139 results for 'filedAt:"2023-06-16"'.
J. Hecht finds the court of appeals improperly ruled in favor of an individual in a personal injury suit he brought against an elevator maintenance company after an elevator he was riding in accelerated quickly and abruptly stopped. The individual argued during the jury trial that the company’s negligence can be inferred based on the details of the incident, which the jury did. After the court of appeals affirmed the ruling, the company petitioned for review, challenging the charge of negligence and sanctions against it. The evidence presented by the individual failed to show that the incident would not have occurred in the absence of negligence. Furthermore, the sanctions levied against the company were proper. Reversed in part, affirmed in part.
Court: Texas Supreme Court, Judge: Hecht, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 22-0030, Categories: Corporations, Evidence, Negligence
[Consolidated.] Per curiam, the circuit finds that the district court properly ruled for the operators of a federally funded independent living facility for low-income families with disabilities in discrimination and retaliation claims brought after plaintiff was evicted. Plaintiff failed to demonstrate she had been evicted for trying to clear up a lease violation by allowing the father of one of her sons to be certified as her live-in aide, as the proceedings originated when he first moved in. Meanwhile, disability discrimination was not evident, as plaintiff refused to sign when the operators attempted to accommodate plaintiff's need for an aide with a stipulation that he be certified. Affirmed.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 22-689-cv (L), Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act, Landlord Tenant
J. Bacharach finds that the lower court improperly granted summary judgment to the postal office worker on a failure-to-accommodate claim from a former employee who says she was forced to carry heavy objects while pregnant despite asking for help. She eventually walked off the job, and was fired. While summary judgment was properly given to the post office on her retaliation claim given the lack of evidence of pretext for her firing, there's enough evidence that she was denied help handling a heavy gurney that supports a failure-to-accommodate claim. Affirmed in part, reversed in part.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: Bacharach, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 22-1224, Categories: Employment
J. Wilson finds the district court properly granted summary judgment to the bank responsible for a Covid-19 Paycheck Protection Program federally guaranteed loan disbursed to the law firm. Though a question on the application regarding criminal convictions had been answered “no,” it was found that a lawyer receiving funds from the loan had been accused of attempted sexual assault. Because the lawyer was subject, by accusation, to “means by which formal criminal charges are brought” when he completed the application, it was correctly found that he answered the question falsely. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Wilson, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 22-20107, Categories: Banking / Lending, Covid-19, Contract
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J. Elrod finds the district court improperly dismissed the officer's negligence claim against the organizer of a Black Lives Matter protest which resulted in the officer being assaulted and severely injured. The officer plausibly alleged that the organizer led the protest in an unreasonably dangerous manner, breaching his duty to avoid creating circumstances in which it is foreseeable that another might be injured. The organizer can be held liable, though, only if the officer proves the specific elements of his negligence claim. Affirmed in part. Reversed in part and remanded.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Elrod , Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 17-30864, Categories: Tort, Negligence, Assault
J. Albright grants a company’s motion to dismiss in a partially redacted lawsuit after the company sued retail giant Target in multiple suits for alleged infringement of a variety of patents. Target opposed the motion, arguing the company was simply trying to have a “do-over” in court as it approached “the impending precipice of defeat” on its claims, but this argument is “unpersuasive” because in fact the company “did not delay” in moving to dismiss this case after it said Target had “decommissioned” unspecified parts of its business that were alleged to be infringing on patents.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Albright, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 6:19cv179, NOS: Patent - Property Rights, Categories: Civil Procedure, Patent
J. Easterbrook finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of making a false statement on his application to buy a firearm. Defendant answered "no" to the question whether he was then under indictment for any crime punishable by a year or more, but he had been accused of battering a public safety official. His false answer was material to the lawfulness of the sale. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Easterbrook, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 22-3160, Categories: Firearms
J. Vance grants a request by a state regulatory board and a trade group of car and truck dealers, dismissing an anti-trust suit by electric car maker Tesla alleging that they violated federal antitrust laws by conspiring to exclude Tesla from operating in Louisiana. Tesla repeatedly points out that many of the commissioners are members of the trade group representing some 350 car and truck dealers across the state. “But federal courts across the country have concluded that “[m]ere membership in associations is not enough to establish participation in a conspiracy with other members of those associations.”
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vance, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv2982, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: Antitrust, Commerce, Government
J. Barksdale finds the district court properly denied a repeat DWI offender’s habeas petition as untimely. Defendant filed no direct appeal, conforming with conditions of his plea agreement, then filed this pro se petition for habeas after more than 2 years into his 20-year sentence. Certain cases he cited have no effect on the long-established rule that there is no constitutional right to counsel in postconviction proceedings. The narrow exceptions in those decisions apply only to excusing procedural default under the facts of those cases. No new rule was established and there is no constitutional violation. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Barksdale, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 19-11200, Categories: Constitution, Habeas, Dui
[Consolidated] Per curiam, the Fifth Circuit finds the district court properly declined to extend discovery deadlines, granting BP's motion for summary judgment in this suit brought by subcontractors hired to clean up the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, alleging that the work caused acute, chronic medical conditions. The subcontractors do not explain how the evidence they seek would allow them to prove general causation, and they do not otherwise challenge the exclusion of their doctor's report. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 22-30654, Categories: Tort, Negligence
J. Rodriguez conditionally grants a writ of mandamus to Enterprise Rent-A-Car after it was sued by a consumer who had been arrested at a Border Patrol checkpoint and who alleged that the company’s “negligence in renting him a car that contained illegal narcotics was the cause of his arrest.” Enterprise argued a lower court had committed a “clear abuse of discretion” by not allowing it to designate Border Patrol as a third party in this case. Border Patrol’s general immunity alone is not a good enough reason to not designate it as such, and the consumer’s arguments that a filing by Enterprise was technically late did not account for court rules concerning legal holidays.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Rodriguez, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 08-23-00081-CV, Categories: Civil Rights, Government, Consumer Law
Per curiam, a panel of the 11th Circuit finds that the district court properly dismissed the individual's claims against the companies for breach of contract and exploitation of a vulnerable adult under Florida's Adult Protective Services Act. The claims arose after the individual, a childhood victim of lead poisoning, relinquished his monthly structured settlement payments to factoring companies for a series of lump-sum cash payments at a far lower value. The individual failed to allege that the company intended to deprive him of his money. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 21-11340, Categories: Contract
Per curiam, the Fifth Circuit finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for receiving and possessing child pornography. The evidence supports defendant's convictions and double jeopardy does not apply, as his two convictions rely on separate computer files for those received and those possessed. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 22-20216, Categories: Evidence, Child Pornography, Technology
J. Mize finds that the trial court partly erred in this dissolution of marriage action, including by giving the ex-wife a $6,000 credit for payment on a tax liability, which was not supported by the evidence or any factual findings. Also, the ex-wife was improperly awarded alimony despite a lack of specific factual findings as to the basis of the award. Reversed in part.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Mize, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 6D23-17, Categories: Evidence, Family Law
J. Garcia finds the lower court improperly applied equitable estoppel to bar the enforcement of a zoning ordinance in connection with the height requirement for a structure that was being constructed. The general rule precludes estoppel against a municipality. Reversed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Garcia, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 05-22-00730-CV, Categories: Municipal Law, Zoning
J. Yarbrough partially grants a motion to compel in a lawsuit brought by an employee alleging that his employer underpaid for overtime. While the company must provide further documents that do conform with the employee’s “discovery class definition,” some other discovery requests seem to stem from the employee’s “frustration that only a small amount of documents exist” concerning his claims, but that is not enough reason for this court to further compel when the company has already “repeatedly confirmed that it has not withheld any responsive documents.”
Court: USDC New Mexico, Judge: Yarbrough, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv777, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Employment, Labor
J. Perez finds that the food and drug administration properly denied a premarket application filed by a company that distributes e-cigarette products, including flavored aerosolized liquid "pods" favored by young people. The agency did not exceed its authority by requiring evidence that new flavored products would be more effective than standard tobacco pods at promoting public health goals of smoking cessation or switching from combustible cigarettes. Affirmed.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Perez, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 21-2426, Categories: Consumer Law, Agency
J. Jay finds the trial court did not err in granting the father 13 days of compensatory time-sharing with his and the mother's son after he filed a contempt motion when the mother violated their court-ordered time-sharing plan multiple times. The 13 overnights the court awarded the father were in keeping with what he asked for, that is the time he missed because of the mother's actions, so the trial court did not break due process by awarding the father relief he did not request, and the mother having failed in her dispute of the motion does not make the remedy unlawful. The court rejects the mother's three other challenges to the circuit court without discussion. Affirmed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Jay, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 22-2732, Categories: Family Law, Due Process
J. Polster denies, in part, the college's motion for judgment on the pleadings, ruling the male student's Title IX selective enforcement claim may proceed. The complaint includes allegations his accuser was not investigated after she made claims of sexual assault, even though both parties were intoxicated at the time of the incident.
Court: USDC Northern District of Ohio, Judge: Polster, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 1:20cv669, NOS: Education - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Education
Per curiam, the Supreme Court of Ohio finds the petitioners are not entitled to a writ of mandamus to remove a proposed constitutional amendment from the August 8, 2023 special election ballot. The legislature is allowed under the state constitution to schedule a special election date not authorized by any statute. Although the state's constitution requires a specific date for general elections, there is no such restriction on special elections for constitutional amendments, so long as three-fifths of both assemblies agree to the date, and because that is the case here, the election will proceed as scheduled.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-1992, Categories: Constitution, Elections, Government
J. Lioi grants the GPS software company's motion to dismiss, ruling the copyright owner of the training materials failed to establish jurisdiction because none of the allegations about copyright infringement involve the software company's activities in the state of Ohio. While the company conducts some business within the jurisdiction of this court, the lawsuit claims one of its employees stole training materials from a previous employer neither located in nor conducting business in Ohio.
Court: USDC Northern District of Ohio, Judge: Lioi, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 5:22cv311, NOS: Copyrights - Property Rights, Categories: Copyright, Jurisdiction
J. Huddle finds the court of appeals improperly ruled against a real estate developer in a negligence suit filed by a firm. In 2018, after the suit was dismissed, the firm went on to refile its suit against the developer, asserting that the statute of limitations had paused while it corrected defects in its legal case. The court of appeals ruled against the developer’s motion for summary judgment and assertion that the statute of limitations had expired on the case. The firm’s defect in its original suit was not one that allowed for the limitations to be paused, therefore their time to re-litigate the case has passed. Reversed.
Court: Texas Supreme Court, Judge: Huddle, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 21-0797, Categories: Civil Procedure, Real Estate
J. Kuntz rules in favor of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation on a lawsuit brought by the Unkechauge Indian Nation for equitable relief that seeks to challenge the agency’s statutory authority over their people’s right to freely fish in waterways located upon its reservation lands, arguing it violates their sovereign and religious rights. The agency had requisitioned citizens’ fishing equipment and issued criminal summonses in an effort to curtail overfishing of the American eel, whose populations over the years has dropped significantly since the 1990s. Precedent holds that indigenous communities are not immunized from reasonable, non-discriminatory regulations related to conservation efforts.
Court: USDC Eastern District of New York, Judge: Kuntz, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 2:18cv1132, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment, Native Americans
J. Khalsa partially grants an art group’s motion for summary judgment on claims that it improperly used work by the suing artist for “marketing and promotion.” While genuine issues do still exist in this case over alleged infringement are not appropriate for summary judgment at this time, there is “undisputed evidence” that at least at one point, the artist understood and approved that this work would be used for marketing and promotion, including the fact that she interacted approvingly with social media posts from the company regarding the art work.
Court: USDC New Mexico, Judge: Khalsa, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 1:20cv237, NOS: Copyrights - Property Rights, Categories: Copyright, Contract
J. Crenshaw grants, in part, the law enforcement parties' motion for summary judgment in a case involving a hold that was placed on a crashed vehicle. The vehicle owner's due process claims against the sheriff and the deputy in their individual capacities fail to overcome their qualified immunity defense.
Court: USDC Middle District of Tennessee , Judge: Crenshaw, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv33, NOS: Housing/Accommodations - Civil Rights, Categories: Property, Immunity, Due Process
Per curiam, the circuit finds that the district court improperly dismissed breach of contract claims brought after cash went missing when plaintiff's safe deposit box was drilled open without permission because lease provisions would have protected forced entry, and the subsequent discovery of lost cash plausibly established negligent conduct.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 22-1088, Categories: Negligence, Contract