179 results for 'filedAt:"2024-02-08"'.
J. Wright finds the trial court properly denied the dog purchaser's Consumer Protection Act-based motion to dismiss the seller's defamation counterclaim. After a dog purchase agreement soured, the purchaser filed suit for infliction of emotional distress and published allegedly defaming statements about the seller on social media. The seller's motion for sanctions is not a legal action according to the Act, which is not applicable. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Wright , Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 09-23-00214-CV, Categories: Sanctions, Defamation, Contract
J. Parraguirre finds the district court properly granted the Associated Press's anti-SLAPP special motion to dismiss Steve Wynn's defamation claim against the reporter who published a story about an alleged rape committed by him. The AP met its evidentiary burden to establish its article was a good faith communication in furtherance of the right to free speech in connection with an issue of public concern. Affirmed.
Court: Nevada Supreme Court, Judge: Parraguirre , Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 85804, Categories: Anti-slapp, Communications, Defamation
J. Doty grants the police officers' and city's motion for remittur in the mother's wrongful death suit on behalf of her son, but denies their motions for a new trial, to alter or amend judgment while agreeing to stay execution of the judgment pending appeal. The jury's $10,000,000 compensatory damages award is excessive and unsupported by the facts presented at trial. The court did not err, however, in excluding testimony and evidence about the presence of drugs in the son's system and apartment, about his ongoing criminal cases, about a witness's shoplifting convictions and about an officer's subjective opinions and fears and a psychopharmacologist's testimony about the effects a certain drug had on the son. Statements made in closing arguments were also not sufficiently improper to require a new trial, nor are jury instructions on punitive damages or the jury's decision to find one, but not another, officer liable for the death. The stay is unopposed and warranted.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Doty, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 0:20cv707, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Jury, Damages
J. Wright partially grants the optical medical supplier's motion for post-judgment relief in a successful action against it under the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute. The motion is granted regarding a claim related to one doctor's trip to New York, since there is insufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict regarding this trip, and insofar as the penalties imposed under the False Claims Act violate the Excessive Fines Clause. The motion is otherwise denied, and judgment is reduced to the amount of $216,675,248.55.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Wright, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 0:13cv3003, NOS: False Claims Act - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Damages, False Claims
J. Shepherd finds a lower court improperly sentenced a defendant to 188 months in prison and five years probation for conspiring to distribute meth. The government argued that the defendant was not entitled to early termination of his supervised release. However, a probation office sufficiently showed in court that the defendant had completed three years and nine months of probation, and was deemed as a low risk re- offender. Reversed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Shepherd, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 23-2176, Categories: Drug Offender, Probation
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J. Benton finds a lower court properly ruled in favor of a life insurance company on a fiancé's motion for declaratory judgment. The fiancé argued that she was entitled to benefits following the death of her future husband, based on her claims that she was the sole beneficiary of his life insurance policy. However, the insurance company sufficiently showed in court that it did not owe her benefits given that the policy was not in full force at the time of his death. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Benton, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 23-2596, Categories: Insurance, Contract
J. Halpern partially denies the food manufacturer's motion to dismiss a consumer class action alleging the labeling on its "Graham Crackers" product is deceptive because they contain more flour than graham flour. The consumer adequately alleges that she would not have bought the product had she known it was predominately made with white flour. However, the consumer failed to fulfill the statutory requirements to file suit under Connecticut, New Jersey and Delaware law.
Court: USDC Southern District of New York, Judge: Halpern, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 7:22cv6089, NOS: Other Fraud - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: Consumer Law, Class Action
J. Stadtmueller denies the bath products company's motion to dismiss a patent infringement lawsuit from the inventor of a method of using carved acrylic plastic sheets to simulate tiles for lining baths and showers. The company's argument that the inventor lacks standing fails, in part because the inventor's claim to title is not in dispute, and there is insufficient evidence at this point to establish that the company's representative co-invented the disputed method anyway.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Wisconsin, Judge: Stadtmueller, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv908, NOS: Patent - Property Rights, Categories: Patent
J. Stevens finds that the trial court properly entered an order of sale for the decedent's property in Hunt County. The daughter argued she had partition claims that should have been resolved prior to the property sale, but she had no viable partition claims in her third amended petition, which was her live pleading. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Stevens, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 06-23-00017-CV, Categories: Property, Wills / Probate
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the lower court properly awarded the lender $22.8 million based on the borrower's failure to make its payment deadlines on the original $15 million loan. There is no merit to the borrower's counterclaim it was fraudulently induced to sign the loan agreement via misrepresentations in the term sheet. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 00676, Categories: Banking / Lending
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the lower court improperly ordered the city to disclose all documents directed to judges in which federal or state court decisions are summarized or interpreted. There is no merit to the ACLU's concern that the city is privately instructing judges how to interpret and apply the law, as the judges are not bound by those analyses. Further, the city properly denied the request on the ground of overbreadth, as the ACLU seeks records created over the past 10 years. Reversed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 00681, Categories: Constitution, Judiciary
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the lower court improperly denied a masonry subcontractor's motion to dismiss claims against it stemming from some restoration work. The subcontractor is entitled to judgment on the breach of contract and warranty claims by showing it fulfilled its limited obligation to perform the masonry repairs as it was instructed. Reversed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 00677, Categories: Construction, Contract
J. Reyna finds that the patent trial and appeal board improperly ruled in this dispute over high-speed mechanical slicers used in food-processing plants because the court improperly determined plaintiff failed to establish unpatentability. Reversed.
Court: Federal Circuit, Judge: Reyna, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 2022-1751, Categories: Patent
[Combined.] J. Fisher finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant following his guilty plea to robbery and then revoked his earlier probation on conviction for attempted burglary. The concurrent terms he received as a result were not harsh, as one represented the statutory minimum for a second violent offender. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Fisher, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 112435, Categories: Burglary, Robbery, Sentencing
J. Clark finds that the lower court properly denied defendant's request for resentencing on his conviction for stabbing his girlfriend to death in the home they shared. Defendant sought review of his indeterminate sentence of 25 years-to-life for murder following state passage of the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act, but he failed to provide sufficient proof of ongoing abuse perpetrated by the girlfriend or that he was a victim defending himself in her death. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Clark, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 113572, Categories: Murder, Sentencing, Domestic Violence
J. Brody finds that defendant's confrontation right was not violated by the admission of testimony from a detective about data that the FBI obtained by extracting it from defendant's cell phone. The detective's personal knowledge and experience of cell phone extractions was sufficient to support his testimony and independent conclusions about the extraction file. Affirmed.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Brody, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 49079, Categories: Confrontation, Drug Offender
J. Powers finds that the workers' compensation board properly granted benefits after ruling that a plumber's collapse and death soon after arriving at a construction site had been job-related. Testimony from a medical provider who treated the decedent and talked to his widow and coworkers demonstrated the decedent was overweight and suffered high blood pressure and coronary, but on that fateful hot and humid day, he had to walk a distance over rough terrain to get to the jobsite, and suffered added stress from being named shop steward on a big project at LaGuardia Airport. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Powers, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 534946, Categories: Workers' Compensation
J. Hardy dismisses a home builder’s breach of contract and negligence claims against the lumber company that provided moist, and eventually moldy, materials for the builder's personal house. The homeowner lacks standing because the contract was with his company, which ultimately owns the house, not the home builder as an individual.
Court: USDC Western District of Pennsylvania, Judge: Hardy, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 2:20cv1763, NOS: Contract Product Liability - Contract, Categories: Negligence, Product Liability, Contract
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the unemployment insurance appeal board properly held that a retail worker was ineligible to receive benefits because he was unable to file a valid original claim. The worker did not have sufficient earnings within the required calendar quarters to qualify. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: CV-23-1158, Categories: Insurance, Labor
J. Fenn finds that the lower court improperly ruled in favor of a trustee in a dispute where an individual tried to remove the trustee entirely from a trust. The lower court found that by filing such an action, the individual triggered a non-contest clause that disinherited him from the trust and prohibited legislation. But the lower court was reading into terms that "are not there," and in the language of the agreement, the removal provisions were not mandatory and there was nothing that triggered the no-contest clause. Reversed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fenn, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: S-23-0126, Categories: Trusts
J. Segal dismisses a city employee's appeal, finding that a trial court remand to a civil service commission board will provide him an opportunity to argue that he is entitled to back pay. The trial court's judgment, which set aside his suspension and ordered the board to reconsider the discipline he deserves for an unexcused absence, was not final and appealable.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Segal, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: B328414, Categories: Civil Procedure, Employment
J. Gray finds that the lower court properly found in favor of an insurance company regarding claims from a former sales agent who says he was fired without good cause and because of his age. The former employee's claims were backed by "unsubstantiated theories" and too few facts, and the lower court was correct in tossing them. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Gray, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: S-23-0133, Categories: Employment, Employment Discrimination
J. Van Tatenhove finds in favor of the property owners regarding the jurisdiction of a property damages case. No parties were improperly added to the case, and because there is a reasonable question regarding the amount of damages, the state court is the proper venue for the case.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Kentucky, Judge: Van Tatenhove, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv247, NOS: Torts to Land - Real Property, Categories: Damages, Negligence, Jurisdiction
J. Abele finds the lower court properly granted the neighbors' motion for summary judgment in a property dispute. The language in the easement shared with the property owner is unambiguous and allows only for an initial 30-foot wide strip of land to be used for access to a county road, not a 30-foot strip along the entire boundary of the neighbors' land. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Abele, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-521, Categories: Evidence, Property, Real Estate
J. Johnson finds that when a trial court fails to issue the empanelment oath to a jury without objection and the jury renders a verdict, the error is not a structural one that requires automatic reversal of a defendant's convictions, but is one that must be reviewed for plain error. The right to a sworn jury is not protected by either the federal or state constitutions, and the Colorado legislature has not put such a right into law. In this specific case, the trial court still provided expansive instructions and guidance to the jury, and so the lack of an oath does not cast serious doubt on the verdict, which will be upheld. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Johnson, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 2024COA11, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Jury
J. Shea denies the client's motion for a new trial, ruling the jury's finding of a willful and malicious breach of its services contract with the law firm is not against the weight of the evidence, which indicated the client was happy with the firm's performance up until it learned of the adverse jury verdict in the underlying Kentucky trial and then simply refused to pay its legal fees. Meanwhile, because the question of whether the firm and other litigants can seek punitive damages on a contract claim outside the context of an insurance dispute is unsettled in Connecticut, the issue must be certified to the Connecticut Supreme Court for consideration.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Shea, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 3:19cv1124, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Damages, Attorney Fees, Contract
J. Carnes finds that the district court properly dismissed a breach of contract, fiduciary duty and negligence action brought by the estate and clinic against the insurers stemming from an insurance coverage dispute which arose after a $60 million consent judgement was entered in an underlying wrongful death action in favor of the deceased liposuction patient's estate and against the clinic. The district court correctly found that a four-year statute of limitations applied to the fiduciary duty claim and that the claim was barred by the statute of limitations. The insurance policy unambiguously includes a policy limit of $50,000 for a claim of professional liability. The insurer had already incurred expenses beyond that amount defending the estate claims, therefore the policy limit was exhausted. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Carnes, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 22-10614, Categories: Insurance, Fiduciary Duty, Contract