259 results for 'court:"USDC Western District of North Carolina"'.
J. Cogburn grants Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina’s motion to dismiss a claim for recovery benefits under ERISA brought by a father, mother and their daughter after the daughter was denied coverage for her participation in a wilderness therapy program. The parents appealed Blue Cross’s decision to stop coverage beyond a certain date, as the daughter’s participation in the program is no longer medically necessary. The parents separately filed the current claim but did so 19 months after Blue Cross issued its first appeal denial, so the current complaint is barred for time.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: July 9, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv750, NOS: Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) - Labor, Categories: Erisa, Insurance
J. Conrad grants a group of former contractors’ motion to confirm an arbitration award after a marketing company, endorsed by then-President Donald Trump, moved to vacate the award. The group filed a class action suit against Trump for his paid endorsement, which it claims misled the contractors into paying fees to the company to be able to work for it. Although the company was not party to that suit, which happened in a New York district court, it incorrectly compelled arbitration. Then, it began arbitration demands against the group in North Carolina. The group did not respond but instead filed the present action, moving the court to stay and enjoin the company’s demands. During arbitration, the arbitrator granted the group’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. This court is in agreement with that dismissal.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Conrad, Filed On: July 2, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv320, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Arbitration, Business Practices
J. Conrad denies a logistics firm’s motion to certify the court’s order for interlocutory appeal filed by the firm in this suit brought by a former employee for federal and state labor law violations. The employee initiated both a class action under state law and a collective action including employees of the firm throughout the U.S. The court previously denied the firm’s motion to dismiss the collective action on a lack of personal jurisdiction, and now the firm moves to certify for interlocutory appeal that denial. However, because no one has opted into the collective action yet, the firm’s motion is premature.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Conrad, Filed On: July 2, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv292, NOS: Fair Labor Standards Act - Labor, Categories: Employment, Class Action, Labor
J. Reidinger grants Walmart’s motion for summary judgment following allegations of religious discrimination brought by a sales associate. The associate claims Walmart forced him to wear a face mask during the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic and that it unfairly incentivized employees willing to be vaccinated by giving them a bonus. However, because the associate adheres to his own religion, which includes some general Christian and Seventh Day Adventist tenets but not all of them, he fails to establish a religious practice specific enough on which to base his claims. Therefore, he fails to show evidence that connects his opposition to Walmart’s Covid policies to his supposed religious beliefs, nor accordingly that he is a member of a protected class.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Reidinger, Filed On: June 27, 2024, Case #: 1:21cv213, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Covid-19, Employment Discrimination
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J. Bell denies a class of Covid-19 vaccine recipients’ motion to find that subjecting a pharmaceutical firm’s personal injury claims to the federal Vaccine Act violates the presentment clause of the Constitution. The class claims that the firm injured the class’s members because its vaccine caused medical complications for the members. The presentment clause requires the U.S. president to review and approve proposed legislation before he or she passes it onto the House of Representatives and the Senate, but in this case, the Vaccine Act requires any new vaccine to be automatically added to the Vaccine Injury Table before it is determined what, if any, injuries the vaccine can cause. It does not need to be approved by the president first. Therefore, this is not a violation of the clause.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Bell, Filed On: June 27, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv3036, NOS: Personal Injury - Health Care/Pharmaceutical Personal Injury/Product Liability - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Constitution, Government, Covid-19
J. Whitney grants a cold chain packaging company’s motion for preliminary injunction to stop a former consultant from acting in bad faith or making false infringement assertions to customers until an underlying case is resolved. That case arises out of the consultant’s firm falsely representing that it had a patent on a product that the company purchased, then paid more than $240,000 in royalties for. Until that litigation is resolved, the consultant is enjoined from making objectively false claims in bad faith.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Whitney, Filed On: June 21, 2024, Case #: 3:24cv465, NOS: Patent - Property Rights, Categories: Patent, Unfair Competition, Business Practices
J. Whitney partially denies a municipality’s motion for summary judgment following allegations of federal and state civil rights violations brought by a police officer. In the past, the municipality found that the officer lied in court about her location on four separate occasions, for which it initially fired her. Later, the Civil Service Board overturned her termination and ordered her suspended and ultimately she be retrained and rehired. Because the officer has not refuted the municipality’s arguments for summary judgment, her federal claims are considered abandoned. However, this court denies summary judgment on the state claims for a lack of supplemental jurisdiction.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Whitney, Filed On: June 20, 2024, Case #: 3:21cv618, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Employment, Jurisdiction
J. Whitney remands a deceptive trade practice case to state court. After a cold chain packaging company’s president hired two consultants, allegedly they clandestinely started their own firm to compete using the company’s confidential information to gain customers, resulting in $767,000 in lost sales for the company. The firm removed this litigation from state court, arguing this court has federal question jurisdiction. However, this case doesn’t present any novel questions that could impact other cases, so it is remanded to state court.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Whitney, Filed On: June 18, 2024, Case #: 3:24cv484, NOS: Patent - Property Rights, Categories: Patent, Unfair Competition, Business Practices
J. Conrad denies a homeowners association’s motion seeking both an entry of final judgment on two of its claims against an insurance company, and a stay on the rest of the claims, in this deceptive trade practices suit. Although the insurer does not oppose this motion, the insignificance of the motion in the context of this case does not outweigh the need for judicial efficiency.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Conrad, Filed On: June 17, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv645, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Judiciary, Trade, Contract
J. Bell partially denies a wireless device broker’s motion to dismiss allegations of negligence brought by the producers of the devices, which were stolen en route to their destination. The broker hired a transportation company to deliver the devices, and the producer claims negligence for the broker’s choice in deliverer. Previously, the producer received $5 million on a claim from its insurance company, also party to this suit, but alleges there is still an uninsured loss of $6.5 million. The Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act preempts the producer’s negligence claim, but its claim of breach of contract as a broker will proceed.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Bell, Filed On: June 13, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv572, NOS: Other Personal Property Damage - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: Insurance, Property, Contract
J. Whitney partially denies a shoemaker’s motion for summary judgment in this dispute over commissions brought by some of its former sales representatives. The representatives claim the shoemaker didn’t pay them some of their earned commissions after they ended their relationship with it. The parties reached a settlement agreement, but the representatives now claim the shoemaker violated the agreement after it was made by giving information about them to one of its current employees and encouraging her to file suit against them. The shoemaker disputes this claim, so full summary judgment is not appropriate.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Whitney, Filed On: June 11, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv167, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Business Practices, Contract
J. Bell denies the Federal Trade Commission’s motion for an appeal on the court’s previous denial of the commission’s motion for an injunction against a health care system’s acquisition of another general hospital and psychiatric hospital. The commission makes the request so that it may continue with an appeal process in the Fourth Circuit. Because its current appeal request is not in the public interest, the court denies it a second time but will grant the commission’s request to briefly extend a temporary restraining order that is already in effect.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Bell, Filed On: June 11, 2024, Case #: 5:24cv28, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: Antitrust, Health Care, Trade
J. Reidinger rules in favor of the federal government and a North Carolina Veterans Affairs hospital after they were sued for medical malpractice and wrongful death by the daughter of a woman who died there of brain cancer. The daughter, who executed her mother’s estate, claims the hospital failed to identify her mom’s brain tumor before it became inoperable. However, after a haphazard litigation process including 200 filings from the daughter, the court finds there is not sufficient evidence showing that the attending physicians and staff breached any duty of care they had to the deceased woman. Therefore, a judgement is entered in favor of the federal government and against the daughter, who will receive no awards but who will have to pay for the costs of the action.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Reidinger, Filed On: June 11, 2024, Case #: 1:20cv92, NOS: Personal Injury - Medical Malpractice - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Negligence, Wrongful Death, Medical Malpractice
J. Bell denies a mortgagor’s motion for summary judgment following breach of contract claims he brought against a bank after it allegedly forced him to default while he claims he satisfied the loan. Since his initial claim, he received an entry of default, then filed two motions for default, which were determined moot after the bank was granted its second motion to set aside entry of default. Regardless, discovery has not yet occurred, so a motion for summary judgment is premature.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Bell, Filed On: June 10, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv203, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Banking / Lending, Contract
J. Conrad grants an insurance company’s motion for summary judgment following unfair trade practices allegation brought by a homeowners association representing some condos that were weather-damaged. The company, having hired its own consultants, determined the roofs on the buildings needed repair, not replacement. Although the association hired its own consultants who found that the roofs should be replaced, this disagreement between the parties is merely a difference of opinions, not evidence that the insurance company broke contract or acted in bad faith. Therefore, there are no genuine fact disputes before the court.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Conrad, Filed On: June 7, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv645, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Contract
J. Whitney partially denies a school board’s motion for summary judgment following disability discrimination allegations brought by a bus driver trainer. The board, which originally hired the trainer solely to train other drivers, refused to accommodate his disability when it assigned him to drive bus routes when they had staffing issues. The board claims this was a required part of his job, but the trainer argues this was not part of his original position or job description, thus there is a genuine dispute of fact.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Whitney, Filed On: June 5, 2024, Case #: 3:21cv676, NOS: Amer w/Disabilities-Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act, Employment, Employment Discrimination
J. Bell denies the Federal Trade Commission’s motion for a preliminary injunction against a medical system trying to acquire an outside general hospital and psychiatric hospital while the commission determines the acquisition’s legality. The commission holds that the center’s purchase of the hospitals may lessen competition in the local market for providing health care. However, the acquisition would avoid the immediate closure of the psychiatric facility and would support an addition of services at the general hospital — which would serve to increase healthy competition — so these factors outweigh any loss of tax revenue in service of the public interest. Therefore, the center will proceed with their acquisition pending the commission’s legal determination process.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Bell, Filed On: June 5, 2024, Case #: 5:24cv28, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: Antitrust, Government, Health Care
J. Dever grants a property management company’s motion to dismiss allegations of consumer law violations brought by a former apartment resident who claims the company fraudulently reported him for non-payment. The resident also claims that as a result, he suffered financial damages, divorce, mental health issues and homelessness. However, as the company is not located in North Carolina, and the resident does not allege any of its actions took place in the state, the court lacks personal jurisdiction.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: June 5, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv640, NOS: Consumer Credit - Other Suits, Categories: Debt Collection, Consumer Law, Jurisdiction
J. Flanagan denies a car lessee's motion for a hearing after she asserted her ownership of the vehicle in question when the dealership sent her a statement that she owes over $26,000 on the vehicle and over $27,000 for a buyer's order. The lessee fails to present a federal question in her complaint and makes common law claims for breach of fiduciary duty and injunctive relief only. Because of this, the lessee has not pleaded the required components for subject matter jurisdiction.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Flanagan, Filed On: June 4, 2024, Case #: 4:24cv83, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Fiduciary Duty, Jurisdiction, Contract
J. Bell grants a police department's motion to dismiss following Fifth Amendment violation allegations brought by a jogger who claims he was wrongfully arrested and detained. Following a false S.W.A.T. call that had been resolved, officers of the department allegedly pulled their guns on the jogger and forcefully arrested him without probable cause. However, the police department is not an entity that can be sued under the federal rules of civil procedure, so the jogger's claims are dismissed.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Bell, Filed On: June 3, 2024, Case #: 5:24cv72, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Malicious Prosecution, Police Misconduct
J. Whitney denies two medical providers' motions to deny racketeering and fraud allegations made by an insurance company, who alleges that "an unlawful referral and patient brokering scheme" cost it over $2.8 million. The insurance company argues the providers made a deal with a law practice that the practice would funnel underinsured and uninsured motorist claimants to them, and they would make false serious injury reports to get the maximum payout from the insurer. The providers are incorrect in their claim that the insurance company did not provide enough details about its claims to satisfy civil procedure requirements because the insurance company's 90-page complaint included sufficient specific details.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Whitney, Filed On: June 3, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv590, NOS: Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) - Other Suits, Categories: Fraud, Insurance, Racketeering
J. Reidinger overrules the objections to a magistrate judge's order brought by a man being investigated by the FBI. The man requested the court to place a restraining order on the FBI, to provide him injunctive relief and to disclose the identities of the federal agents investigating him. In each case, he did not provide sufficient evidence or reasoning and was denied. Now, because he fails to bring up any specific reason for his objection to the magistrate judge's ruling denying him his motion to unseal certain documents, his objection is overruled and his request for a hearing is also denied.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Reidinger, Filed On: June 3, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv207, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Government
J. Whitney partially grants a property management company's motion to dismiss allegations of race discrimination, retaliation and hostile work environment, among others, brought by a former accountant. While the accountant claims he heard a supervisor say, "all Black people to the back" while staff were gathering to travel to a lunch and other such comments, the content of the comments and their lack of consistent pattern does not satisfy the claim requirements. However, his claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress and punitive damages will proceed.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Whitney, Filed On: June 3, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv744, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Reidinger grants a woman’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis in this race discrimination lawsuit she brought against over 60 individuals and companies, including Pfizer, Tyson Foods and Planet Fitness. She is allowed 30 days to amend her complaint again as directed, but if she fails to do so, it will be dismissed.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Reidinger, Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: 3:24cv396, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights
J. Whitney partially grants an insurance company and a sheriff their motions for summary judgment following gender discrimination and retaliation allegations brought by a former staff member at the sheriff’s office. In her opposition to the company’s and sheriff’s motions, the staff member makes no mention of the company nor her retaliation claim, apparently abandoning them both. As to these claims, summary judgment is granted. However, as to her gender discrimination claim against the sheriff, there are still genuine issues of fact, so summary judgment is denied.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Whitney, Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv246, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation