190 results for 'court:"USDC Eastern District of North Carolina"'.
J. Boyle grants the North Carolina and National Wildlife Federations’ motions to intervene in this litigation where a businessman moved for preliminary injunctions against the federal Department of Environmental Protection after it expanded the Clean Water Act that allegedly threatens the businessman’s seafood company. Initially, the businessman objected to the federations joining the department’s party, but has since changed his mind. Since the federations timely moved to intervene and have a vested interest in the litigation, they are allowed to join.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Boyle, Filed On: May 16, 2024, Case #: 2:24cv13, NOS: Administrative Procedure Act/Review or Appeal of Agency Decision - Other Suits, Categories: Administrative Law, Environment
J. Dever dismisses with prejudice a user of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, who sued X and owner Elon Musk for damages and loss of wages and moving expenses after the user quit his job and moved his family to Florida to compete for the $100 million XPRIZE Gigaton CO2 Removal contest. When the user didn’t win the prize, he suspected that other X users hacked his computer, and he says X and Musk are responsible for not having warned him of these dangerous individuals. The user presents no credible evidence for his claims.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 7:24cv81, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Corporations, Tort, Damages
J. Dever dismisses with prejudice a couple’s race discrimination allegations against their credit union after a check for over $12,000 bounced when their wedding venue tried to cash it. The couple claims the money was in the account, but that an employee marked the check as insufficient funds because the couple is Black. However, the couple produces no evidence beyond speculation, and their claim fails.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv141, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Banking / Lending
J. Boyle grants Meta Platforms’ motion to dismiss federal privacy law violation allegations brought by a class of North Carolina drivers. Members of the class claim that Meta illegally accessed private driver’s license and vehicle information from the state’s motor vehicle website, then used the data to target them for advertising. However, while the website contains said information, it is publicly accessible.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Boyle, Filed On: May 10, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv509, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: Corporations, Privacy, Technology
J. Dever grants a multi-level marketing company and three of its corporate officers’ motions to compel arbitration following allegations of defamation, battery and contractual interference brought by a former independent business owner. The owner contracted with the company to sell its products. He expressed concern that the company was not investigating its support of former Vice President Mike Pence with regard to the 2020 election. Conflicts between the owner and the three officers escalated until, at a baseball game where company staff attended together, the officers allegedly accosted him and accused him of being armed, “mentally ill,” and “of the Devil,” then called the police. The police then escorted him out of the park where he claims ten of them punched and kicked him, breaking his ribs. The owner is unopposed to the company moving for arbitration but disagrees that the individuals involved can arbitrate because they didn’t sign the contract between him and the company. However, the individuals are affiliated with the company and can therefore compel arbitration.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv442, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Arbitration, Defamation, Interference With Contract
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J. Dever dismisses an appeal made by two shareholders who unknowingly invested money in unregistered securities a company sold them and later filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. When the company originally filed, the shareholders took no action, not initiating litigation until years later, although the company had been cleared of its actions including the securities in question. The company also repaid its debts, and the shareholders were heard and dismissed previously.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 5:21cv333, NOS: Bankruptcy Appeal 28 USC 158 - Bankruptcy, Categories: Bankruptcy, Securities
J. Flanagan grants a generator production company’s partial dismissal in this product liability class action brought by an ice cream truck driver who was chemically burned when the truck’s gasoline tank malfunctioned. The driver argues the company knew the tanks were faulty, claiming fraud by omission. Because the driver fails to give sufficient information as to when the company supposedly began hiding this information, and because he does not point to any specific way that the company tried to hide information, this part of his claim fails.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Flanagan, Filed On: May 1, 2024, Case #: 7:23cv1329, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Fraud, Product Liability, Contract
J. Flanagan denies one faction of a high school’s alumni association’s motion for an extension of time in an already-lengthy trademark infringement case it brought against a second faction. The first faction has repeatedly gone against court procedures by entering multiple amendments to their complaints without permission and refusing to hire new counsel after their first attorney withdrew. Also, the second faction’s motion to dismiss is granted.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Flanagan, Filed On: May 1, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv321, NOS: Trademark - Property Rights, Categories: Civil Procedure, Trademark
J. Flanagan grants an IT management company’s motion for summary judgment following allegations of race discrimination and wrongful termination brought by a former manager. The manager, a Black man originally from Haiti, argues that his white male supervisor did not promote him but promoted another white man, instead placing the manager in a newly created role instead. However, the supervisor correctly argues that the manager did not have the skill set for those positions, and the manager accepted the role offered. The manager also fails to present any evidence of race discrimination or sufficient evidence for wrongful termination after he resigned.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Flanagan, Filed On: April 23, 2024, Case #: 5:22cv345, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Flanagan grants a municipality’s motion to dismiss wrongful termination and gender and race discrimination allegations brought by a former parks and recreation director. The director, a Black woman, alleges that after a series of discussions and emails regarding her conduct, her supervisors became increasingly hostile and fired her without warning or explanation. She makes reference to several other employees’ actions that did not result in their termination, but the information she provides is too vague to proceed under a Title VII claim.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Flanagan, Filed On: April 23, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv630, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Flanagan partially denies Aramark’s motion to dismiss allegations of discrimination and retaliation brought by a former office assistant and cashier after Aramark fired him. The assistant claims that based on his age and race, Aramark did not give him proper training, then refused to rehire him in the next academic year “because of COVID.” The assistant alleges this excuse is pretext for discrimination after he had emailed Aramark detailing various incidents of harassment he experienced at work, and had filed for a right to sue with the EEOC. His retaliation claims under Title VII therefore will proceed.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Flanagan, Filed On: April 22, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv200, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Dever grants the U.S. Department of Commerce’s motion to dismiss antitrust and tort claims brought by a former patent examiner. The examiner alleges that the department, her former employer, was unfair in its performance reviews and removed credit for the work she did for it, thereby damaging her career. However, her claims must by dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because the department retains sovereign immunity.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: April 22, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv495, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: Antitrust, Tort, Immunity
J. Dever denies an electric company’s motion for judgment on the pleadings for breach of contract allegations it brought against its insurance firm after the company’s owner crashed his boat into another, killing three people. The owner, who was not engaged in business while driving his boat intoxicated, was not covered in this case because the insurance only applies to his business endeavors. For the same reason, the estates of the three people who died fail in their attempt to sue the firm for damages and funeral expenses.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: April 22, 2024, Case #: 7:22cv78, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Contract
J. Flanagan grants a community college’s motion to dismiss allegations of fraud and Fifth Amendment violations brought by a barber academy. The academy’s owner claims the college pressured him to give up his barbering license after it was suspended because the college could not get a barber school license without owning a barber school, and the owner did own one. Then, someone from the college allegedly sent the college’s board a fraudulent application, falsely claiming that the college owned the barber school on the owner’s property. However, the claims against individuals these for actions, all apparently committed before 2014, are time-barred. Claims against the college and board are dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Flanagan, Filed On: April 19, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv80, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Constitution, Fraud, Jurisdiction
J. Devers dismisses a motorcycle dealer as a party to this suit and affirms the other parties’ claim that the dealer was fraudulently added. A couple bought a motorcycle elsewhere and noticed it was leaking oil, then took it to the dealer for repair. After a successful repair, the couple crashed when part of the braking system failed, killing the wife and causing serious injury to the husband. The other parties argue the husband and his wife’s executrix added the dealer to foil diversity jurisdiction because they could not claim negligence against the dealer. They then tried to remand the suit, but as they are found to have fraudulently added the dealer, and because diversity jurisdiction still exists, the dealer is dismissed and the motion to remand is denied.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: April 15, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv591, NOS: Personal Injury - Product Liability - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Fraud, Product Liability, Jurisdiction
J. Dever grants a hospice care company’s motion to dismiss False Claims Act (FCA) allegations brought by a former home hospice case manager. The manager claims the company committed Medicare fraud by falsely reporting hospice patients’ medical conditions in order to recertify them. However, as this is a qui tam claim and other managers already initiated similar actions previously, the FCA’s first-to-file rule applies and the manager’s suit is barred.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: 7:20cv90, NOS: False Claims Act - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Fraud, Health Care, Medicare
J. Dever dismisses with prejudice a former police chief’s motion to amend his complaint against a municipality and certain of its staff members, alleging they discriminated against him because he is Hispanic and blind in one eye. For instance, the town manager allegedly micromanaged the chief and made racist comments to him, such as “[you] should learn to dance the salsa.” The chief also cites not having been given a pay increase at the same time as others in similar positions, although he previously fought this and succeeded. He also claims constructive discharge based on his negative experiences, but the behavior of the manager and others does not rise to the level of discrimination under the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv446, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Equal Protection, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Dever grants in part a ticket booking firm’s motion to dismiss allegations of breach of contract and fraudulent inducement, among others, brought by the organizer of the Voices of America Country Music Festival. The organizer claims that the firm created over 5,000 duplicate tickets and over 1,800 duplicate parking passes, valued at over $1.4 million total. This is a clear breach of contract, but the firm presents sufficient evidence that its errors were unintentional, so all other claims are dismissed.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv676, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Fraud, Trade, Contract
J. Dever grants a recycling processor’s motion to dismiss three out of four race discrimination allegations brought by a former recycling truck driver. The driver, a Black man, witnessed the processor’s supervisor randomly shooting a gun at trees, trash and other things at the facility and making racist comments, such as that he would “shoot any nigger, I don’t give a fuck,” in addition to using another slur at work. Later, the driver’s direct supervisor said he was being terminated for “poor job performance,” although previously he'd been rated as doing an excellent job. Then, the processor claimed the driver abandoned his job. The driver claims the processor’s supervisor recommended he be fired to the driver’s direct supervisor, but he provides only speculation about this. However, his claim of a racially hostile work environment will proceed.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv601, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Boyle denies a mall property owner’s and security firm’s motions to transfer the venue of this case to the Middle District of North Carolina; the suit involves negligence claims brought by a patron who was shot in the crossfire during a robbery. The owner and firm, both foreign entities, claim that the patron fraudulently added the North Carolinian armed robbers to this action, but they have failed to demonstrate this. This case is remanded to Durham County Superior Court for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Boyle, Filed On: April 8, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv210, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Tort, Negligence, Jurisdiction