J. Doty denies the prisoners' motions to certify a class and appoint class representatives and counsel in their suit challenging a jail's Covid-19 policies which have restricted their ability to exercise. The proposed class is not ascertainable, in part because of an open-ended date range for potential new members. While the class is sufficiently numerous, it does not share sufficient commonality and the claims raised have not been showed to be typical of the class. Class treatment would also be unmanageable for such a class.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Doty, Filed On: March 23, 2023, Case #: 0:21cv1301, Categories: Civil Rights, Class Action, Prisoners' Rights
J. Earp allows an employer to continue claims contending an employee breached the nondisclosure provision of the parties' contract because the employer sufficiently pleaded the employee used confidential information.
Court: North Carolina Business Court, Judge: Earp, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 2023-NCBC-23, Categories: Contract
J. Johnson finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder, with two prior felony convictions. Officer testimony and surveillance video establishes a complex event and crime scene, including uncooperative witnesses, an altercation the victim had with a man who defendant’s friend, an eyewitness, claimed to not know, as well as physical evidence of shell casings, a firearm clip and an unusual bicycle on a rooftop. Defendant failed to establish at trial that his friend’s testimony was crucial to his defense before it was stricken, and his right to testify on his own behalf was not infringed. The evidence supports conviction and there was no abuse of discretion. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Johnson, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 09-21-00370-CR, Categories: Evidence, Murder, Due Process
J. Griggsby partially grants summary judgment to Maryland’s correctional services department, which fired an employee in an act of alleged national origin discrimination and retaliation. The allegations are not time-barred, but they do not establish a prima facie case, so they are dismissed.
Court: USDC Maryland, Judge: Griggsby, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 1:20cv3745, Categories: Civil Procedure, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Phillips finds that the lower court improperly in part ruled in a property dispute between a native tribe and the United States. The district court found that a title to the subarea of Banco Bonito within the Valles Caldera National Preserve was established by the tribe sometime in the 1400s, but the court incorrectly determined that the tribe lost it sometime after 1650 by not maintaining its use to the "exclusion of other Indian groups." There is no rule in the relevant laws that sets a condition that a tribe must use the land to the exclusion of other Indian groups after an aboriginal title has been established. The only way to lose that kind of title is by extinguishing it or abandoning it, neither of which has taken place, so the tribe still holds the title over Banco Bonito. Reversed in part.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: Phillips, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 20-2145, Categories: Property, Native Americans
Want access to unlimited case records and advanced research tools? Create your free CasePortal account now. No credit card required to register.
Try CasePortal for Free
J. Lauck grants the commission's motion for default judgment finding that the firm manipulated the electric energy market through a scheme to garner an excessive amount of certain credit payments to transmission customers. The firm is ordered to pay $16.8 million in penalties and disgorge $3.4 million.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Virginia, Judge: Lauck, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 3:15cv452, Categories: Energy, Fraud, Damages
J. Kelly finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to 71 months in prison after she pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute meth. The defendant argued that her sentence is unreasonable and that she is entitled to a three- level downward adjustment. However, she signed an enforceable plea agreement.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Kelly, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 22-1186, Categories: Drug Offender, Sentencing, Plea
J. Pugh finds in favor of the commissioner in this tax liability dispute after the taxpayer failed to report income. The taxpayer's arguments are frivolous and "devoid of any basis in law."
Court: US Tax Court, Judge: Pugh, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 2023-38, Categories: Government, Tax
J. Warner finds that the trial court properly found the father in contempt in regard to the enforcement of the parenting plan. The father violated the agreement regarding birthday visitation and out-of-state travel.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Warner, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 4D22-657, Categories: Family Law
Per curiam, the court of appeal finds that the trial court properly dismissed defendant's appeal of his sentence. Defendant's claims that the court misunderstood sentencing options is not cognizable. Affirmed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 4D22-535, Categories: Sentencing
J. Robinson finds that the motion to dismiss is denied as moot. The group of plaintiffs is directed to file an amended complaint that clearly lays out which plaintiffs are accusing which defendants of each cause of action.
Court: North Carolina Business Court, Judge: Robinson, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 2023-NCBC-24, Categories: Consumer Law, Contract
J. Immergut finds in favor of the county for the arrestee's claim that the county's officer did not have a right to delete the contents of her phone extracted to a flash drive after he concluded that it did not contain criminal evidence. The police officer did not have a duty to the arrestee to preserve the contents of the phone extraction because he could not have anticipated litigation in this case.
Court: USDC Oregon, Judge: Immergut, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 2:20cv1342, Categories: Civil Rights, Evidence, Discovery
J. Smith finds that the district court properly entered summary judgment in favor of a fashion company in an antitrust action brought by a rival fast fashion retailer which alleged that the company organized a per se unlawful group boycott by threatening to stop purchasing from certain clothing vendors unless they, in turn, stopped selling to the retailer. The retailer failed to create a material dispute as to the existence of an agreement between the vendors to boycott it. Affirmed.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: Smith, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 22-55150, Categories: Antitrust
J. Humetewa denies a boat builder's motion for default judgment on trademark infringement claims against a former employee. The former employee sufficiently showed that the boat builder's exhibits fail to establish the amount of damages it suffered for his alleged actions.
Court: USDC Arizona, Judge: Humetewa, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 2:20cv1199, Categories: Employment, Trademark
J. Robinson denies a wiping rags company's motion to file a third amended complaint for fraud against a rag manufacture, who failed to forward an order of disposable rubber gloves. The rag manufacturer sufficiently showed in court that the wiping rags company is not entitled to add claims to a pre- trial order.
Court: USDC Kansas, Judge: Robinson, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv2289, Categories: Fraud, Contract
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the lower court properly entered an order of protection against the father for harassment. The evidence supports a finding that the father harassed the mother, but not that he stalked her. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 01507, Categories: Family Law
J. Thomas finds that the department improperly deducted Covid-19 relief funds from the inmate's account. The department is to refund $233.78 to the inmate account.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Thomas, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 1D22-1211, Categories: Covid-19
J. Sweet denies the government’s motion to dismiss for failure to prosecute. Though the dredging contractor took over a year to respond to the government’s summary judgment motion as to this dispute regarding the government’s prior knowledge of the location and depth of a pipeline, this does not constitute a failure to prosecute because the contractor had sought and been granted time enlargements.
Court: Armed Services Board Of Contract Appeals, Judge: Sweet, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 62779, Categories: Government, Maritime, Contract
J. Scudder finds that the lower court properly found for the insurer in a dispute over its refusal to pay on a life insurance policy. The husband learned that he had terminal cancer after applying for the life insurance, but before the insurer issued the policy. This failure to inform the insurer of his diagnosis constituted a material misrepresentation allowing for recission of the policy. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Scudder, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 22-1607, Categories: Insurance, Contract
J. Bridges finds that the lower court properly upheld an occupational disease disability pension awarded to the firefighter by the city pension fund. The firefighter's preexisting medical conditions do not disqualify him from receiving the pension, as there was no evidence the firefighter could not perform his full duties prior to his stroke. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Bridges, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 220281, Categories: Pensions
J. Moore affirms the district court's restitution order and the Court of Appeals' finding that the State does not have a burden to prove a defendant's ability to pay restitution. This interpretation does not violate the canon against surplusage, and the defendant's interpretation of the phrase "type of restitution" in the relevant statute is unreasonable. Affirmed.
Court: Minnesota Supreme Court, Judge: Moore, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: A21-1270, Categories: Sentencing, Restitution
J. Gildea finds that the district court's dismissal of second-degree criminal sexual conduct charges for lack of probable cause was appealable, and that the Court of Appeals erred in finding otherwise. The district court's order dismissing the charges was not premised solely on a factual determination, but also in par on its underlying interpretation of a statute declaring that confessions on their own are not sufficient to warrant conviction. Reversed.
Court: Minnesota Supreme Court, Judge: Gildea, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: A22-0606, Categories: Evidence, Sex Offender
J. Snow grants a Mexican restaurant owner's motion for preliminary injunction concerning trademark infringement claims against a former franchisee. The restaurant owner sufficiently showed in court that the former franchisee is using its "Sr. Ozzy" mark without permission.
Court: USDC Arizona, Judge: Snow, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv238, Categories: Trademark, Contract
J. Rose finds a lower court properly dismissed a property owners challenge of the revenue and customs imposition of value added tax. The property owner argued that he was VAT exempt when he sold land to a buyer because he did not apply it to the sale. However, revenue and customs presented sufficient evidence in court that the transaction was not tax exempt and that the seller should have applied it to the sale price of the land.
Court: Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, Judge: Rose, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 2023UKSC12, Categories: Property, Tax
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of criminal sale of a controlled substance. The court was not required to advise him at the time he pleaded guilty of the ramifications of violating the terms of his post-release supervision. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 01527, Categories: Drug Offender, Due Process
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the lower court properly found for the state in a suit stemming from a woman's sexual abuse by a staff member at a children's psychiatric center in 1993. There is no cognizable cause of action to recover under a theory of respondeat superior, however the woman was not required to allege the exact date on which the sexual abuse occurred to state a claim for negligent hiring. Affirmed in part.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 01546, Categories: Civil Procedure, Tort
J. Kelly finds that the trial court ruled improperly in this contract dispute over a commercial lease agreement. The plain language of the lease agreement was misinterpreted by the trial court. The tenant breached the lease by closing the store after six months. Reversed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Kelly, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 2D21-1731, Categories: Landlord Tenant, Contract
J. Forst finds that the trial court ruled properly in this public records dispute between the city and a neighboring town over a contract. A government entity is not exempt from pre-litigation negotiation prior to a public records request. Affirmed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Forst, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 4D22-2212, Categories: Government, Public Record, Contract
J. Navarro grants the abandoned business’s motion to set aside the clerk’s entry of default after the business didn’t appear pursuant to the stockholder’s petition to appoint a custodian. Upon learning of the clerk’s entry of default, the business immediately filed a response and countermotion as to its failure to appear, and there is no culpable conduct found. The stockholder will not be prejudiced by the setting aside of the default entry.
Court: USDC Nevada, Judge: Navarro, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv401, Categories: Due Process, Business Expectancy, Contract
J. Tunheim grants the Minnesota Sex Offender Program detainee's motion for a preliminary injunction, requiring that the program and its officers transfer him to community preparation services within 15 days. The detainee has satisfied all four Dataphase factors: it is in the public interest to allow patients like the detainee to be transferred into less-restrictive detention when they have been approved for it, and the harms the program has claimed it would suffer by expanding the population of community preparation services do not outweigh the harm the detainee suffers by continuing to be in more restrictive custody.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Tunheim, Filed On: March 22, 2023, Case #: 0:23cv0486, Categories: Injunction, Prisoners' Rights
