The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed an age discrimination suit against American Samoa that claims the territory gave older government workers less desirable jobs when they refused to retire. According to the suit, Evelyn Langford, director of the territory's department of human resources, said at a 2009 meeting that workers over age 50 should retire to open up jobs for younger workers, the Associated Press reports. Those who didn’t comply were reassigned to less desirable jobs, the complaint alleges. The Pacific Daily News and Reuters also have stories. The suit was filed on behalf of a class of workers…

Favoritism continues to play a role in corporate promotions, according to a survey of more than 300 senior business executives. Eighty-four percent of the executives said favoritism takes place at their own organizations, the Wall Street Journal reports. Twenty-three percent admitted they had engaged in favoritism themselves, and 9 percent said it was a factor in their most recent promotion decision. The study was conducted by research firm Penn Schoen Berland and commissioned by one of its executives, Jonathan Gardner, as part of his studies at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, according to a press release. The survey was…

A Maryland criminal defense lawyer is facing a federal tax evasion case after allegedly hoarding $1.3 million in cash payments from clients over a six-year period in order to conceal his income. Federal authorities found $1.5 million in two safes when they raided the home and law office of Stanley Needleman in April, reports the Baltimore Sun. Now 69, Needleman also faces a structuring charge after allegedly breaking payments down into smaller amounts to try to avoid detection. If convicted, he could get up to 10 years and a $500,000 fine for structuring and five years and $100,000 for tax…

An HIV-positive secretary at Danville Regional Medical Center loses his failure-to-accommodate claim under the Americans With Disabilities Act because the hospital accommodated him with a modified schedule, as requested, during the period before he filed a claim with the EEOC; the Danville U.S. District Court also says plaintiff’s claims fail on the merits. For the first [...]

A site excavation contract for a titanium manufacturing facility in a Henry County industrial park is ambiguous as to the “type” of soils and rocks that might require an equitable adjustment for payments to the excavation contractor, and a Danville U.S. District Court says the excavation company is entitled to an equitable adjustment of $1,087,266. Defendants [...]

In this dispute between Shire LLC, a drug company, and a scientist who formerly worked for another company acquired by Shire, and who left to form his own biopharmaceutical company, KemPharm, the Roanoke U.S. District Court denies defendant’s motion for judgment on the pleadings, as further development of the record is necessary to evaluate the [...]

The purchaser of a 1993 Ford Thunderbird from Zac’s Auto can sue the dealer who sold the vehicle to Zac’s Auto under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act, on a claim that the car is worth much less than she paid because of a false odometer reading; a Lynchburg U.S. District Court says the sale was [...]

Although the Harrisonburg U.S. District Court earlier said plaintiff could take a voluntary dismissal and refile his suit under the Truth in Lending Act with his ex-wife as a defendant if plaintiff paid defendant lender’s costs and attorney’s fees, the court now dismisses the TILA suit with prejudice, as it is apparent plaintiff would be [...]

An Abingdon U.S. District Court says a petitioner may amend his motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to add a challenge to his mandatory life sentence based on prior state court drug convictions, in light of a new decision from the U.S. Supreme Court. Defendant claims his mandatory life sentence imposed under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A) [...]

Plaintiffs suing for damages from mold infestation in the house they occupied cannot satisfy their obligation to disclose reports from their treating physician witnesses just by sending defendants copies of medical records, but a Charlottesville U.S. District Court will allow the treating physicians to testify in this case of first impression. Plaintiffs allege they were house-sitting [...]