78 results for 'judge:"Richardson"'.
J. Richardson finds the indictment failed to state a per se antitrust offense, so the lower court improperly convicted the contractor of a per se violation of the Sherman Act. The contractor, accused of manipulating bidding for large construction projects in North Carolina, properly alleged that his scheme did not restrain anticompetitive effects. Reversed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Richardson, Filed On: December 1, 2023, Case #: 22-4544 , Categories: Antitrust, Construction, Fraud
J. Richardson denies the waste management defendants' dismissal motion in this lawsuit brought by the City of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, over the alleged mismanagement of a landfill. The complaint sufficiently alleges a "compensable injury or loss" to support the city's negligence claim.
Court: USDC Middle District of Tennessee , Judge: Richardson, Filed On: November 28, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv605, NOS: Torts to Land - Real Property, Categories: Civil Procedure, Environment, Negligence
J. Richardson dismisses an individual's lawsuit asserting Section 1983 claims against the Town of Smyrna and a town police officer stemming from a previous criminal case against him, in which certain exculpatory emails were allegedly not disclosed at a preliminary hearing. The case is dismissed pursuant to the one-year limitations period, as his claims accrued on April 8, 2021, "upon the dismissal of the charges," and the action was filed nearly two years later.
Court: USDC Middle District of Tennessee , Judge: Richardson, Filed On: November 21, 2023, Case #: 3:23cv119, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Procedure, Civil Rights
J. Richardson finds the lower court improperly found Maryland's handgun qualification license constitutional. The provision requiring purchasers to complete an extensive process, including multiple background checks and completion of a half-day firearms safety course, has no historical analog that justifies its restriction. Reversed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Richardson, Filed On: November 21, 2023, Case #: 21-2017, Categories: Constitution, Firearms
J. Richardson finds the lower court improperly denied the detainee's motion for a preliminary injunction, releasing them and others in a similar circumstance without stated cause. The detainees contend that the pretrial services’ pretrial-release program violates due process by detaining someone after a judge has determined that there are possible conditions under which that person can be released. The court denied the motion without providing reasons. Federal law requires that when granting or refusing a preliminary injunction, a court state the findings of fact and conclusions of law that support its action. Vacated.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Richardson, Filed On: November 15, 2023, Case #: 23-6359, Categories: Bail, Due Process, Class Action
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J. Richardson finds that a tenant raised sufficient issues of fact that summary judgment in his landlord's favor was error. The trial court must address the tenant's claims that a Covid-19 eviction moratorium applied, that the eviction was in bad faith and whether the landlord was allowed to increase the amount of the security deposit during the tenancy. Reversed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Richardson, Filed On: November 1, 2023, Case #: BV 033886, Categories: Civil Procedure, Landlord Tenant, Covid-19
J. Richardson finds the lower court properly granted summary judgment to the department store on sex-based wage discrimination claims. The male employee worked as a graphic designer and had a meaningfully different role at the company than the plaintiff female content creator and part-time photographer so she did not identify a similarly-situated comparator. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Richardson, Filed On: October 19, 2023, Case #: 21-2328, Categories: Employment, Employment Discrimination
J. Richardson denies the plaintiffs' second request for a preliminary injunction in this lawsuit asserting violations of the Tennessee Open Meetings Act and Section 1983. The plaintiffs, which include a high school student and her father, seek an injunction requiring the defendant book review committee "to publish adequate public notice of its meetings in advance of them." However, they fail to demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits, as the committee's "gatherings" are unlikely to be considered "meetings" under the Act.
Court: USDC Middle District of Tennessee , Judge: Richardson, Filed On: October 13, 2023, Case #: 3:23cv181, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Procedure, Public Record
J. Richardson adopts the magistrate judge's recommendation and dismisses this action based on a lack of jurisdiction. The plaintiff, an independent contractor who performed construction and maintenance work for the defendant homeowners association, asserts claims for defamation and sexual harassment. However, he fails to establish a basis for federal question jurisdiction.
Court: USDC Middle District of Tennessee , Judge: Richardson, Filed On: October 13, 2023, Case #: 3:23cv159, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Procedure, Defamation, Jurisdiction
J. Richardson denies the individual plaintiff's motion for a temporary restraining order in this case concerning federal student loan payments. The individual's request lacks the required specificity, particularly as to "what exactly she wishes to enjoin." The motion seeks to maintain the "pandemic-relief student-loan pause," but it fails to provide the necessary details. Additionally, the individual fails to address the issue of a bond, which would be required to cover the potential costs and damages.
Court: USDC Middle District of Tennessee , Judge: Richardson, Filed On: October 10, 2023, Case #: 3:23cv930, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Procedure, Debt Collection, Education
J. Richardson denies the plaintiff company's request for a preliminary injunction to prevent the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from treating its federal firearms license as being terminated "during the pendency of this Court's review." The company has not shown a likelihood of success on the merits.
Court: USDC Middle District of Tennessee , Judge: Richardson, Filed On: September 29, 2023, Case #: 3:23cv544, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: Civil Procedure, Licensing, Firearms
J. Richardson denies, in part, the hospital's motion to compel discovery, ruling that following an in-camera inspection, the consulting report written about the non-party health care provider is not required to be disclosed because it does not contain any of the financial information sought by the hospital and would be unrelated to its litigation.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Richardson, Filed On: September 26, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv50, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: Health Care, Discovery
J. Richardson adopts the report and recommendation of the magistrate judge and grants the hospital defendants' partial summary judgment motion in this lawsuit brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. As to the harassment claim, the defendants contend that they "did not intend to harass or annoy" the individual plaintiff and that the calls at issue had a legitimate purpose. Additionally, the record indicates that the calls, which were made by a third-party contractor, were made to a wrong number.
Court: USDC Middle District of Tennessee , Judge: Richardson, Filed On: September 26, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv755, NOS: Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) - Other Suits, Categories: Civil Procedure, Communications
J. Richardson finds the lower court improperly accepted the bankruptcy court’s partial dismissal of one of two claims seeking to recoup money owed by an unlicensed contractor who declared bankruptcy to get out of paying the debt for working unlicensed to the homeowner as a final judgment applicable to review. The homeowner sought a declaration of the money owed and for the court to pronounce the debt non-dischargeable, but in bankruptcy courts, both claims must succeed for the results to be fruitful to the homeowner. The homeowner hatched a plan to make the bankruptcy court’s order final by voluntarily dismissing the surviving claim without prejudice, immediately appealing the court-dismissed claim, and deciding afterward whether it was worth further litigating the party-dismissed claim. Parties are not allowed to manufacture finality like this. Vacated.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Richardson , Filed On: September 14, 2023, Case #: 22-1216, Categories: Bankruptcy, Construction
J. Richardson finds the lower court properly held that money was not one of the benefits that the mother's son was due under the terms of the employer-based health benefits program. The son, suffering from a rare heart disease, was denied the money needed to try an experimental heart transplant and died before his appeal of the denial was processed. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act allows plaintiffs to seek reimbursement for money spent on procedures but does not authorize a plaintiff to seek the monetary cost of a benefit that was never provided. Affirmed in part.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Richardson, Filed On: September 11, 2023, Case #: 21-2207, Categories: Employment, Erisa, Health Care
J. Richardson grants, in part, the employer's motion to dismiss counterclaims, ruling the declaratory judgment claim brought by the competitor is based on the same set of facts as the contract claim brought in the initial suit and, therefore, is duplicative.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Richardson, Filed On: September 7, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv203, NOS: Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA) - Property Rights, Categories: Trade Secrets, Contract
J. Richardson denies the patentholder's motion to compel a deposition of the competitor's CEO, ruling it failed to demonstrate the executive has unique knowledge of a future product launch or that his goals and vision for the company would be relevant to the current dispute. However, the motion to compel further deposition testimony from the competitor's chief technology officer will granted, and the patentholder will be given an additional three hours to further develop the record regarding the competitor's knowledge of patents that form the basis of the lawsuit.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Richardson, Filed On: August 30, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv624, NOS: Patent - Property Rights, Categories: Patent, Discovery
J. Richardson finds the lower court properly determined that the warden was not qualified for immunity. Three guards with prior histories of violence with inmates relentlessly beat and pepper sprayed an inmate they incorrectly thought was involved in a scuff-up between an inmate and another guard. The warden allegedly did nothing to prevent inmates suspected of being involved in the fight from being violently retaliated against. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Richardson, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: 21-6422, Categories: Constitution, Assault, Prisoners' Rights
J. Richardson grants summary judgment to the board of education in this lawsuit alleging that an elementary school student's constitutional rights were violated when two school employees dragged him down the hallway to the school's "calming room," after he refused to get out of a chair and go to class. The student cannot establish municipal liability under a failure-to-train theory. The record shows that the employees underwent training for crisis prevention intervention, and any inadequacy in the training "did not cause plaintiff's injury."
Court: USDC Middle District of Tennessee , Judge: Richardson, Filed On: August 22, 2023, Case #: 3:20cv945, NOS: Education - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Education
J. Richardson partially grants the defendant staffing company's motion to compel arbitration and to dismiss the amended complaint alleging a violation of the Tennessee Human Rights Act. The job applicant's claim, which relates to a vaccination requirement, will be referred to arbitration, but the claim is "stayed rather than dismissed."
Court: USDC Middle District of Tennessee , Judge: Richardson, Filed On: August 11, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv847, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Employment, Employment Discrimination
J. Richardson finds the lower court properly determined that the shrimp trawlers are not violating the Clean Water Act. Returning bycatch to the ocean is not discharging a pollutant, so the act allows throwing it overboard without a permit. The trawl nets merely kick up sediment already present in the sound, so their use does not discharge any pollutants either. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Richardson, Filed On: August 7, 2023, Case #: 21-2184, Categories: Environment, Water
J. Richardson finds the lower court properly dismissed the Eight Amendment violation claim. The estate of the deceased prisoner sued a guard after discovering the guard failed to look into the cells while completing his security rounds, giving two other prisoners ample time to brutally strangle the deceased. The guard is entitled to qualified immunity because there is no clearly established constitutional right to properly conducted security checks. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Richardson, Filed On: August 4, 2023, Case #: 22-6410, Categories: Murder, Prisoners' Rights
J. Richardson finds the lower court properly dismissed the class-action suit. The investors were allegedly told information falsely projecting optimistic returns for investing in the biopharmaceutical companies undergoing a merger. The stock eventually plummeted, but the company provided potential investors with documents containing detailed cautionary language, warning investors that this was risky and that success was not guaranteed. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Richardson, Filed On: July 24, 2023, Case #: 21-2309, Categories: Pensions, Business Practices, Class Action
J. Richardson finds the lower court improperly reduced the contract damages and prejudgment interest to the coal company from the $7.6 million awarded by the jury to $1.8 million. The coal company sued the insurance company after they refused to cover the cost of a silo collapsing. The court incorrectly interpreted the insurance policy claiming the restoration period ended much earlier than it did. Reversed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Richardson, Filed On: July 20, 2023, Case #: 22-1459, Categories: Insurance, Jury, Damages