J. Dever dismisses with prejudice a user of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, who sued X and owner Elon Musk for damages and loss of wages and moving expenses after the user quit his job and moved his family to Florida to compete for the $100 million XPRIZE Gigaton CO2 Removal contest. When the user didn’t win the prize, he suspected that other X users hacked his computer, and he says X and Musk are responsible for not having warned him of these dangerous individuals. The user presents no credible evidence for his claims.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 7:24cv81, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Corporations, Tort, Damages
J. Chase finds that the trial court should not have granted exceptions of prescription to a real estate company on a property buyer's claim that defendants continuously failed to record the Act of Cash Sale and transfer clear title of the property because the real estate agent's continuous failure to deliver clear title constitutes a continuing tort. Further, the buyer's claims against the notaries are perempted because the buyer failed to file his petition for damages within the requisite three-year peremptive period. Reversed in part.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Chase , Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 2024-CA-0018, Categories: Real Estate, Contract
J. Johnson vacates the judgment of eviction since the tenant was deprived of a fair trial because the trial court did not swear-in the landlord's property manager and relied on her statements during trial. Further, the trial court called a security guard witness on behalf of the landlord over the tenant's objection. Vacated.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Johnson, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 2023-CA-0782, Categories: Civil Procedure, Landlord Tenant
J. Brown finds that the trial court properly denied a medical provider's peremptory exceptions of no right of action and prescription related to the deceased patient's father's survival and wrongful death claims stemming from medical malpractice. The father is the proper party to assert survival and wrongful death claims because the record shows that the decedent and the mother of his alleged son were not married at the time of the son's birth. Therefore, the alleged son was not entitled to the presumption that he was the decedent's biological child and was required to take affirmative steps to establish paternity within one year of the decedent's death. Further, the father's filing of the complaint with the medical review panel less than a year after the decedent’s death interrupted prescription as to the filing of those claims with the district court. The father then filed his petition for damages within 90 days of the issuance of the medical review panel opinion.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Brown, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 2024-C-0207, Categories: Civil Procedure, Wrongful Death, Medical Malpractice
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. Atchley dismisses this employment discrimination lawsuit following a bench trial. The employee sought prospective injunctive relief against certain individual defendants, alleging discrimination and retaliation under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, in connection with her reassignment to "a position she felt was less desirable." However, she failed to introduce evidence of her age or show a "proper comparator."
Court: USDC Eastern District of Tennessee , Judge: Atchley, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 3:21cv270, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. DeGiusti denies the former employee's motion for partial summary judgment in this lawsuit stemming from the termination of her employment. Specifically, the former employee contends that she is entitled to judgment on her retaliation claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act. However, she presents "evidence of two distinct retaliatory motivations for her termination," and her motion also fails to address "the issue of each defendant's liability."
Court: USDC Western District of Oklahoma , Judge: DeGiusti, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 5:22cv917, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
Per curiam, the Arkansas Supreme Court has determined the exercise of superintending authority may be appropriate as to the request for removal of the trial judge in the underlying matter. The record shows the judge may have acted in ways that do not promote confidence in the judiciary and has possibly not been impartial.
Court: Arkansas Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: CV-24-295, Categories: Administrative Law, Judiciary
J. Loken finds a lower court improperly denied a defendant's request for self representation after he was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. The government argued that the defendant was not entitled to demand self representation on the morning of his trial. However, the defendant sufficiently showed in court that he would not engage in "serious and obstructionist misconduct" during the proceedings. Reversed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Loken, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 23-1547, Categories: Fair Trial, Firearms, Self Representation
J. Cartwright denies Citibank's motion to compel arbitration for the consumer's complaint alleging that the bank reported a debt to his account after he closed it. Neither the alleged re-opening of the consumer's account by unknown parties nor Citibank's failure to address it were reasonably foreseeable results of the consumer's contractual relationship with Citibank. The arbitration agreement for the closed account "cannot reasonably be construed to include future unknown accounts opened by third parties" without the consumer's permission. Furthermore, while the agreement covers "a previous related account," it does not reference that it covers future related accounts.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Cartwright, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv5908, NOS: Consumer Credit - Other Suits, Categories: Arbitration, Debt Collection, Consumer Law
J. Gilliam grants final approval to a $725,000 class settlement with Hyatt Corp. over claims of unpaid overtime wages from their security guards. The terms appear fair and include $180,000 in attorney fees.
Court: USDC Northern District of California, Judge: Gilliam, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 4:22cv693, NOS: Other Labor Litigation - Labor, Categories: Employment, Settlements, Class Action
J. Goodwin grants the chemical company's motion for summary judgment in the woman's second amended complaint seeking class certification on a medical monitoring claim for residents living near the company's South Charleston plant stemming from exposure to ethylene oxide, a known carcinogen. Since the woman cannot prove a concrete injury-in-fact caused from breathing the air surrounding the plant, she not only lacks Article III standing to file suit, but also any claim she makes on behalf of herself or the proposed class is not ripe.
Court: USDC Southern District of West Virginia, Judge: Goodwin, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 2:19cv878, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Health Care, Tort, Class Action
J. Kelety finds that the trial court properly granted summary judgment to governmental entities on a trip and fall complaint. Trail immunity shields the entities from liability for a fall caused when a park visitor tripped on a cable that was strung between two wooden posts. No dispute existed about whether the cable was on a walking path down to a beach that both the visitor and the entities described as a trail, or that the wooden poles and cable were parts of the trail. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Kelety, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: D083075, Categories: Immunity, Negligence
J. Duarte finds that the trial court was within its discretion to deny class certification of a nuisance action alleging a city allowed the pH level of its water supply to become corrosive. Common issues do not predominate since each claim for property damage would require individualized determinations about the city's nuisance liability. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Duarte, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: C099011, Categories: Water, Class Action
J. Cole grants the class's motion for attorney fees, ruling the $3.5 million requested by the class counsel is reasonable, considering the millions of pages of discovery conducted by the attorneys, as well as testing performed on Macy's bedsheets and responses to motions to dismiss and for summary judgment.
Court: USDC Southern District of Ohio, Judge: Cole, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 1:17cv754, NOS: Other Fraud - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: Fraud, Attorney Fees, Class Action
J. Oliver grants the federal government's motion for summary judgment, ruling the transaction history of the convenient store, including large, successive purchases made by a single household, is sufficient to support the government's conclusion of SNAP benefit trafficking, while the permanent ban sanction was not unreasonable because the store submitted no contrary evidence.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Oliver, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 3:21cv823, NOS: Administrative Procedure Act/Review or Appeal of Agency Decision - Other Suits, Categories: Administrative Law, Government, Sanctions
J. McKeague finds the lower court properly awarded Kroger more than $612,000 to cover legal fees related to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the estate of individuals killed in a collision with one of its shipping contractors. The shipping company's indemnification agreement with Kroger required payments for incidents involving negligence on the part of the shipping company. An exception in the agreement removes liability from the shipping company only in accidents where Kroger is "solely liable," and because the shipping company's driver is at least partially at fault for the accident, the company was required to cover Kroger's legal expenses. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: McKeague, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 23-3462, Categories: Transportation, Indemnification, Contract
J. Fallon denies a request by the widow of a shipyard worker who allegedly died from asbestos exposure, declining to dismiss the indemnity and defense claims filed by the owner of the shipyard and the manufacturer of marine interiors on sea-going vessels. However, the widow reserves the right to re-urge arguments against the shipyard and the manufacturer if two ship-owners do not successfully demonstrate they are entitled to indemnity protection.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Fallon, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 2:20cv1877, NOS: Asbestos Personal Injury Product Liability - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Product Liability, Indemnification, Asbestos
[Consolidated.] J. Jacobs finds that the district court properly dismissed antitrust claims in which developers of a brand name blood-pressure drug and its generic equivalents contend "reverse" patent-infringement settlement payments had been made to delay market entry of the generics. Precedent holds that such arrangements can be illegal if they do not represent fair value for goods exchanged as part of an arms-length transaction, but plaintiffs, as purchasers of the drugs, failed to demonstrate the payments were unjustified or unexplained. Furthermore, dismissal with prejudice was proper since the amendment did not cure pleading deficiencies. Affirmed.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Jacobs, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 23-410 (L), Categories: Antitrust, Civil Procedure, Patent
J. Kugler rules against a company in claims contending an employee had been laid off without proper notice because employees had been told they were being terminated effective immediately. Even if the company was then sold to another party, the sale-of-business exclusion did not apply because workers who had been laid off were not employed by the new company.
Court: USDC New Jersey, Judge: Kugler , Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv3136, NOS: Other Labor Litigation - Labor, Categories: Employment
J. Rose finds that the trial court properly denied an open records request seeking the identity of an attorney who offered legal advice to a municipal prosecutor because the substance of the single email from an unknown colleague had been disclosed already, and the record cannot otherwise be provided without disclosing the attorney's personal information. Affirmed.
Court: New Jersey Appellate Division, Judge: Rose, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: A-2395-22, Categories: Public Record
J. O'Neil finds a lower court improperly sentenced a defendant to second degree murder after he shot and killed a coworker inside of a vehicle. The State argued that it properly presented evidence in court concerning items located in the defendant's residence, which included firearms and ammunition, and that he is an unreasonable person. However, the defendant sufficiently showed in court that the government improperly submitted evidence that was harmless and prejudicial. Reversed.
Court: Arizona Court Of Appeals Division Two, Judge: O'Neil, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 2 CA-CR 2023-64, Categories: Evidence, Firearms, Murder
J. Gruender finds a lower court improperly allowed a defendant's motion to suppress evidence after he was charged with knowingly possessing a firearm, following a prior conviction of an offense punishable by imprisonment for more than a year. The defendant argued that the lower court properly allowed his motion to suppress evidence of a firearm located in a white vehicle in a tenant parking lot, which he was a passenger, and that police officers did not have reasonable suspicion to stop the parked vehicle. However, the government presented sufficient evidence in court that authorities were entitled to search the vehicle based on reasonable suspicion that defendant may have been engaging in criminal activity in a well known high crime area in the middle of the night. Reversed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 23-2720, Categories: Evidence, Firearms, Sentencing
J. Gruender finds a lower court improperly allowed a defendant's motion to suppress evidence after he was charged with knowingly possessing a firearm, following a prior conviction of an offense punishable by imprisonment for more than a year. The defendant argued that the lower court properly allowed his motion to suppress evidence of a firearm located in a white vehicle in a tenant parking lot, which he was a passenger, and that police officers did not have reasonable suspicion to stop the parked vehicle. However, the government presented sufficient evidence in court that authorities were entitled to search the vehicle based on reasonable suspicion that defendant may have been engaging in criminal activity in a well known high crime area in the middle of the night. Reversed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 23-2720, Categories: Evidence, Firearms, Sentencing