132 results for 'filedAt:"2024-02-26"'.
J. Robinson preserves certain claims for breach of fiduciary duty, constructive fraud, negligence and violations of the North Carolina Securities Act in this lawsuit between 16 aging investors and related financial groups that allegedly recommended bad investments to the investors. Some of those allegations are well made, while others fail to warrant relief.
Court: North Carolina Business Court, Judge: Robinson, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 2024-NCBC-10, Categories: Fraud, Securities, Fiduciary Duty
J. Buchanan finds that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment to an insurer that refused to defend and indemnify a policyholder's adult child who was in a traffic collision. The policy was still in effect for the adult child because the insurer was required to give all named insureds under the policy, not just the policyholder, advance notice of policy cancellation. Reversed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Buchanan, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: D081431, Categories: Insurance
J. Witt finds the lower court properly sentenced defendant. Defendant pleaded guilty to second degree murder and attempted second degree murder, and received an effective 40-year sentence to be served consecutive to sentences he received for prior convictions. The effective sentence consisted of 40 years for the second degree murder conviction and 30 years for the attempted second degree murder conviction, running concurrently. Despite defendant’s claim that his sentence is illegal and that he should have received consecutive sentences for the two convictions rather than the effective 40-years he received, the instant court finds his sentence legal and he is not entitled to relief. Affirmed.
Court: Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Witt, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: M2023-00948-CCA-R3-CD, Categories: Murder, Sentencing
J. Campbell finds the lower court properly revoked defendant’s probation, but improperly ordered him to serve his original sentence in confinement. Defendant was placed on probation after he pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted aggravated sexual battery. He was required to register as a sex offender and serve concurrent 10-year sentences on supervised probation. Defendant violated the terms of his probation when he was arrested and subsequently pleaded guilty to driving under the influence. As a result of the probation violation, the lower court revoked his probation and ordered him to serve his original 10-year sentence in confinement. Defendant argues the confinement order is excessive and he should have been placed back on supervised probation. The instant court finds the record lacks sufficient information to conduct a proper review, as the lower court failed to reason why it ordered defendant to confinement. The matter is remanded to the lower court for further consideration. Affirmed in part.
Court: Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Campbell, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: W2023-01111-CCA-R3-CD, Categories: Probation, Sentencing, Sex Offender
J. Major grants the children's motion for limited discovery concerning claims that San Diego County violated their father's civil rights by failing to prevent him from dying from pneumonia, malnutrition and dehydration while incarcerated. The county must produce surveillance video of decedent in the 72 hours leading up to his death. The children already have the names of the officers in the video, so protecting their identity is not an issue. The county has failed to explain why a protective order regarding the video would be insufficient to protect any contemplated harm.
Court: USDC Southern District of California, Judge: Major, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv1357, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Wrongful Death, Discovery
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J. Branch finds that the district court improperly approved a class action settlement resolving three actions by consumers against the sunglasses manufacturer for allegedly deceptive warranty and repair policies. The settlement was valued at approximately $32 million. The named plaintiffs lacked standing to pursue injunctive relief because they did not allege any threat of future injury from the manufacturer's repair cost misrepresentations. The district court therefore incorrectly considered the injunctive relief's value in its determination that the settlement was fair and reasonable. Vacated.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Branch, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 22-10663, Categories: Settlements, Class Action
J. Hamilton finds that the lower court properly awarded the business venture $15,000 after excluding most of its theories and evidence for lost-profits damages based on the city's opposition to its plans to open an adult entertainment business. The owner's calculations of estimated lost profits were based on another adult entertainment venue's profits, but significant differences between the two businesses make the comparison legally insufficient to support this method. Further, the court correctly sanctioned the business for discovery disclosure failures. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Hamilton, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 22-3194, Categories: Damages, Business Expectancy, Discovery
J. Poochigian finds that the trial court improperly redesignated defendant's murder conviction as a burglary conviction in response to his resentencing petition, and must redesignate it as an attempted robbery conviction. Robbery, not burglary, was the underlying felony of his felony-murder conviction. Reversed
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Poochigian, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: F086065, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Murder, Sentencing
J. Boyle grants an Army officer’s motion to dismiss allegations of harassment brought by a soldier support worker after the worker refused to give the officer a requested file. The worker filed an EEOC complaint after the officer supposedly threatened her position for refusing to give the officer a requested file. The worker was subsequently fired. However, as the officer is a federal employee, she correctly claims sovereign immunity, so the claim lacks subject-matter jurisdiction.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Boyle, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv430, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: Employment, Immigration, Jurisdiction
J. Johnson affirms the district court's finding that the five-year-old is in need of protection or services because of his parents' refusal to continue his chemotherapy treatment, along with the court's orders requiring that treatment and placing the child with his grandmother. Regardless of whether the child's leukemia was "active" at time of trial, the child had a cancerous condition that required treatment, and the county provided sufficient grounds for its contention that chemotherapy was "necessary" or "required" care. The district court's orders requiring chemotherapy also do not violate the parents' constitutional rights to care, custody and control of the child, since the best interests of the child are served by "a treatment plan that is likely to save his life rather than an unspecified alternative plan that is likely to result in his death." Placing the child with the grandmother, with whom the parents are also allowed to reside, subject to conditions, is also justified by a statute requiring that children in temporary protective custody be placed "in the least restrictive setting," and "in closest proximity to the child's family as possible." Affirmed.
Court: Minnesota Court Of Appeals, Judge: Johnson, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: A23-1176, Categories: Civil Rights, Family Law
J. Schmidt reverses the district court's denial of the child's motion for release from a juvenile detention center. The issue of the child's detention is moot, but can be adjudicated under an exception to the mootness doctrine because it is capable of repetition while evading review. Minnesota law also does not authorize counties to hold a nondelinquent child in secure detention facilities for longer than 24 hours, regardless of the county's contention that it is the least restrictive setting that meets the child's health and welfare needs. Reversed.
Court: Minnesota Court Of Appeals, Judge: Schmidt, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: A23-1199, Categories: Civil Rights, Family Law
J. Austin denies the city's motion to alter or amend judgment in the property owners' suit alleging breaches of contracts associated with redevelopment of a shopping center, along with the property owners' motion for attorney fees and costs. The city's contention that the property owners' agreement to sell to a third party did not constitute "valuable consideration" for the city's own agreement with the property owners because the third-party agreement preexisted the city's agreement fails, since there is no evidence in the record establishing that the property owners entered into any binding agreement to sell before signing their agreement with the city. The city's defense against the property owners' claims, however, was not without substantial justification, nor was its assertion of counterclaims.
Court: USDC South Carolina Aiken, Judge: Austin, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 7:20cv1305, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Fraud, Municipal Law, Contract
J. Robart grants the widower's motion for sanctions in his complaint alleging that the advertising agency and the radio program host used the copyrighted works of the widower's deceased wife, who was an author and media personality, without permission. The radio program host did not answer the widower's discovery requests for 11 months, and their counsel only said that the radio program host simply missed the electronic service, which is not an adequate response.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Robart, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv5238, NOS: Copyrights - Property Rights, Categories: Copyright, Sanctions, Discovery
J. Martinez declines to dismiss the claims under Oregon’s Unlawful Trade Practices Act and California’s Unfair Competition Law in the consumers' class action claiming that Amazon prevented them from unsubscribing from Audible and other Amazon services with overly complex cancellation procedures and by not explaining the terms of its automatic renewal programs. The consumers prove their prime facie case because the states' automatic renewal laws require businesses to give consumers a “timely, and easy to-use-mechanism for cancellation” in the acknowledgements, and the consumers show multiple instances where they struggled to cancel their subscriptions either by phone or online.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Martinez, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 2:22cv910, NOS: Other Fraud - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: Fraud, Consumer Law, Class Action
J. Boggs finds the lower court erroneously granted the scrap metal recycling facility's motion for a prescriptive easement over the parcel of land owned by Norfolk Southern. The facility's claims are preempted by federal law. Although the recycler claims it does not want exclusive control over the parcel, the land is fenced in and inaccessible to the railroad without a key to the gate, which renders any taking by the company an unreasonable burden on railroading; therefore, the easement is rescinded and the case remanded. Reversed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Boggs, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 22-4037, Categories: Property, Preemption, Transportation
J. Rodriguez dismisses contract claims in which a land developer contends a political subdivision unlawfully commingled capital facilities payments with funds collected for general administrative expenses because state statute does not prohibit the subdivision from depositing fees into a joint account.
Court: USDC Colorado, Judge: Rodriguez, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv1351, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Contract
J. Vilardo declines to stay claims contending debt collectors used threats and misrepresentations to coerce payments from consumers. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on the agency's funding structure this summer, but the agency has an interest in enforcing consumer protection laws, and performing discovery prior to the court ruling would not be unduly burdensome.
Court: USDC Western District of New York, Judge: Vilardo , Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv29, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: Civil Procedure, Debt Collection, Discovery
Per curiam, the circuit finds that the district court improperly held that partial tuition reimbursement was owed to parents who enrolled their autistic daughter in private school after the public school failed to meet her special needs because a separate analysis had not occurred before accepting the hearing officer's findings, which were entered without determining whether private placement met the girl's needs.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 22-2636, Categories: Education
J. Pepper approves the $46,827 collective and class action settlement in the caregiver's lawsuit claiming the nursing home company failed to pay her and other caregivers proper overtime wages. The caregiver's unopposed motions for $40,811 in attorney fees and a $1,500 class representative incentive award are granted, and the caregiver's counsel is ordered to distribute settlement checks to class members within 10 days of receiving them from the company.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Wisconsin, Judge: Pepper, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 2:21cv108, NOS: Fair Labor Standards Act - Labor, Categories: Employment, Settlements, Class Action
J. Azrack orders a new trial for a landlord’s First Amendment retaliation claims. A jury awarded him $76,550 in damages after finding a municipality on the southern shore of Long Island violated his rights when the commissioner for its planning and development department filed four civil lawsuits against him and denied his rental permit applications for his four rental properties after he voiced opposition to how the town served criminal summonses and its refusal to grant his applications. The court finds the jury’s verdict lacks legal support and ruled against the weight of the evidence.
Court: USDC Eastern District of New York, Judge: Azrack, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 2:12cv5434, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Jury, First Amendment
J. Fallon dismisses patent infringement claims concerning an air traffic control warning system for low fuel levels in airplanes because the inventor already sued Boeing for the same technology in 2021, and new evidence was not sufficient in claims alleging improper inventorship.
Court: USDC Delaware, Judge: Fallan, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv317, NOS: Patent - Property Rights, Categories: Patent
J. Usman finds the lower court properly terminated the parental rights of a mother to her two children on grounds of abandonment by failure to visit, abandonment by failure to support, failure to manifest an ability and willingness to assume custody, and that it is in the children’s best interest. The mother and father have been divorced for over a decade, and the children have lived exclusively with their father and stepmother since 2009. The lower court found the mother’s employment history to be spotty, she lacked stable housing, and has been in a violent relationship with a boyfriend for approximately nine years. The lower court did not err in its decision to terminate the parental rights of the mother and grant stepparent adoption to the stepmother. Affirmed.
Court: Tennessee Court of Appeals, Judge: Usman, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: M2023-00279-COA-R3-PT, Categories: Family Law
J. Wyrick partially grants the defendant company's dismissal motion in this case stemming from the company's implementation of a Covid-19 vaccine mandate. The pro se plaintiff, who claims that he was terminated from his employment after objecting to the requirement, alleges religious discrimination against the company. However, his Title VII claim is dismissed with prejudice, and his state law claims are remanded to state court.
Court: USDC Western District of Oklahoma , Judge: Wyrick, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv497, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Health Care, Employment Discrimination
J. Milazzo denies summary judgment to a white police officer on his request for immunity from excessive force claims by two black men. They were seriously injured when he fired four shots into a silver Camaro, one of three cars that had been “doing donuts” on the lakefront. Taking together the assumptions the two men were attempting to flee the parking lot to evade arrest, were under suspicion of reckless driving - a relatively minor crime - and the officer was not in immediate harm, a jury could reasonably find the degree of force used the officer was not reasonable.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Milazzo, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 2:21cv333, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Evidence, Immunity, Police Misconduct