155 results for 'filedAt:"2023-12-13"'.
J. Traynor grants in part North Dakota's motion for partial summary judgment from a dispute involving the Dakota Access pipeline protests. North Dakota sought damages incurred from the emergency response costs related to protest activity after the Army Corps of Engineers began discussions for a special use permit to lawfully permit protestors to be on Corps’ land. North Dakota's motion is granted, as undisputed evidence shows the Corps failed to follow its mandatory permitting procedures. However, a question of duty of care exists which will be answered at trial in further proceedings. The United States' motion to certify a question to the North Dakota Supreme Court is denied.
Court: USDC North Dakota , Judge: Traynor, Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: 1:19cv150, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: Energy, Native Americans, Damages
J. Gregory finds the lower court improperly applied a four-level sentence enhancement for possession of a firearm in connection with another felony offense. The defendant was convicted for possession of a gun as both a felon and someone subject to a domestic violence protective order. You can not be punished more severely for violating multiple provisions with the same act of possession. Reversed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Gregory, Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: 21-4235, Categories: Firearms, Sentencing
J. Gladwin finds the circuit court properly affirmed the commission's denial of the attorneys' application to vacate a mineral rights integration order. The attorneys, who were given a 35 percent interest in the property owners' mineral rights as a contingency fee, argue their predecessors-in-interest were not provided sufficient notice. The order granted the owners of unleased mineral interests a 15-day election period as to whether or not to participate in the well. The attorneys failed to establish that the heirs, who made no election, were not provided proper notice. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gladwin , Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: CV-21-172, Categories: Property, Wills / Probate, Contract
J. Barrett finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for sexual assault. Defendant failed to exhaust peremptory challenges, and fails to show how having jurors’ addresses and phone numbers prejudiced him. Furthermore, testimony complained of as hearsay was allowed as background information for context, not as indicative of truth. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Barrett , Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: CR-22-458, Categories: Evidence, Sex Offender, Child Victims
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J. Wood finds the trial court properly found the minor defendant guilty of manslaughter. Defendant shot her father in the chest with a 12-gauge shotgun as he slept after being reprimanded for smoking and cell phone use. Excluded expert medical testimony that defendant has PTSD would not assist the jury in determining whether her belief she was being victimized was objectively reasonable. A recording of a previous argument between the mother and father was properly excluded, as it would have added little to defendant's first-person account of abuse inflicted directly on her. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Wood , Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: CR-23-185, Categories: Evidence, Juvenile Law, Manslaughter
J. DuBow finds that the lower court properly denied a citizen’s motion for return of property, seeking a firearm and two magazines that police officers seized after her neighbors reported that she had threatened during a dispute over yard work. Pennsylvania met its burden in establishing that the citizen had pointed one of the firearms at neighbors, thus committing a crime. Affirmed.
Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court, Judge: DuBow, Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: J-A21022-23, Categories: Evidence, Firearms, Threats
J. Kelly finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to 264 months in prison and six years probation for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. The defendant argued that he is entitled to relief based on "trial-related errors," claiming that the government wrongfully introduced statements he made in a custodial interrogation. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that he provided his cell phone number and its contents to authorities before he received a Miranda warning. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Kelly, Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: 22-2343, Categories: Drug Offender
J. McIlmail denies the government's motion to dismiss this contract dispute. The contractor appeals changes to humidifier sizing and design regarding the contract for HVAC replacement at the Guthrie Clinic at Fort Drum, New York, and seeks damages of $949,000. The government's request to convert its motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction on sum-certain grounds to a motion for failure to state a claim is denied, as it failed to mention the contractor had not presented a claim for a sum certain.
Court: Armed Services Board Of Contract Appeals, Judge: McIlmail , Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: 63183, Categories: Government, Contract
J. Goree finds the trial court properly ruled the unknown, purported lineal descendant is not entitled to any part of the decedent's estate. The decedent did not provide for the descendant in his will. It appears the omission was intentional because he denied having children other than the provided-for, known descendants. The decedent also made a complete disposition of his estate, describing a class of persons composed of known and unknown lineal descendants, emphasizing he intentionally and deliberately omitted to provide for all persons in that class. Affirmed.
Court: Oklahoma Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Goree , Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: 120451, Categories: Evidence, Wills / Probate
J. Scales finds the trial court properly entered summary judgment in favor of the university and doctors in the patient's medical malpractice lawsuit alleging negligence that caused her to suffer a stroke. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by striking the patient's causation expert as unreliable and lacking the requisite foundation, in part because the expert admitted he did not review the patient's medical records or ask her about her medical history of severe hypertension, which at least partially caused the stroke. The remainder of the patient's arguments are dismissed without discussion. Affirmed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Scales, Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: 22-1055, Categories: Experts, Medical Malpractice
J. Jacquot finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for driving while suspended. “Defendant has not persuaded us that she can collaterally attack her original 2017 suspension.” Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Jacquot, Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: A179309, Categories: Vehicle
J. Carney finds that the district court properly found for an electricity provider in class claims alleging deceptive business practices. Lead plaintiff's estate alleged the competitive rates that had been promised were actually higher than that charged by the local incumbent utility, but the consumer received what had been offered under the plain terms of the contract. Affirmed.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Carney, Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: 22-1026, Categories: Energy, Class Action, Contract
J. Land denies the farm's motion for reconsideration of an earlier order finding that the jury's excessive compensatory and punitive damages award for lake repair costs warranted a new trial. The evidence did not support the jury's $1.5 million award to repair the farm's property and the compensatory damages award for the loss of use and enjoyment of the farm's property exceeded the fair market value of the property. The instant court used its "enlightened conscience" to determine the remittitur amounts and the remitted damages are supported by the evidence. The farm's motions for leave to file an interlocutory appeal and to certify questions to the Georgia Supreme Court are denied.
Court: USDC Middle District of Georgia, Judge: Land, Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: 4:21cv134, NOS: Torts to Land - Real Property, Categories: Damages
J. Lemelle grants remand to the state of Louisiana and two parish governments, ordering various oil and gas industry producers and refiners to face joint claims their production activities resulted in pollution and subsequent wetland loss along Louisiana’s coastline. The oil and gas companies failed to establish they are entitled to federal-officer jurisdiction, as they do not show the complained-of production actions were associated with or connected to a federal officer.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Lemelle, Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: 2:18cv5213, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: Energy, Environment, Government
J. Nalbandian finds the lower court improperly dismissed the Muslim inmate's First Amendment retaliation claim against the prison guard who threatened to shut down a prisoners' cultural group unless they kicked the Muslim inmate out. The allegations prove causation and, specifically, that the guard only made the threat after the inmate filed a grievance about guards' refusal to allow Muslim inmates to practice their religion during Ramadan. Additionally, the allegations in the complaint make it clear the prison guards were aware of the Muslim inmate's treatment during Ramadan through the filing of numerous grievances and verbal complaints, all of which support a plausible Equal Protection claim. Reversed in part.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Nalbandian, Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: 22-3781, Categories: Constitution, Equal Protection, Prisoners' Rights
Per curiam, the circuit finds that the district court properly denied compassionate release as sought by defendant, a lawyer and former mayor of Waterbury, Connecticut, after he was convicted of repeatedly sexually assaulting two young girls. Defendant cited his age and health, along with the 37-year sentence, as "extraordinary circumstances" meriting release, but he used the perceived power of public office to make the abuse possible, causing his victims lasting harm. Affirmed.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: 22-2008-cr, Categories: Sentencing, Sex Offender
J. Emas finds the trial court properly found in favor of the mother and daughter in their lawsuit over injuries the then seven-year-old daughter suffered when she ran into a wall while at the county's after-school program. The trial court properly denied the county's motion for a directed verdict and a new trial, as the jury's verdict in favor of the mother and daughter is supported by evidence of the after-school program's employee's negligence. The jury's determination that the county was 95% negligent and the daughter was 5% negligent stands, as does the mother and daughter's damages award of $3,954 in past medical expenses and $105,000 for past pain and suffering. Affirmed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Emas, Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: 22-1769, Categories: Damages, Negligence
J. Sacks reverses and remands abutters’ claims of nuisance and trespass against a would-be developer, who they believe would pollute their drinking water supply through a proposed septic system, but affirms the granting of permits to the developer. The abutters’ hydrologist’s mass balance analysis is flawed, but even if it was accurate, Title V does not prohibit a septic system from increasing levels of nitrogen in a private well, even beyond the state drinking water standard.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sacks, Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: 22-P-908, Categories: Administrative Law, Zoning, Water
J. Lobrano finds that the trial court should not have granted the sewer and water board's exception of no cause of action in an inverse condemnation action related to property owners' mandamus petition seeking payment for a judgment related to claims that the board damaged their properties during the Southeast Louisiana Urban Drainage Project. In this case, payment of a judgment awarding just compensation for inverse condemnation, like a judgment awarding just compensation for expropriation, is a ministerial duty. Therefore, the property owners have stated a cause of action. Reversed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Lobrano, Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: 2023-CA-0293, Categories: Civil Procedure, Property
J. Lake dismisses a putative class action against a nonprofit healthcare organization on claims arising from a data breach, during which 83,000 of its patients' personal and medical information was accessed. The nonprofit did not waive its governmental immunity under Texas law.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Lake, Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: 4:23cv3448, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Health Care, Immunity, Privacy
J. Jordan grants the company's motions to compel in a trademark case involving the alleged sale of infringing products on Amazon Storefronts. The company's former independent distributors are ordered to amend or supplement their initial disclosures and discovery responses due to their prior conflicting and confusing responses on key issues in the case. "To say that defendants have some explaining to do is an understatement."
Court: USDC Eastern District of Texas , Judge: Jordan, Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: 4:22cv900, NOS: Trademark - Property Rights, Categories: Sanctions, Trademark, Discovery
J. Rios upholds the trial court's refusal to grant summary judgment to a school district on two former school board members' action seeking injunctive relief related to documents they claim the district refuses to release. Contrary to the district's argument, the trial court had jurisdiction to hear the case, and there are questions of fact whether all relevant records were released. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Rios, Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: 04-22-00178-CV , Categories: Education, Public Record