175 results for 'filedAt:"2023-12-14"'.
J. Harris finds the trial court improperly found the claimed owner of an option to buy certain property was legally assigned the option from the owner. Other entities claiming to the option say the assignment was an invalid, fraudulent transfer and they own the option after purchasing it in an execution sale from a previous owner. The trial court’s fraudulent transfer analysis contained legal errors and an erroneous subsidiary factual finding regarding the previous owner's intent to hinder, delay or defraud its creditor. Vacated.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Harris , Filed On: December 14, 2023, Case #: 20220892-CA, Categories: Fraud, Property, Contract
J. Shah denies a maintenance product distributor’s motion for a preliminary injunction. The injunction would enforce a non-solicitation agreement against one of the distributor’s former employees, who after leaving the distributor to start a competitor, poached some of the distributor’s customers. The court finds that the distributor has not suffered harm necessitating an injunction, however, stating that the issue can be “adequately remedied through monetary damages.”
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Shah, Filed On: December 14, 2023, Case #: 1:23cv5314, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Employment, Contract, Injunction
J. Guerrero reverses the appeals court's decision affirming the juvenile court's removal of the child from the drug-addicted father. The California Supreme Court granted review to resolve the split of authority regarding the meaning of “substance abuse" within the Welfare and Institutions Code verses the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Neither definition is essential. The law at issue assigns “substance abuse” its ordinary meaning of excessive use of drugs or alcohol. Though professional diagnoses can be relevant to determining the existence of substance abuse, the statute does not require such proof. Reversed.
Court: California Supreme Court, Judge: Guerrero , Filed On: December 14, 2023, Case #: S274943, Categories: Family Law, Health Care, Guardianship
J. Johnson finds the trial court properly rendered judgment in favor of the purchasers of the home health care business. The purchasers filed suit against the seller alleging various breach of contract and fraud claims after discovering the company's financial condition was not what the seller had represented. All evidence is sufficient to support the fraud and breach of contract claims. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Johnson , Filed On: December 14, 2023, Case #: 09-21-00391-CV, Categories: Fraud, Business Expectancy, Contract
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J. Neeley finds the trial court improperly entered a proposed judgment by a beauty supply company's bookkeeper. The company terminated the bookkeeper and entered into a separation agreement before filing suit for breach of contract and negligent misrepresentation, accusing the bookkeeper of embezzling more than $600,000. Certain testimony is the only record evidence of the agreement and, therefore, no contract exists. Reversed in part.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Neeley , Filed On: December 14, 2023, Case #: 12-23-00050-CV, Categories: Negligence, Contract
J. Hoyle finds the trial court properly found for an ice cream restaurant on a negligent hiring claim filed by the parents of a 16-year-old female employee who had a sexual relationship with a 20-year-old male worker. The restaurant has effectively negated its duty; even if the restaurant failed to enforce its own policies, it would not create a negligence duty when none would otherwise exist. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Hoyle , Filed On: December 14, 2023, Case #: 12-23-00083-CV, Categories: Employment, Negligence
J. Worthen finds the trial court properly ordered the mental health patient be involuntarily administered psychoactive medication. A treating physician offered specific testimony regarding consequences, prognosis and the absence of less intrusive treatments that are likely to produce the same results as medications. There is clear and convincing, legally sufficient evidence to support the order. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Worthen , Filed On: December 14, 2023, Case #: 12-23-00243-CV, Categories: Civil Procedure, Health Care, Commitment
Per curiam, the circuit finds the trial court properly applied a 4-month upward sentencing variance on defendant's guilty plea conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Defendant's lengthy criminal history, including several violent offenses, supports the conclusion that the need to deter unlawful conduct and promote respect for the law warranted the small upward variance. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: December 14, 2023, Case #: 23-10389, Categories: Firearms, Sentencing
J. Willett dismisses the former nurse's appeal of her more than 20-year-old drug conviction. Though she has maintained her innocence of charges arising from police officers' finding of cocaine on the ground near where she was standing, a district attorney who was also working as a law clerk consistently advised the judge to draft adverse rulings in her case. He was disbarred after his retirement. The former nurse cannot show favorable termination of her conviction, and her civil rights suit cannot proceed. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Willett , Filed On: December 14, 2023, Case #: 22-50998, Categories: Drug Offender, Judiciary, Civil Rights
J. Hassan finds that the trial court properly dismissed defendant's charge for felony assault of a public servant. The prosecutor had promised not to refile the charge if defendant pled guilty to misdemeanor DWI charges, so defendant's motion for specific performance was correctly granted despite the fact those charges were dismissed before she had the opportunity to plead guilty. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Hassan, Filed On: December 14, 2023, Case #: 14-20-00496-CR, Categories: Assault, Plea, Contract
J. Kelsey finds the lower court improperly dismissed the French teacher's state constitutional claims for failure to state a cause of action. The teacher was fired after refusing to use a student's preferred pronouns, although he used the student's preferred name. The school board's decision to fire the employee for not participating in compelled speech that went against his religious beliefs fails strict scrutiny. Reversed.
Court: Virginia Supreme Court, Judge: Kelsey , Filed On: December 14, 2023, Case #: 211061 , Categories: Education, Employment, Lgbtq
J. D'Apolito finds the trial court properly accepted the state of Ohio's purge terms for the contempt order issued to the landfill owner. The owner was given an additional five years to clean up contaminated soil required to be removed years ago, which is reasonable, especially in light of the owner's suggestion he be given nearly 36 years to complete the job. The owner provided no evidence he is unable to remove toxic soil at the rate required to meet the deadline; therefore, the fines and terms were not unreasonable. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: D'Apolito, Filed On: December 14, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4721, Categories: Contempt, Environment
J. King partially grants the insureds' motion to seal exhibits and to voluntarily dismiss plaintiff Bryan Gage from their class action alleging that the pet insurance company charged unlawful and excessive monthly premiums based on factors such as pet age. The pet insurance company does not object to sealing the documents that “contain plaintiff Bryan Gage’s personal cell phone number and current home address," nor does it object to the dismissal of Gage from this case.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: King, Filed On: December 14, 2023, Case #: 2:20cv421, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Class Action, Contract
J. Lange grants the South Dakota Supreme Court's several motions to dismiss a matter concerning the resolution of a land dispute of a family ranch. Having lost every prior case on the matter, one ranch partial owner alleged constitutional errors and fraud in the prior litigation. The South Dakota Supreme Court wrote that the owner filed the lawsuit for the purposes of preventing sale of the property, not because he believed his partnership interest remained enforceable. The history of litigation combined with the absence of merit of the claims justifies an award of attorney fees and the matters are dismissed.
Court: USDC South Dakota, Judge: Lange, Filed On: December 14, 2023, Case #: 4:23cv4118, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Constitution, Property
J. Bernal denies Monster Energy's motion for sanctions in its lawsuit accusing the pharmaceutical company's products of infringing on Monster's trademarks. Monster Energy does not prove that the pharmaceutical company acted in bad faith as the deposition of the latter's former sales executive often explicitly corroborates the statements that Monster contends are false. The record shows that the executive participated in the pharmaceutical company's preparation and ratified its content during the injunction proceedings, and other witness testimony supports the disputed contents of the executive's declaration.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Bernal, Filed On: December 14, 2023, Case #: 5:18cv1882, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: Sanctions, Trademark, Discovery
J. Harris finds defendant's waiver of his right to an attorney was valid even though he made the choice to preserve his trial date and avoid a continuance. The choice between a continuance and pro se representation was not unconstitutional and, therefore, the waiver was entered knowingly and voluntarily. Meanwhile, the trial court was not required to sua sponte appoint an attorney when defendant proved ineffective as his own attorney because a knowing waiver of a defendant's right to counsel necessarily involves the risk of poor representation but does not allow a trial court to intervene. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Harris, Filed On: December 14, 2023, Case #: 2023COA119, Categories: Constitution, Sex Offender, Self Representation
J. Egan finds that the workers' compensation board properly directed that a phlebotomist be characterized as having a mild degree of job-related, repetitive-stress disability for the purpose of awarding benefits. Medical testimony did not support her claim for consequential carpal tunnel syndrome but established right-wrist tendonitis. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Egan, Filed On: December 14, 2023, Case #: 535283, Categories: Workers' Compensation
J. Neals allows plaintiffs to continue class claims contending a distributor failed to send a restaurant the proper amount of frozen calamari because negligence claims were related to damages and thus barred under the economic loss doctrine, and many consumer fraud claims were time-barred since the restaurant had been aware of potential differences in the products' net weights in July 2014. However, misrepresentation claims were not preempted by federal packaging and labeling laws.
Court: USDC New Jersey, Judge: Neals , Filed On: December 14, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv3712, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Fraud, Preemption, Consumer Law
J. Pulliam denies a produce company’s motion to dismiss a suit for failure to state a claim after it was sued by a competitor alleging that the produce company was using its trademarked package design — namely, a “two-piece plastic container consisting of a solid yellow opaque base or lid with a clear transparent dome.” The produce company argues that “consumer confusion is implausible” because of differences in packaging, but it is “similarities between the packaging, not differences, [that] cause customer confusion.”
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Pulliam, Filed On: December 14, 2023, Case #: 5:23cv445, NOS: Trademark - Property Rights, Categories: Tort, Trademark, Business Practices
Vice Chancellor Will dismisses claims in which a personal transportation company contends its former president breached her duty of oversight by disregarding financial discrepancies because nothing in the complaint gave rise to "Caremark" liability claims, and facts did not suggest the corporate officer acted with bad faith.
Court: Delaware Chancery Court, Judge: Will, Filed On: December 14, 2023, Case #: 2022-1110-LWW, Categories: Fiduciary Duty
J. Ceresia finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant based on his guilty plea to driving while intoxicated and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. Defendant contends he should not have been allowed to represent himself at sentencing, but his request was unequivocal and the court's inquiry was thorough. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Ceresia, Filed On: December 14, 2023, Case #: 112877, Categories: Sentencing, Dui, Self Representation