The Library

Gentry Locke’s Civil Defense Litigation team defended Western Express in a multi-car accident on I-81 in Southwest Virginia. A Western Express tractor-trailer was the last vehicle in the collision series to rear-end Plaintiff’s work van. Plaintiff suffered serious injuries, including a spinal fracture and an uncontested moderate traumatic brain injury (“TBI”) with subdural bleeding. His uncontested medical damages totaled $337,000. Plaintiff alleged a variety of permanent ailments arising from his TBI. He sued for over 10 million dollars and refused to negotiate a settlement for a reasonable amount of damages. Liability was contested, as was the permanence of Plaintiff’s injuries. […]

Gentry Locke is pleased to have represented Grafton & Upton Railroad and obtained a favorable decision from the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to permit construction of GURR’s rail transloading facility to move forward to support rail customer needs in New England. Our team included John Scheib and Emily Mordecai. The case is Grafton & Upton Railroad Company – Petition for Declaratory Order, Finance Docket 36696 (STB served Nov. 15, 2023).

Gentry Locke for the Defendant Defended the Port of Virginia in a wrongful death lawsuit arising out of a multi-vehicle accident in West Virginia. During the transport of cargo that passed through the Port, a trailer detached from a truck, causing a multi-vehicle accident that resulted in a death of another driver. Plaintiff, the decedent’s estate – sued the truck driver and transportation company who retrieved the cargo from the Port. The estate also sued another tractor-trailer driver and company involved in the accident, each broker and freight forwarder, the shipping company, and the Port’s operating subsidiary. The Port filed […]

A favorable and unanimous opinion released on October 19, 2023 in the case of Ashley Nicole Noonan v. Consolidated Shoe Company, Inc. by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, upheld a win for Gentry Locke’s client, Consolidated Shoe Company, Inc. The Plaintiff brought gender discrimination, Equal Pay Act, and retaliation claims against our client. Cate Jackson argued the case in the Western District of Virginia Court with assistance from Paul Klockenbrink and Amanda Morgan. Judge Moon granted summary judgment in Consolidated Shoe’s favor in November 2021. The Plaintiff appealed and the appeal was argued in January 2023 and […]

Gentry Locke for the Plaintiff This was a suit to enforce the terms of a post nuptial agreement and a QTIP trust created pursuant to the PNA. After a bench trial, the Court awarded money damages, attorneys fees, and specific performance requiring the defendant to convey assets to the trust that generated at least $10,000 in revenue per month. The judgment held up on appeal and we are in the process of collection.

Gentry Locke for the Defendant USDC for the Western District This was a suit to collect on change orders (called true ups) in the processing and bagging of protein chips made with chicken between two snack food brands. Jury trial resulted in verdict for the plaintiff for extras and a verdict for the defendant for conversion of its equipment. The plaintiff wrongfully withheld the defendant’s equipment as leverage to force payment despite having no security interest in the equipment.

United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, Charlottesville Division Our client, a heavy equipment dealer in Virginia, was sued by the equipment manufacturer’s former dealer. The former dealer alleged that our client had tortiously interfered with its dealer contract and had engaged in a business conspiracy with the manufacturer to cause the manufacturer to terminate the former dealer’s contract. We filed a Motion to Dismiss both claims arguing that, even assuming the truth of the allegations, the plaintiff failed to state viable claims against our client. Our client had merely been approached by the manufacturer with an […]

Gentry Locke for the Plaintiff Amherst Circuit Court This was a suit for breach of contract or quantum meruit against a subcontractor who failed to pay for crane services. After a bench trial, the Court awarded a $700,000 judgment against the LLC defendant but refused to hold the individual defendant liable on the personal guarantee that they signed. That adverse ruling in the individual defendant’s favor has been appealed to the Virginia Court of Appeals. Briefs have been filed. Oral argument has not been set.

Plaintiff sued our client, a big box retailer, for damages related to a “trip and fall” incident that occurred at a store in Richmond, Virginia. Following a thorough case work-up, Gentry Locke attorneys Jeffrey Miller and John “J.P.” Brown filed a Motion to Exclude the testimony of Plaintiff’s testifying expert witness under Federal Rule of Evidence 702, and a Motion for Summary Judgment. At a hearing before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson on February 9, 2022, the Court granted summary judgment from the bench in favor of the big box retailer, and the Court denied the Motion […]