J. Decker finds the lower court properly determined defendant violated the terms of his probation for using alcohol and marijuana, but improperly imposed active incarceration for the marijuana use. Defendant pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual battery, carnal knowledge of a minor and three counts of indecent liberties and was sentenced to 50 years incarceration with 41 years and eight months suspended with good behavior and supervised probation. While on probation, defendant tested positive for marijuana three times and alcohol once. Because of his positive tests and poor behavior, he was terminated from a community residential program. The lower court found him in violation of the terms of his probation and ordered him to serve 90 days incarcerated, suspending the remainder of his sentence. Defendant argues he should not have received active incarceration for his violations because they were technical violations. The instant court finds defendant’s alcohol use is not a technical violation and active incarceration may be ordered, but the marijuana use is and is not subject to active incarceration. Because the lower court may have considered both violations in determining the term of active incarceration, the matter is remanded for further action. Affirmed in part.
Court: Virginia Court Of Appeals, Judge: Decker, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: 0477-22-2, Categories: Probation, Sentencing, Sex Offender
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J. Jenkins grants a technology services firm’s motion for summary judgment, finding its former employee has not shown she was passed over for promotion or fired due to her age as she alleged. Instead, the court finds a jury would conclude that in both instances, her own poor performance compared to her coworkers’ is to blame.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Jenkins, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv161, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
[Consolidated.] J. Ellis partially grants a robotics company’s motion to dismiss claims brought by a consulting firm over a joint venture for painting machines that the parties allegedly began together before the robotics company boxed the consulting firm out. The court dismisses the consulting firm’s fraud, promissory fraud, negligent misrepresentation and equitable estoppel claims, but allows the breach of fiduciary duty, promissory estoppel and quantum merit claims to proceed.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Ellis, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv2890, NOS: Other Fraud - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: Fraud, Fiduciary Duty, Contract
J. Fagone upholds the bankruptcy court's disallowance of a mother and daughter's claims arising from a dispute concerning the construction of a solar array on their property. The women previously settled their dispute with the solar company and, contrary to their argument, the settlement agreement was not voidable. Affirmed.
Court: 1st Circuit, Judge: Fagone, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: MB 22-016 , Categories: Bankruptcy, Settlements
J. Chuang partially grants an IT firm’s motion for partial summary judgment after a limited partnership property owner alleged the firm broke the lease agreement between the two. An indemnification clause obligates the owner to pay its mortgager in the event the firm does not pay the owner under the lease terms. The owner argues that this clause does not apply because it is only part of the lease, not the mortgage. However, the clause is applicable to both.
Court: USDC Maryland, Judge: Chuang, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: 8:18cv720, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Property, Banking / Lending, Contract
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the lower court improperly granted the Archdiocese's motion to dismiss a suit alleging abuse by two Catholic priests. While the Archdiocese did not legally own the premises where the alleged abuse occurred, that fact does not foreclose the possibility the alleged abusers were agents of the Archdiocese or that the Archdiocese had supervisory authority over them. Reversed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: 02455, Categories: Property, Tort
J. Mead finds that the lower court improperly granted the wife's protection from abuse order against the appellant. The lower court erred in identifying the date that the appellant had allegedly entered the home, which was significant in that the amended temporary protection order was not in effect on the actual date. Accordingly, the issue should be remanded for reconsideration. Vacated.
Court: Maine Supreme Court, Judge: Mead, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: 2023ME28, Categories: Evidence, Family Law, Restraining Order
J. Walker grants the company's motion for default judgment. The franchisee has failed to respond to a request to answer for breach of contract, conversion, and tortious interference claims.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Virginia, Judge: Walker, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv272, NOS: Franchise - Contract, Categories: Tort, Conversion, Contract
J. King partially denies summary judgment to the cleaning technology company for the former employee's wrongful discharge claim that the company fired him for complaining about discrimination and investigating sexual harassment. The former employee creates a genuine issue of material fact about the motive behind his termination because there is temporal proximity between when the former employee raised the issue about his supervisor's response to sexual harassment complaints and his termination.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: King, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv5732, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Employment Retaliation
[Modified.] The appeals court changes the judgment in a consumer warranty opinion. The trial court improperly awarded a consumer $98,000 in attorney fees and costs when he settled his lemon law claims after rejecting earlier settlement offers. On first impression, the appeals court holds that the penalty provisions of section 998 still apply when a case ends with a subsequent settlement offer before a trial. A stipulated settlement with the structure and terms of a final determination meet the definitions of "judgment" in the attorney fee provisions of both section 998 and the Song-Beverly Act. The trial court must reconsider whether the offer made to a consumer was more favorable than the judgment he obtained. Reversed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: C090463, Categories: Settlements, Warranty, Attorney Fees
J. Soto finds a lower court ruled correctly in convicting defendant, a former police officer, of assault causing bodily injury and official oppression. Defendant argued that his confrontation clause rights had been violated when prosecutors entered video evidence containing statements from witnesses whom he was not allowed to confront, but defendant did not properly raise a hearsay objection and any error caused by admitting said evidence was not so great as to effect the outcome of defendant’s case. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Soto, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: 08-22-00138-CR, Categories: Confrontation, Evidence, Due Process
J. Theriot finds that the trial court properly ruled in favor of the insurers and dismissed the brine company's petition to annul a prior appellate court judgment. The brine company did not show that the appellate court's "allotment system" caused any adverse judgment. Affirmed in part.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Theriot, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: 2022CA1031, Categories: Civil Procedure, Tort
J. Greene finds that the trial court improperly dismissed the parents' claims brought on behalf of their son who was allegedly injured by a classmate in the playground of a school. There are genuine issues of material fact that precluded summary judgment in favor of the parents of the classmate. Reversed in part.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Greene, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: 2022CA1151, Categories: Civil Procedure, Tort, Negligence
J. Robinson declines to dismiss Advanta-Star Automotive Research's copyright infringement claim against its competitor based on reviews made by both companies comparing the 2019 Ford Transit Connect and the 2019 Nissan NV200. Advanta-Star's comparisons "possess the requisite degree of creativity to qualify for protection." Numerous sentences and paragraphs in the competitor's comparisons of the Ford Transit and the Nissan "are copied verbatim" from Advanta-Star's work, and the information is presented "in a markedly similar way."
Court: USDC Southern District of California, Judge: Robinson, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv1186, NOS: Copyrights - Property Rights, Categories: Copyright
J. Cunningham finds that the patent trial and appeal board improperly ruled in this dispute over a drug delivery device because the competitor failed to establish obviousness. Reversed.
Court: Federal Circuit, Judge: Cunningham, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: 2021-1981, Categories: Patent
[Redacted.] J. Smith finds that the trial court properly awarded attorney fees in claims contending an employee breached the non-compete clause by working for the employer's client because the client had ample notice of the non-compete agreement before the suit was filed, and the consulting firm should not have been required to file a separate complaint against the employee to recover fees. Affirmed in part.
Court: New Jersey Appellate Division, Judge: Smith, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: A-1067-20, Categories: Trade Secrets, Attorney Fees