“The Vehicle Must Be Yours”: Erie Insurance v. Cooper and the New Limits on Mandatory UIM Offers for Non-Owned Vehicles 1. Introduction Erie Insurance Property & Casualty Company v. James Skylar...
No Double Redress: The Fourth Circuit Bars Appeals for Nominal Damages Once Compensatory Damages Are Awarded 1. Introduction In Jesse Hammons v. University of Maryland Medical System Corporation, the...
Compensatory Damages as Full Redress: Hammons v. University of Maryland Medical System Corp. and the Limits of Appellate Standing for Nominal Damages 1. Introduction Jesse Hammons— a transgender man...
United States v. Duane Berry: Affirming Continued § 4241 Custody Post-Dismissal to Facilitate § 4246 Civil Commitment Introduction United States v. Duane Berry, No. 24-6385 (4th Cir. June 24 2025),...
Reaffirming the Jurisdictional Limits on Interlocutory Qualified-Immunity Appeals: A Comprehensive Commentary on Xyavier Calliste v. Officer Xeng Lor (4th Cir. 2025) 1. Introduction Background. On 31...
Chinnery v. Kaiser: The Fourth Circuit Reaffirms the Minimal Pleading Standard for Sincerity in Title VII Religious-Accommodation Claims Introduction The unpublished opinion in Naisha Chinnery v....
United States v. Adams: Fourth Circuit Re-Affirms the “Central Thesis” Standard for Sentencing Explanations Introduction The Fourth Circuit’s unpublished decision in United States v. Maurice Adams...
United States v. Yelizarov: Narrowing the “Miscarriage-of-Justice” Escape Hatch to Appellate-Waiver Clauses After a § 924(c) Vacatur Introduction The Fourth Circuit’s published decision in United...
Fourth Circuit Clarifies Enforceability of Appeal-Waivers after § 924(c) Vacatur: A Commentary on United States v. Stanislav Yelizarov (2025) 1. Introduction In United States v. Stanislav Yelizarov,...
“Infancy in Arms” – McCoy v. ATF and the Recognition of a Historical ‘Infancy Doctrine’ Limitation on Commercial Fire-Arm Sales 1. Introduction In Joshua McCoy v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms...
Frazier v. Prince George’s County: No Article III Adverseness to Sitting Judges and No Quasi-Judicial Immunity for Municipalities in § 1983 Actions Introduction In Robert Frazier v. Prince George’s...
“Finality After Article 30 & Automatic Confirmation Under FAA Chapter Two” A Comprehensive Commentary on First Kuwaiti General Trading & Contracting W.L.L. v. Kellogg Brown & Root International, Inc....
United States v. Hernandez-Garcia (4th Cir. 2025): Re-Affirming a Low “De Minimis” Threshold for the Interstate-Commerce Element in RICO & VICAR, and Limiting the Reach of the §3501(c) Six-Hour...
De-Minimis Commerce, Digital Probable Cause & Arrest-on-Sight: The Fourth Circuit’s Multi-Faceted Clarification in United States v. Ordonez-Zometa 1. Introduction On 17 June 2025 the United States...
Digital Footprints & Rideshares: The Fourth Circuit’s Expansion of the Interstate-Commerce Nexus in RICO/VICAR Commentary on United States v. Jose Ortega-Ayala, 93 F.4th ___ (4th Cir. 2025) 1....
Clarifying the Evidentiary Value of Resting versus Exercise Arterial Blood-Gas Studies in Black-Lung Claims: Consolidation Coal Co. v. Director, OWCP & Joseph Murphy, Jr., 4th Cir., No. 23-1989 (June...
Fourth Circuit Clarifies Appellate Waiver & Fundamental-Error Review in Civil Conspiracy Cases — Commentary on Elizabeth Sines v. Christopher Cantwell (4th Cir. 2025) 1. Introduction The Unite the...
Waiver, Forfeiture, and Fundamental-Error Review after Sines v. Schoep: The Fourth Circuit’s Latest Word on Preserving Issues for Appeal Introduction The Fourth Circuit’s unpublished opinion in...
Clarifying “Availability” Under the PLRA: Fourth Circuit Tightens Rules on Exhaustion After Medical Incapacity Introduction In Patrick McGraw v. Theresa Gore, the United States Court of Appeals for...
Statutory Benchmarks, Not Voluntary Agreements: The Fourth Circuit Narrows HPA Refund Rights for Unearned PMI Premiums Introduction In Steve Kovachevich v. National Mortgage Insurance Corporation,...