FLSA Collective Actions
In an August 11 decision, Judge Henry Hudson of the EDVA conditionally certified a class of food service workers employed by a federal contractor at Fort Pickett who sued for unpaid overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Hernandez v. KBR Servs., LLC, Civil Action No. 3:22CV530-HEH, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 140795 (E.D.Va. Aug. 11, 2023). The ruling highlights a split among EDVA judges as to the correct procedure for handling collective actions under the FLSA that mirrors a three-way split among the federal courts.
EDVA Judge Holds That a Temporary Restraining Order Ends at the Close of Business on the Day of Expiration
Following up on our post on obtaining temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions in the EDVA, a recent decision by an EDVA judge clarifies that a motion to extend a temporary restraining order (TRO) filed after the close of business on the date the TRO expires is untimely because “the TRO had already expired at the time that the Plaintiff moved the Court” for an extension. XYZ Corporation v. The Unincorporated Associations Identified in Schedule A, Case No. 1:23C-cv-00673-PTG-JFA (E.D.Va. July 25, 2023).
EDVA Judge Denies Motion to Seal Parties’ Settlement
Much like our recent post regarding an EDVA judge’s denial of a joint request to vacate the court’s earlier rulings after a settlement, another recent EDVA decision reinforces that EDVA judges are unwilling to simply rubber-stamp actions that parties agree to as part of a settlement.