The Rocket Docket

No Equitable Tolling of 28 U.S.C. 1446(b)'s One-Year Removal Limit

In Culkin v. CNH America, LLC, 2009 WL 196359 (E.D. Va. 2009), the Rocket Docket affirmed 28 U.S.C. 1446(b)’s one-year absolute limit on removal of actions to federal court, refusing to extend the one-year limit through equitable tolling despite Plaintiff’s delayed service of the Complaint.

Case Remanded to State Court Because First-Served Defendant Failed to Timely File Notice of Removal

The Court in Crockett ex rel. Carter v. General Motors Corp., 2008 WL 5234702 (E.D.Va. 2008) granted Plaintiff's Motion to Remand to State Court because General Motors Corp. (GM) was the first defendant served and did not file a notice of removal within 30 days of service. The Court also found that GM was not fraudulently joined as a defendant nor was GM a nominal defendant.

Defendant Need Not Know Its Actions are Unlawful to "Knowingly" Traffic in Counterfeit or Illicit Labels

Microsoft's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment in Microsoft Corp. v. Pronet Cyber Technologies, Inc., 2009 WL 66111 (E.D.Va. 2009), caused the Court to address whether the "knowingly" element of 18 USC 2318 (which prohibits trafficking in counterfeit or illicit computer program labels) requires that defendant know his conduct is unlawful. The court awarded partial summary judgment to Microsoft, holding that the statute requires only that defendant have knowledge of facts that constitute a violation, not knowledge that his conduct is unlawful.

ADA Claim Based on Allergic Reaction to Common Chemical Ingredients Survives Summary Judgment

In Bridges v. Reinhard, 2008 WL 5412843 (E.D. Va. 2008), the Court denied Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment on Plaintiff’s claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act—revolving around allergic reactions to a common chemical ingredient—finding that Plaintiff had stated a cause of action for wrongful termination.