197 results for 'filedAt:"2023-08-24"'.
Per curiam, the Kentucky Supreme Court finds that attorney Leila Louise Hale should be publicly reprimanded as reciprocal discipline to that imposed in Nevada, where she prematurely took client funds from a trust and failed to properly disburse remaining funds after negotiating medical liens.
Court: Kentucky Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: 2023-SC-0165-KB, Categories: Attorney Discipline
J. Jackson-Akiwumi finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances. The state presented sufficient evidence to prove that defendant knew the bus contained controlled substances. Further, there is no clear evidence that the jury engaged in premature deliberations, so it is presumed the jury abided by the court's instruction not to talk about the case with anyone until deliberations began. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Jackson-Akiwumi, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: 21-2434, Categories: Drug Offender, Evidence, Jury
J. Lourie find that the patent and trademark office improperly ruled in this dispute because the office improperly determined that a steerable tractor-type drive design for boats is unpatentable as obvious. Reversed.
Court: Federal Circuit, Judge: Lourie, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: 2022-1765, Categories: Patent
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J. Cypher finds that the lower court improperly awarded partial summary judgment to the niece in a case where decedent left funds to be used to care for her cocker spaniel, Licorice, but the dog died before her, making the correct way to distribute the funds unclear. While the trust is meant to take care of Licorice and any other pets following her death, with the remaining funds to be donated to charity, that does not necessarily mean decedent intended for the funds to be donated to charity if her pets died before her. Vacated.
Court: Massachusetts Supreme Court, Judge: Cypher, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: SJC-13397, Categories: Trusts, Wills / Probate
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that attorney Babak Rod Khadem may be reinstated following his May 2019 suspension for failing to meet attorney registration requirements because Khadem complied with the order of suspension and demonstrated the requisite character to practice law.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: PM-194-23, Categories: Attorney Discipline
J. Tenney finds that the court hearing defendant's petition for postconviction relief properly denied his requests for appointment of counsel. The appointment of counsel in postconviction cases is discretionary and neither the complexity of ineffective assistance claims nor the hurdles of postconviction procedures require appointment. Affirmed.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Tenney, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: 20210145-CA, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Sex Offender
J. Pickering finds the trial court properly convicted defendant of several counts of lewdness and sexual assault of the 10-year-old daughter of a family friend. During a period when the family struggled with homelessness, defendant allowed them to stay in his motel room, during which he forced the child to fellate him, and penetrated her vaginally and anally with his penis, fingers, and a Sharpie pen. A child victim's testimony is sufficient for conviction if the testimony has accurate detail, and the jury found the witnesses credible and the testimony convincing. The state did not dwell on erroneously admitted evidence, and the instructional error as to lewdness was not material. Affirmed in part.
Court: Nevada Supreme Court, Judge: Pickering , Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: 83316, Categories: Evidence, Sex Offender, Child Victims
J. Rovner finds that the immigration board properly ordered the immigrants deported to their home countries, finding their allegations of domestic abuse are not credible. The board took full account of the corroborating evidence in these cases, but still found the women's' stories unpersuasive. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Rovner, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: 22-3124, Categories: Immigration
J. Boomgaarden finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of attempted murder and assault stemming from a high-speed chase and shootout with police. Defendant claims that prosecutors committed misconduct when they presented testimony from experts regarding his competency and mental health, but the testimony was permissible and defendant was not prejudiced by their admittance during proceedings. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Boomgaarden , Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: S-22-0285, Categories: Competence, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Assault
J. Nelson finds that the district court improperly granted inmates a twelve-month extension of a settlement agreement in which the State of California agreed to stop housing inmates in solitary confinement for long-term or indefinite periods based on affiliation with gangs. There was no basis for extending the agreement based on the inmates’ claim that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and state officials regularly mischaracterizes the confidential information used in disciplinary hearings. Reversed.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: Nelson, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: 21-15839, Categories: Civil Rights, Settlements
J. Goethals finds that the trial court should have granted an anti-SLAPP motion to a news organization. The motion sought to overcome a professor's effort to prevent the Public Records Act disclosure of her communications with her university and with non-university journals that had corrected or retracted articles she had written. The protected activity of newsgathering in a matter of public interest was the basis of the records request. A partially taxpayer-funded university's handling of scholarly integrity is public business and the professor's petition for writ of mandate and injunctive relief to prevent the release of the communications could inhibit free speech. Reversed.
Court: California Supreme Court, Judge: Goethals, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: G061238, Categories: Anti-slapp, Civil Rights, Public Record
J. Evans finds that the appeals court erred when it determined that protected class members had not satisfied the dilution element of its California Voting Rights Act claim. The appeals court must apply the correct legal standard when it revisits whether Hispanic voters showed that their ability to influence election outcomes is diluted by at-large elections. Unlike its federal counterpart, the Act does not require a protected class to show it is geographically concentrated enough to form a hypothetical single-member district. Another distinction is that an Act claim does not require a showing that at-large voting impairs a protected class's ability to elect candidates, only that the at-large method impairs its ability to influence election outcomes. Reversed.
Court: California Supreme Court, Judge: Evans, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: S263972, Categories: Elections
J. Baker finds that the trial court improperly ruled in a negligence case filed by the owner of a real estate firm against her former counsel, alleging that they failed to properly communicate with her and protect her interests. The lawyers answered her suit with a motion to dismiss under an anti-SLAPP statute, which the trial court granted. Specific actions made by her lawyers do not qualify for protection under the anti-SLAPP statute, so the trial court’s dismissal was an error. However, the trial court was correct in denying the award of attorney fees to the owner. Reversed in part.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Baker, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: 03-22-00254-CV, Categories: Anti-slapp, Real Estate, Negligence
Per curiam, the Ninth District conditionally grants the tractor-trailer driver’s petition for mandamus relief from an order denying motions to quash depositions on written questions seeking records from medical providers in this wrongful death suit arising from a traffic accident. The estate relied on the trucker’s suspected marijuana use to support their argument that his medical records were an issue. Whether he was on marijuana or medication that caused impairment may be an issue and the estate would be entitled to such records but has failed to properly limit document requests.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: 09-23-00153-CV, Categories: Vehicle, Wrongful Death, Discovery
J. Treadwell grants the bank's motion to dismiss an unfair debt collection action brought by the borrower alleging that the bank and the recovery company unlawfully repossessed his vehicle. The sales contract was assigned to the bank and the bank is not a debt collector, therefore the borrower failed to state a claim under the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act. Since the recovery company failed to respond, the borrower's motion to amend is partially granted with respect to his wish to allege unfair debt collection and conversion claims against it. The borrower can also amend his complaint to allege a conversion claim against the car company. However, the motion is denied as futile with respect to the borrower's request to amend the complaint to allege claims against the bank for fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and violations of the Georgia Fair Business Practice Act.
Court: USDC Middle District of Georgia, Judge: Treadwell, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: 5:22cv458, NOS: Truth in Lending - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: Debt Collection, Business Practices
J. Contreras finds that the lower court improperly sealed certain court records. The appellant law office argues that the sealing order failed to comply with the rules of civil procedure, specifically in that there was "no written motion to seal filed." The court agrees and notes that "the requirements of Rule 76a are mandatory and may not be waived by agreement of the parties." Reversed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Contreras, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: 13-23-00222-CV, Categories: Civil Procedure, Public Record, Sanctions
[Consolidated.] J. Eagles denies in part a hospital system’s motion to dismiss allegations of breach of implied contract brought by a class of patients. Because the class members accepted the implied offer of privacy when each one used the system’s online services, the breach occurred when the system disclosed the members’ private medical information to Meta Platforms, owner of Facebook and Instagram, without their consent. The system also owed the class a fiduciary duty which it violated by disclosing said data.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Eagles, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv697, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Fiduciary Duty, Class Action, Contract
J. Dever partially denies a cricket organization its motion to dismiss a breach of contract brought by a landowner after the parties disagreed about the true date of sale of 70 acres. The sports organization claims it had 30 days from the time it made the last of three extensions of sale to close the deal. However, the landowner argues the organization's signing was not timely and therefore violated the agreement, so he cancelled the sale. While the landowner plausibly argues that the organization was not communicative enough to establish its desire to buy the property and, thus, the timeliness of fulfilling its end of the agreement, he cannot establish deceptive trade practices solely based on a breach of contract.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: 5:23cv110, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Property, Trade, Contract
J. Contreras finds that the lower court properly dismissed the appellant's lawsuit against the Waco Police Department. The appellant, who appears pro se, sought the release of certain documents. However, he failed to file "any written response" to the city's summary judgment motion, meaning his arguments on appeal are waived. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Contreras, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: 13-22-00615-CV, Categories: Civil Procedure, Public Record
J. Whitehead denies counter claimant American Marriage Ministries partial summary judgment on its common law trademark and Consumer Protection Act counterclaims, which arise from Universal Life Church Monastery Storehouse's lawsuit alleging that an employee and others defamed the religious organization by showing a side-by-side comparison between the Universal Life Church's and the employee's websites. There are still disputed issues of material fact on how distinctive AMM's trade name is from Life Church's trade name, which leads to further dispute on the likelihood of confusion.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Whitehead, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: 2:19cv301, NOS: Copyrights - Property Rights, Categories: Copyright, Trademark, Consumer Law
J. Keough finds the trial court properly denied the father's motion to hold the mother in contempt for child support violations. In the period during which she failed to provide private health insurance for their child, the child was covered by Medicaid and any award of payments would have unfairly benefited the father. Meanwhile, the trial court properly found the father in contempt for violations of the parties' parenting agreement after he turned off the GPS on the child's phone and refused to return him after a holiday weekend, actions that clearly indicated a willful violation of the agreement and not an honest mistake. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Keough, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-2960, Categories: Contempt, Family Law
[Consolidated] J. Bell finds the district court improperly granted summary judgment and attorney fees to the buyer in this breach of contract suit arising from the seller's closing the hotel and casino for which the buyer had an ordinary course covenant in the asset purchase agreement. The seller did not breach the agreement, as the closure was in response to the governor's emergency Covid-19 directive. The seller was merely following the law to maintain its gaming licenses, and the buyer's applications for gaming licenses were delayed, not refused. Reversed.
Court: Nevada Supreme Court, Judge: Bell , Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: 84257, Categories: Licensing, Covid-19, Contract
J. Renner holds that the trial court must reinstate a charge that defendant carried a concealed firearm in her vehicle. Under the U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Heller and Bruen, the state's concealed carry prohibition remains constitutional even if state's firearm licensing statutes were found to be unconstitutional. So, defendant's attack on the state's licensing scheme could only show that other firearm prohibitions are unconstitutional, like the ban on open carry, while leaving the ban on concealed carry intact. Reversed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Renner, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: C097229, Categories: Firearms, Civil Rights