169 results for 'filedAt:"2023-08-18"'.
J. Smith dismisses an appeal brought by the Texas Comptroller in a royalties case brought by the stakeholders of a property’s mineral rights. The comptroller initially sought to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction, which the trial court denied and the court of appeals affirmed. Now, on appeal from the trial court’s second denial of the same request, the comptroller again argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss. The comptroller’s second appeal fails to raise a new issue under which an appeal would be warranted.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 03-21-00414-CV, Categories: Government, Jurisdiction
J. Boulee grants the nonprofit organizations' motion for a preliminary injunction seeking to block county officials from enforcing a provision of Georgia's voting law, S.B. 202, allowing absentee ballots to be rejected for errors or omissions relating to a birthdate requirement on ballot return envelopes. The birthdate is immaterial to determining whether the voter is qualified to vote and is only used to verify the voter's identity. The organizations established a likelihood of success on their claim that the requirement violates the materiality provision of the Civil Rights Act. A voter's injury arising from the rejection of a ballot due to a missing birthdate is traceable to a county official because county officials are responsible for accepting or rejecting absentee ballots. However, the motion is denied as to state officials because they are not involved in the process of accepting or rejecting absentee ballots.
Court: USDC Northern District of Georgia, Judge: Boulee, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv1259, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Elections
J. Minor finds that the lower court properly resentenced defendant to life imprisonment without parole following a capital murder conviction. Defendant, who was under the age of 18 at the time of the crime, fails to show that the lower court abused its discretion in assessing his statements of remorse. He is also due no relief as to the victim-impact evidence or his argument that the sentence is "unconstitutionally disproportionate." Additionally, the sentence of life imprisonment without parole is not "disproportionate when compared to other cases." Affirmed.
Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Minor, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: CR-20-0654, Categories: Juvenile Law, Murder, Sentencing
J. Goodwine finds that defendant was improperly convicted of speeding at 26 miles per hour or more over the speed limit because the district court should not have engaged in the lesser charge with defense counsel without the commonwealth's knowledge. Reversed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Goodwine, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 2022-CA-0985-DG, Categories: Negligence
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J. Grimes finds that the trial court properly interpreted statute to conclude that a conservator cannot require an insurer to undertake an emergency mental health assessment of an insured conservatee. The assessment process may only be initiated by peace officers and certain designated professionals, and an assessment is not triggered until the conservatee is in custody or under medical care for an emergency medical condition. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Grimes, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: B318650, Categories: Commitment
J. Branch finds that the district court properly ruled in favor of the government in a negligence action brought by estate representatives alleging that the actions of air traffic controllers caused the deaths of student pilots and passengers on two airplanes which collided mid-air. The district court correctly found that the air traffic controllers did not owe or breach any duty of care to the pilots because the planes were outside the air traffic control tower's airspace. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Branch, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 22-12316, Categories: Negligence, Aviation
J. Delaney finds the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress evidence obtained from a search of his vehicle. The police officer's search of his license plate in a database returned a wanted result that gave the officer probable cause to initiate a traffic stop. Meanwhile, the trial court made all required findings before it imposed consecutive sentences, which fell within the relevant statutory range and, therefore, were not unreasonable. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Delaney, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-2897, Categories: Search, Sentencing, Vehicle
J. Stegner finds that the district court properly granted summary judgment to a commercial tenant, requiring a property owner to honor the tenant's lease option to purchase the property. A declaration by the the tenant that the owner never provided notice of default was properly admitted, and the record shows the owner waived their rights to impose late fees. However, the trial court erred when it awarded the owners a credit for loss of use of the purchase price during litigation, and the tenant is entitled to an equitable award if it can show that the delay in purchasing the property increased its costs. Reversed in part.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Stegner, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 49094, Categories: Property, Contract
J. Salter finds that the circuit court improperly denied attorney fees for a daughter's efforts to vindicate her father’s intent concerning the creation of two trusts prior to the father's death in 2018 for litigation efforts to obtain a homestead. However, the circuit court correctly determined that
attorney fees were not authorized for other efforts to reform a land trust and retire the mortgage debt sooner. Affirmed in part.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Salter , Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 2023SD44, Categories: Property, Wills / Probate
J. Barbier denies DuPont’s motion to dismiss the federal government’s environmental lawsuit against it over a neoprene manufacturing facility on its property, leased to another firm. The government says the plant’s chloroprene emission rates pose an “imminent danger” to public health in communities surrounding it. DuPont unsuccessfully argued that the court lacked jurisdiction over “hypothetical allegations” that DuPont may interfere with the chemical plant’s compliance with orders to reduce pollution emissions at the facility. The court disagrees; the mere fact that DuPont is in a position to frustrate a potential court order is sufficient reason for the inclusion of DuPont as the landlord in the government’s environmental lawsuit and for the court to retain jurisdiction in the case.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Barbier, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv735, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment, Government, Jurisdiction
J. Chun mostly denies the vessel owner's motion to dismiss the marine fuel logistics company's claims alleging the owner did not pay the company for the vessel's fuel. The marine fuel logistics company states a plausible claim for unjust enrichment under Canadian law because Canpotex Shipping Services' alleged failure to pay prevented the marine fuel logistics company from receiving compensation for the bunker fuel it delivered, satisfying a condition to apply Canadian law.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Chun, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 2:15cv172, NOS: Marine - Contract, Categories: Admiralty, Choice Of Law, Contract
J. Engelmayer denies the government's motion to dismiss the minor's Federal Tort Claims Act claims alleging that the government wrongfully separated the minor from his father, both of whom are non-citizens, for five days in October 2018. More discovery is required to determine if the government and U.S. Border Patrol based their decision to house the father in a facility without the child due to his criminal history or due to the Zero Tolerance policy.
Court: USDC Southern District of New York, Judge: Engelmayer, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 1:20cv5747, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: Government, Immigration, Discovery
[Consolidated.] J. Parker finds that the lower court properly partitioned certain real property and required the payment of court costs. The appellant fails to show that the property division was unjust, as she actually was granted "a larger portion of the land than she was entitled to receive." Also, she did not appear at the hearing regarding court costs and failed to prove her "inability to afford costs." Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Parker, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 07-23-00041-CV, Categories: Evidence, Property, Real Estate
J. McCool finds that the lower court properly dismissed defendant's Rule 32 petition seeking post-conviction relief following his conviction for capital murder. He argues ineffective assistance of counsel in connection with "the presentation of a self-defense theory." However, he does not show that he was prejudiced by any allegedly deficient performance. Affirmed.
Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: McCool, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: CR-21-0148, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Murder, Self Defense
[Substitute opinion.] J. Stegner finds that testimony and a certified judgment of conviction in a previous case were sufficient for the district court to find that defendant had been convicted of a prior felony and therefore unlawfully possessed a firearm. Also, defendant received a persistent violator sentencing enhancement on the basis of a second felony which the district court then acknowledged had not been proven. The enhancement stands because defendant did not accept the district court offer of a new trial as a remedy. Affirmed.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Stegner, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 48825, Categories: Firearms, Sentencing
[Consolidated.] J. Boulee grants the renewed motions for preliminary injunction by the organizations and bars the officials from enforcing a provision of Georgia's voting law, S.B. 202, as it relates to initiating criminal prosecutions or imposing criminal penalties for passing out food and drinks to voters waiting in line at polling places. The organizations are likely to show that the practice known as "line relief" is expressive conduct under the First Amendment and that the ban on the practice is a content-based regulation of speech. There is evidence showing that reasonable people would interpret line relief efforts as conveying messages about community support. Long lines are likely to continue in the 2024 elections such that the groups will suffer irreparable injury without an injunction.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Boulee, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 1:21mi55555, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Elections, First Amendment
J. Regan finds that defendant was properly convicted of second degree murder, obstruction of justice, and two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. There was sufficient evidence to show that defendant was the shooter based on witness testimony. The witness was observed on surveillance footage standing next to the shooter. Further, the video surveillance showed the shooter firing the first gun at the victim nine times and shooting the second gun at the victim eight times. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Regan, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 22-KA-536, Categories: Evidence, Murder
J. Waples finds the trial court properly entered judgment in this dispute over the partition of jointly-owned property. The property could not be divided as proposed by the individual without causing "great inconvenience" to the other owner. Thus, the fair solution was to assign the property to the other owner and have him pay the individual for his share of the property. Affirmed.
Court: Vermont Supreme Court, Judge: Waples, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 23-AP-42, Categories: Property, Real Estate
[Consolidated.] Per curiam, the circuit finds that the district court improperly awarded $2 million in damages for trademark infringement against the licensed builder of a Laser sailboat. When the builder stopped paying royalties under the manufacturing agreement authenticating the boats as Bruce Kirby-designed Lasers, the builder should have been put on notice and given time to cure the default. On remand, the timeline should be given a closer look to determine when willful infringement occurred.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 21-519(L), Categories: Trademark, Contract
J. Broderick grants the construction company's motion to vacate the judgment in favor of the employee and also grants the construction company's motion for an enlargement of time to answer or respond to the complaint, which alleges that the construction company did not pay the employee overtime. The construction company did not willfully defy court proceedings as the company has a new owner who did not learn of the lawsuit's existence in time to respond, so default judgment is not appropriate.
Court: USDC Southern District of New York, Judge: Broderick, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 1:20cv1066, NOS: Fair Labor Standards Act - Labor, Categories: Employment, Labor
J. Sutton finds the IRS's issue of a tax refund check ended the lawsuit brought by the cryptocurrency producer and, therefore, the lower court properly dismissed the case as moot. The check was not an offer by the government that could have been rescinded or modified and, in fact, the IRS gave the cryptocurrency producer exactly the amount he requested in his lawsuit, plus interest. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 22-6023, Categories: Civil Procedure, Government, Tax
J. Theofanis finds that the trial court improperly ruled in part in a contract dispute between Austin JSB and Otwell Realty, real estate firms that share an easement. Otwell asserted that Austin JSB violated the terms of the easement by constructing a tram that allows access to a shoreline on the property. The trial court agreed and found that the tram was a violation of the contract. Reviewing the terms of the easement, it can be concluded that Austin did have a right to install the tram. However, Otwell was not statutorily required to seek a trespass-to-try-title, so the trial court did not err in such regard. Reversed in part.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Theofanis, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 03-22-00459-CV, Categories: Property, Real Estate, Contract
J. Pappert finds an administrative hearing officer properly determined that a school district offered appropriate education options to a disabled student, though the parents did not agree. As a result of the parents finding the district’s proposed plan unacceptable, they enrolled the student in a private school and seek tuition reimbursement. The administrative hearing officer deemed the plan appropriate and denied reimbursement; the instant court agrees. Affirmed.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Judge: Pappert, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv4080, NOS: Education - Civil Rights, Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act, Education, Due Process
J. Gottschall denies a banking services company’s motion to dismiss a construction company’s breach of contract claims against it, but grants its motion to transfer the case to the District of Southern Texas. The court finds that is a more appropriate venue for this contract dispute, as that is where the construction company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case is pending.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Gottschall, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv1449, NOS: Negotiable Instrument - Contract, Categories: Bankruptcy, Construction, Contract
J. Means finds Texas and other states lack standing to challenge the government’s denial of their rulemaking petition pertaining to definitions of what constitutes a public health emergency, in which the states argue the Department of Health and Human Services has handed over the country’s sovereignty to the World Health Organization. The states fail to show an injury in fact and, therefore, lack standing.
Court: USDC Northern District of Texas , Judge: Means, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 4:23cv66, NOS: Administrative Procedure Act/Review or Appeal of Agency Decision - Other Suits, Categories: Civil Procedure, Constitution, Government