· Johnson v. District of
Columbia, et al., 728 A.2d 70 (D.C. 1999): Affirms jury verdict in
favor of defendant hot water heater manufacturer in action involving a tap
water scald injury to minor child, upholding trial court's exclusion of
plaintiff's expert witness on basis of lack of qualification and background.
· E.E.O.C. v. Catholic
University of America, 83 F.3d 455 (D.C. Cir., 1996), affirming
856 F.Supp. 1 (D.D.C. 1994): In a sex
discrimination case, the E.E.O.C. and courts are precluded by the First
Amendment from interfering with a university's denial of tenure to a
professor of Canon Law.
· Cheatle v. Cheatle,
662 A.2d 1362 (D.C. 1995): A finding of gross negligence
causing death, since it involves no intent to kill or harm, is insufficient
as a matter of law to cause a forfeiture of a beneficiary's right to inherit
from the deceased under common law.
· Chesapeake and Ohio
Railway Co. v. Schwalb, 493 U.S. 40 (1989):
Wrote the amicus curiae brief on behalf of the railroad industry in
this case which held that the federal Longshore Act, not the Federal
Employers' Liability Act, governed claims by railroad workers injured while
maintaining dockside coal-loading equipment.
· Foshee
v. Consolidated Rail Corp., 849 F.2d 657 (D.C.Cir.
1988), affirming 661 F.Supp. 650 (D.D.C.
1987): A 13-year old child who suffered multiple amputations was barred from
recovery as a matter of law, for injuries sustained when he came into contact
with a moving train.
· Best v. Howard University,
484 A.2d 958 (D.C. 1984) and 547 A.2d 144
(D.C. 1988): Commonly referred to a Best I and Best II, these
oft-cited decisions established this jurisdiction's seminal interpretation of
several employment law issues involving Title VII, the Equal Pay Act, the
District of Columbia Human Rights Act, gender based discrimination and sexual
harassment and employment contract rights.
· Edwards v. Consolidated
Rail Corp., 567 F.Supp. 1087 (1983), affirmed,
733 F.2d 966 (D.C.Cir. 1984), cert. denied,
469 U.S. 883 (1984): One of the lead cases in the U.S. on injuries sustained
by juvenile visitors on railroad property, and non-applicability of the
doctrine of "attractive nuisance."
· Lunceford v. D.C. Board of
Education, 745 F.2d 1577 (D.C.Cir. 1984):
The Hospital for Sick Children of Washington, D.C., a private entity, is not
a proper entity for suit under the federal Education for All Children Act.
· Washington Metropolitan
Area Transit Authority v. Jones, 443 A.2d 45 (D.C. en banc, 1982): The leading District of
Columbia decision on the doctrine of "last clear chance" in
automobile accident cases.
· Potomac Electric Power Co.
v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, etc., 449 U.S.
268 (1980): Under the federal Longshore Act, an injured employee may not
recover for loss of earning capacity, but is limited to the amount specified
for an injury which is a "schedule loss" under the Act.
· Mobley v. Southern Railway
Co., 418 A.2d 1044 (D.C. 1980): A lead case holding the doctrine of forum
non conveniens bars a railroad worker injured
in Virginia from filing a F.E.L.A. case in D.C., even though the railroad is
headquartered here.
· O'Hair v. Andrus,
613 F.2d 931 (D.C.Cir. 1979), injunction denied,
444 U.S. 890 (1979): A unique case for its speed of resolution (three weeks
from filing - to trial - to a fully argued appeal - to final resolution by
the U.S. Supreme Court) as well its subject matter -- the successful defense
of a suit brought by Madalyn Murray O'Hair which sought to enjoin the
defendants, the National Park Service and Pope John Paul II, from celebrating
the historic Papal Mass on the National Mall.
· District of Columbia v.
Potomac Electric Power Co., 402 A.2d 430 (D.C. 1979): A specific
money cap in a Congressional Appropriation Act does not relieve the City
government of its obligation to pay the full amount of electrical charges
approved by the Public Service Commission.
· Brooks v. Washington
Terminal Co., 593 F.2d 1285 (D.C.Cir.
1979): Recovery under the F.E.L.A. by a railroad foreman assaulted by a
subordinate as revenge for being suspended from duty is precluded under the
F.E.L.A.
· In re: Estate of French,
365 A.2d 621 (D.C. 1976), certiorari granted and affirmed with full court
decision sub nom. Key v. Doyle, 434 U.S. 59 (1977): The D.C.
"Mortmain" statute voiding bequests made to churches less than
thirty days before death is unconstitutional; a statute enacted by Congress
applicable only to the District of Columbia is not an "Act of
Congress" for purposes of the Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction.
· Potomac Electric Power Co.
v. Westinghouse Electric Co., 385 F.Supp.
572 (D.D.C. 1974), reversed 527 F.2d 853 (D.C.Cir.
1975): A case establishing the right of a purchaser to recover consequential
damages from a manufacturer resulting from a defective turbine-generator,
notwithstanding express limited warranties and a limitation of liability in
the sales contract.
· Ford v. Lafayette Life
Ins. Co., 362 F.2d 970 (D.C.Cir. 1966): A
case upholding the common-law principle that a personal service contract
terminates on the dissolution of the partnership, thereby precluding a
surviving partner from unilateral enforcement of the contract.
· Int'l Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers v. Washington Terminal Co., 473 F.2d 1156 (D.C.Cir. 1972), cert. denied, 411 U.S. 906 (1973):
A successful defense of the "incidental work rule," resulting in
one of the leading decisions analyzing the "major/minor dispute"
dichotomy under the Railway Labor Act.
And from our "Formative Years" -
- - -
· United
States v. John Surratt - Represented by the founder of the firm, John
Surratt was the only "Lincoln Assassination Conspiracy" defendant
who was not convicted.