151 results for 'filedAt:"2024-04-04"'.
J. Currault awards sanctions of $9,000 in attorney fees and costs to three health care companies and against a collective suit of patient-care employees alleging violations of federal labor laws, including overtime and mealtime. Although the health care companies sought $18,000 for the employees’ alleged violations of discovery rules, that was reduced due to the use of “block billing,” which made ‘“it impossible for the court to determine the reasonableness of the hours spent on each task’.”
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Currault, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 2:20cv1515, NOS: Fair Labor Standards Act - Labor, Categories: Civil Procedure, Discovery, Attorney Fees
J. Pritzker finds that defendant was improperly convicted of robbery when his case was returned to the county district attorney for prosecution after being referred to special prosecutor. The initial shift was necessitated by a conflict of interest in the DA's office, but no reason was given as to why the conflict no longer existed. Thus, the indictment must be dismissed without prejudice so a new special prosecutor can be named to present the case to another grand jury. Reversed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Pritzker, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 111109, Categories: Criminal Procedure
J. Aarons finds that defendant was properly convicted of menacing and drug and weapon possession after a search of his apartment uncovered marijuana and cocaine following his arrest for pointing a gun at his then-girlfriend and her children. Defendant contends the weight of the evidence did not support constructive possession, but he admitted the gun and marijuana were his and that he lived in the apartment in which the cocaine had been found. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Aarons, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 112513, Categories: Drug Offender, Evidence
J. Weissmann finds that the trial court properly held that Hoosier Jews for Choice have standing in claims challenging state abortion restrictions on religious grounds because the Hoosier Jews demonstrated the restrictions have caused them harm, as they have been forced to alter sexual and/or reproductive behavior; meanwhile, the court properly held that their inability to access abortions infringed their religious freedoms, as one anonymous plaintiff's beliefs include that "life begins when a child takes their first breath after birth" and that a pregnant woman's life "must take precedence over the potential for life embodied in a fetus," while another anonymous plaintiff, who lacks affiliations with a particular religion and does not believe in a single god, believes in a "supernatural force or power in the universe that connects all humans" and that "we are endowed with bodily autonomy." The claims may proceed as a class action, but the court's injunction must be narrowed so as not to allow valid applications of the restrictions to be blocked. Affirmed.
Court: Indiana Court Of Appeals, Judge: Weissmann, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 22A-PL-2938, Categories: Civil Rights, Injunction
[Consolidated.] Per curiam, the circuit finds on remand that the district court improperly dismissed contract claims brought by high-ranking employees who had been fired from their jobs with a big city school district because the women's internship certificates had been discounted as meeting professional requirements for leadership roles under their employment agreements, even when state education overseers opined that the certificates rendered them qualified, raising questions of fact better left to trial.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 22-2810, Categories: Education, Employment, Contract
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J. Snauffer finds that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to recalculate defendant's maximum term of commitment for a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity to stalking and criminal threat charges. The rule that a trial court is deprived of jurisdiction to recalculate the sentence for a defendant who has begun serving time also applies to a recalculation of the term of commitment for a defendant whose period of commitment has commenced. Reversed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Snauffer, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: F085699, Categories: Threats, Jurisdiction, Commitment
J. Reyna finds that the district court properly ruled in this dispute over patents for a "method and system for fast access to advanced visualization of medical scans using a dedicated web portal" because the asserted claims are tied to an abstract idea, and the company failed to establish the idea may be converted into a patent-eligible invention. Affirmed.
Court: Federal Circuit, Judge: Reyna, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 2022-2109, Categories: Patent
J. Hughes finds that the court of international trade properly ruled in this antidumping dispute because evidence indicates U.S. Steel did not reimburse an affiliated U.S. importer for antidumping duties. Affirmed.
Court: Federal Circuit, Judge: Hughes, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 22-2078, Categories: Commerce, Trade
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that attorney Gemma Marilyn Antoine-Belton should be suspended for 60 days for misconduct in the District of Columbia that led to a 30-day suspension and a one-year period of probation. Antoine-Belton, who acknowledged that she failed to provide competent representation while serving as guardian and conservator to an incapacitated adult, was also suspended for 30 days in Pennsylvania for the misconduct and was immediately suspended in Maryland while a disciplinary action remains pending in that state.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: PM-55-24, Categories: Attorney Discipline
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that attorney Benjamin Michael Saul of Washington, D.C., may be reinstated after resigning in 2013 for lack of business in New York, as Saul proved he satisfied required continuing legal education requirements and remained in good standing in other jurisdictions.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: PM-59-24, Categories: Attorney Discipline
J. Quinn finds in this restricted appeal that the lower court properly entered an order establishing the parent-child relationship. The pro se appellant fails to show "error apparent on the face of the record." He waived his complaint regarding personal jurisdiction, and his "objections to subject matter jurisdiction are baseless." Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Quinn, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 07-23-00394-CV, Categories: Family Law, Jurisdiction
J. Oliver finds that the trial court should have dismissed felony aggravated assault charges against defendant for a domestic violence incident with his brother-in-law on double jeopardy grounds. After the first day of trial the initial judge realized he was defendant's distant relative through marriage, so the presiding judge of the district recused him. The initial judge then discharged the jury and declared a mistrial. But since the initial judge had been disqualified, and he failed to provide the parties an opportunity to object to jury discharge as required under the legal necessity exception to double jeopardy, those acts were taken without authority and the mistrial functioned as an acquittal. Where a judge is disqualified after a trial has begun, either the reviewing judge or the newly assigned judge must first address whether to declare a mistrial and then decide whether the discharge the jury. Reversed.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Oliver, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 20221076-CA, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Double Jeopardy, Domestic Violence
J. Orme finds that the trial court properly held that a traffic collision case was barred by a two-year statute of limitations of the Governmental Immunity Act. A driver argued she was unaware that the garbage truck she collided with had government status and that the statute of limitations had been tolled until she found out. But she was notified soon after the collision that the truck was owned by a waste and recycling district and insured by "Government Trust," which gave her early knowledge that the garbage truck was operated by a governmental entity, and any uncertainty could have been cleared up with a direct inquiry. Affirmed.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Orme, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 20221054-CA, Categories: Immunity, Negligence
J. Oldham finds the bankruptcy court improperly held the company in civil contempt and ordered it to pay $239,000 in compensatory damages. The capital management company filed for bankruptcy and its founder objected to a $300 million unsecured claim settlement. The founder filed suit in the district court through another of his companies, alleging the company involved in bankruptcy withheld material information and engaged in self-dealing related to the settlement. The other company then moved for leave to amend to add the bankruptcy restructuring officer as a defendant. The bankruptcy court found the motion constituted “pursu[it] of a claim” against the officer in violation of his order. Fees awarded to the company involved in bankruptcy bore no connection to redressing the other company's decision to file the motion in the wrong court. Vacated.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Oldham , Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 22-11036, Categories: Bankruptcy, Contempt, Sanctions
J. Bell finds the trial court improperly denied defendant's postconviction petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Defendant was convicted for multiple counts of sexual assault upon one person. His appellate counsel's omission of a sufficiency challenge fell below an objective standard in that he evoked precedent providing a change in sexual position is insufficient to show the acts constitute more than one offense without challenging the convictions for the same offense. Because the sufficiency challenge stood a reasonable probability of success, defendant was prejudiced by counsel's omission. Reversed in part.
Court: Nevada Supreme Court, Judge: Bell , Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 85887, Categories: Evidence, Ineffective Assistance, Sex Offender
J. Hudson finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for manslaughter. It is undisputed defendant stabbed the victim to death, suspecting him of having a sexual relationship with his girlfriend. Though defendant asserted self-defense, he sustained no significant injury. Defendant's claim the trial court did not have jurisdiction, being he is a member of the Osage Nation, no case he cites overrules precedent that the Osage reservation was disestablished by congress. Possible jury privacy infringements from security video of deliberation are not structural but are subject to a rebuttable presumption of prejudice. The state aptly rebutted this. Affirmed.
Court: Oklahoma Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Hudson , Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: F-2022-208, Categories: Jury, Manslaughter, Jurisdiction
J. Fisher finds that the lower court properly allowed the custodial father to relocate with this three children to New Jersey and to temporarily suspend the mother's telephone contact with one child until therapeutic visitation could begin. The mother claimed ineffective assistance, but the record showed she received meaningful representation. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Fisher, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: CV-22-2002, Categories: Family Law
J. Mackey finds that the lower court properly terminated a mother's parental rights on grounds that she abandoned her son, who had been in foster care since soon after birth. The mother contends due process violations occurred since the abandonment hearing had been held in her absence, but she had been aware of the hearing date, at which her attorney provided "zealous" representation. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Mackey, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: CV-22-2182, Categories: Civil Procedure, Family Law
J. Lynch finds that the lower court properly issued a duplicate order appointing a substitute referee in foreclosure claims and directed that a sale be held within the year. The original order had not been entered and could not be located, and gubernatorial action during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic precluded residential foreclosures. Meanwhile, the homeowners were not prejudiced in the interim since they retained possession during the delay. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Lynch, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 535862, Categories: Civil Procedure, Foreclosure, Covid-19
J. Clark finds that the lower court properly held that a local Methodist congregation, which broke with the national church over revised views on human sexuality, could not turn its property over to a successor congregation following disaffiliation. The property was held in an implied trust for the benefit of the national church, as since its founding the local congregation had used the insignia of "Methodist" or "United Methodist" and had abided by various administrative requirements to remain an affiliate. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Clark, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: CV-23-1059, Categories: Property, Trusts