J. Branch finds that the district court properly entered an order enforcing only part of an administrative subpoena issued by the commission against a car part manufacturer. The commission sought a subpoena for information on employees fired by the manufacturer for attendance-related infractions. The commission charged the manufacturer with discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act after an employee complained he was fired for taking protected FMLA absences. The district court correctly found that the commission's charge related only to the manufacturer's Northport facility in Alabama. The companywide data sought by the commission is irrelevant to that charge. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Branch, Filed On: May 10, 2023, Case #: 21-13799, Categories: Civil Procedure, Employment Discrimination
J. Robinson finds that judgment was improperly entered for the Union Cemetery Burial Society of North Smithfield concerning use of small portions of land that abut defendants' property, which is located on the same plat as the lot belonging to Union Cemetery, because defendants demonstrated "actual, continuous, open, and notorious use" by, for example, presenting unrebutted testimony that defendant tended to the lot by mowing, putting down fertilizer, and cutting trees, as well as unrebutted testimony that defendant and his family had been using both encroachments for the past few decades.
Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court, Judge: Robinson, Filed On: May 10, 2023, Case #: 20-182, Categories: Property
J. Gladwin finds the circuit court properly granted the counterclaim of the wife of the deceased land purchaser, quieting title to the property, giving her the warranty deed and title insurance, and granting $30,000 in compensatory damages. Payment on the land had allegedly become delinquent after her husband died, though she had no access to purged payment records. She was without her husband’s testimony as to payments he had made or agreements he may or may not have had with the seller’s predecessor in title. The seller also failed to provide sufficient records as proof of nonpayment. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gladwin, Filed On: May 10, 2023, Case #: CV-22-218, Categories: Property, Damages, Contract
J. Boulee grants the company's motion for default judgment and permanent injunctive relief in a trademark infringement action arising from the individuals' use of counterfeit copies of the company's trademarks in connection with the sale of unauthorized goods via e-commerce marketplaces. The company showed that the individuals willfully used counterfeits of one or more of the "Stone Island" trademarks in a way that is likely to cause consumer confusion.
Court: USDC Northern District of Georgia, Judge: Boulee, Filed On: May 10, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv4181, NOS: Trademark - Property Rights, Categories: Trademark
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J. Schumacher finds that the county board of adjustment was properly granted summary judgment after two business owners who intended to build a bed and breakfast disputed a conditional use permit granted by the county because the board made adequate factual findings, and the business owners were not denied due process. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Schumacher, Filed On: May 10, 2023, Case #: 22-0249, Categories: Property, Zoning, Due Process
J. Bower finds that the parties were properly granted legal custody of their child because the thriving child experienced loving relationships in both settings. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Bower, Filed On: May 10, 2023, Case #: 23-0386, Categories: Family Law
J. Jones finds that the trial court ruled properly in a lawsuit brought by the former residents of an apartment home over their security deposit being withheld. On appeal, the apartment home’s property manager asserts that the court erred in denying his motion for joinder. The property manager failed to establish that he is a party to the judgment against the landlord. Additionally, he has not shown that he has standing to call for a new trial. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Jones, Filed On: May 10, 2023, Case #: 03-21-00556-CV, Categories: Civil Procedure, Landlord Tenant, Jurisdiction
J. Stephens finds that the trial court improperly denied the decedent driver's family an opportunity to amend their petition to possibly cure their prescription issue. The issue to be determined is whether the family's initial wrongful death action interrupted prescription against another employee who was riding in that vehicle but was not added to the lawsuit until two years after the accident. Affirmed as amended.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Stephens, Filed On: May 10, 2023, Case #: 55,091-CA, Categories: Civil Procedure, Wrongful Death
J. Wiley finds that the trial court properly determined that the labor law exemption for securities broker-dealers and investment advisors is constitutional. The trial court applied a rational basis review of the legislation and concluded that an equal protection argument against the exemption failed because registered financial professionals have more skill and bargaining power that average workers and therefore are not entitled to a classification test to determine if they are employees. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Wiley, Filed On: May 10, 2023, Case #: B313414, Categories: Employment, Equal Protection
[Consolidated.] Per curiam, the circuit finds that the district court properly convicted defendants of robbery, kidnapping, and murder of a government informant. Defendants contend the indictment should have been dismissed due to Brady violations, but belated disclosures did not result in prejudice since the four-month adjournment gave them time to investigate the material and pursue an alternative perpetrator defense. Severance was properly denied based on a prior robbery that involved the same victim and location and which occurred not long before the current charges. Affirmed.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 10, 2023, Case #: 19-2391-cr (L), Categories: Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Murder
J. Badding finds that joint custody was properly determined regarding the parties' young child because they were able to communicate and co-parent to meet the child's needs. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Badding, Filed On: May 10, 2023, Case #: 22-1850, Categories: Family Law
J. Kenworthy finds that the trial court improperly ruled in contract claims brought after a rental company failed to offer a refund when plaintiff canceled a trip to Florida due to travel restrictions imposed at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic because plaintiff had the right to rescind the contract in light of the fact that governmental executive orders prevented travel. Reversed.
Court: Indiana Court Of Appeals, Judge: Kenworthy, Filed On: May 10, 2023, Case #: 22A-SC-1103, Categories: Property, Covid-19, Contract
J. Hellman finds the trial court properly imposed an upward departure sentence for defendant, who struck and killed a pedestrian with his car and drove away. “The trial court found that defendant’s past conduct underlying his prior convictions and his conduct in the instant case both involved ‘driving when he shouldn’t have been driving,’ which resulted in criminal liability. The record supports that finding.” Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Hellman, Filed On: May 10, 2023, Case #: A175657, Categories: Sentencing
J. Ellender finds that defendant was properly sentenced to 20 years at hard labor on his guilty plea to aggravated second-degree battery. In this case, defendant was faced with two counts of attempted second-degree murder and one count of home invasion. Further, the sentence defendant received was within the bounds of the agreed-upon sentencing cap. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Ellender , Filed On: May 10, 2023, Case #: 54,954-KA, Categories: Sentencing, Plea
J. Klappenbach finds the circuit court improperly entered order striking the roofing company’s counterclaim and third-party complaint as responses to the developer’s suit asserting causes of action for declaratory judgment, breach of contract, breach of warranty, negligence, misrepresentation and fraud and strict liability for an allegedly poor roofing job. No hearing was granted, nor was time to respond given before the court’s ruling. Reversed and remanded.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Klappenbach, Filed On: May 10, 2023, Case #: CV-22-372, Categories: Construction, Due Process, Contract
J. Crocker partially finds in favor of the personal injury law firm suing a competitor under the Lanham Act for using its "NICOLET LAW" trademark as a search keyword to generate headlines for sponsored advertisements on Google Ads marketing the competitor's legal services. The law firm has sufficiently alleged unfair competition and consumer confusion claims under the Act, but its deceptive advertising claim under Wisconsin's Deceptive Trade Practices Act must be dismissed because it bars vendors from making claims against competitors for representations the competitor may have made to a third party. The competitor's motion to dismiss is partially granted on these grounds, and its motion to transfer venue to the District of Minnesota is denied.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Crocker, Filed On: May 10, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv654, NOS: Trademark - Property Rights, Categories: Trademark, Venue, False Advertising
J. Grogan finds the circuit court improperly granted summary judgment to the general contractor in a lawsuit from a painting subcontractor employee who fell down an exposed elevator shaft at the contractor's residential remodel construction site, causing injuries requiring cranial and spinal surgeries. The independent contractor rule from Wisconsin Supreme Court precedent does not shield the contractor from liability for the employee's injuries, in part because the only written contract it entered related to the project, which it signed with the company who provided the elevator, held that the contractor was solely responsible for the safety of all workers and subcontractors with relation to the elevator shaft before the elevator was installed. Because there also remain disputed facts about whether the two-by-four guardrails installed on the shaft and other safety precautions protect the contractor from the employee's negligence and safe place claims, the contractor cannot be dismissed, but the part of the circuit court's summary judgment order dismissing the contractor's employee individually is upheld. All other matters, including the claims of an insurance company, will be handled on remand. Reversed in part.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Grogan, Filed On: May 10, 2023, Case #: 2021AP001720, Categories: Tort, Negligence, Contract
J. Ahlers finds that defendant was properly sentenced to incarceration after pleading guilty to animal neglect causing serious injury or death in light of defendant's prior neglect conviction and reasoning outlined by the court. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Ahlers, Filed On: May 10, 2023, Case #: 22-0946, Categories: Sentencing, Animal Cruelty
J. Bower finds that real estate was properly sold off from a trust despite the beneficiary's objection because the property was difficult to maintain and the sale ultimately benefited the beneficiary. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Bower, Filed On: May 10, 2023, Case #: 22-0920, Categories: Property, Trusts
J. Chase finds that the Civil Service Commission properly upheld a police officer's 80-day suspension related to damage to his girlfriend's apartment after the landlord terminated the girlfriend's lease. In this case, the officer intentionally withheld information and interfered with the criminal investigation into the destruction of the apartment by his girlfriend. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Chase , Filed On: May 10, 2023, Case #: 2022-CA-0746, Categories: Employment, Evidence
J. Doyle finds that defendant was properly convicted of operating while intoxicated, first offense, based on evidence that she had been veering into an oncoming traffic lane and that she had bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol and marijuana during the traffic stop. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Doyle, Filed On: May 10, 2023, Case #: 22-0770, Categories: Evidence, Dui
J. Worthen finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for evading arrest. Defendant testified that he knew the pursuing officer was behind him, but that he didn’t stop on the interstate as a safety concern, deciding to stop at a McDonald’s at the next exit. He stated he was unfamiliar with the area, did not see any parking lots on the right side of the road and ran the red light because he believed the cross traffic would yield to the patrol car. He further testified that he continued throwing his business cards out of the window to let the officer know he intended to stop. The jury reasonably could have determined that defendant delayed compliance, and that he intentionally fled. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Worthen, Filed On: May 10, 2023, Case #: 12-22-00189-CR, Categories: Escape, Vehicle
Per curiam, the Supreme Court of Ohio finds the inmate's petition for a writ of mandamus was mooted when the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction provided the documents he requested, but that he is entitled to $1,000 in statutory damages for the delay. The department's claim the inmate's request was made solely to obtain damages is speculative.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 10, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-1543, Categories: Public Record, Damages
J. Land finds in favor of the police officers in a civil rights action brought by a son arising from fatal injuries his mother allegedly sustained when police forcibly removed her from her home during a welfare check. Several of the officers were not involved in the welfare checks or in removing the mother from the home. The other officers are entitled to qualified immunity on the son's claims related to their entry into the home because they had arguable probable cause to enter based on their belief that the mother was in danger and might need medical attention.
Court: USDC Middle District of Georgia, Judge: Land, Filed On: May 10, 2023, Case #: 4:21cv162, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights
J. Wright finds the trial court, sitting without jury, improperly convicted defendant for misdemeanor theft of personal property. Following an ongoing controversy with her neighbor regarding a borrowed wheelchair, defendant was accused of stealing and killing the neighbor’s dog. She was found guilty on a not-guilty plea, though inconsistent descriptions of the dog between the information and testimony show a variance in what was alleged and what was proven. The state concedes that defendant did not waive her right to a jury trial according to criminal procedure. Reversed and remanded.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Wright, Filed On: May 10, 2023, Case #: 09-21-00289-CR, Categories: Evidence, Theft, Due Process