111 results for 'filedAt:"2024-01-08"'.
J. Kindred denies an insurance company's motion for summary judgment regarding an insurance dispute with a homeowner. The insurer claims that it did not owe a duty of coverage for the property following water damage because the homeowner obtained insurance coverage but did not list the bank that had foreclosed on the property on the application, as the homeowner alleged that the notice of default was defective. "To adequately adjudicate this issue, the Court will need to make a finding of fact."
Court: USDC Alaska, Judge: Kindred, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 3:21cv42, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance
J. Miller finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of theft by receiving stolen property following defendant's Alford plea. The trial court correctly found that there was a factual basis for defendant's guilty plea. The factual proffer set out by the state included sufficient facts to allow the trial court to find that the acts constituted the crime with which defendant was charged. The trial court could have reasonably found that a mobile home defendant possessed and lived in was worth at least $5,000. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Miller, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: A23A1703, Categories: Theft, Plea
Per curiam, the appeals court finds that the trial court improperly dismissed property damage claims brought against an insurer because the homeowner failed to comply with the pre-suit requirements. This case is remanded back to the court for a retroactivity analysis. A direct conflict from a previous appellate court decision is certified. Reversed. Conflict certified.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 6D23-391, Categories: Insurance, Contract
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J. Gwin denies the roofing company's motion for a preliminary injunction against its former sales employee, ruling none of the more than 2,000 files taken by the employee before he left to join a competitor constitute trade secrets because no proprietary software was stolen and any previous bid information was rendered useless by shifting material costs.
Court: USDC Northern District of Ohio, Judge: Gwin, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv1341, NOS: Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA) - Property Rights, Categories: Trade Secrets, Contract, Injunction
J. Doughty grants a general contractor’s request and dismisses a shopping center’s breach of contract claim, arising from a contract dispute over $586,000 worth of storm-related roofing repairs. The shopping plaza is ordered to amend its complaint to address deficiencies in a related fraud claim against the roofer. It is self-evident that anything the plaza could get by prevailing on a declaratory judgment claim could not be obtained via the breach of contract claim. Furthermore, there is a likelihood of overlap between its declaratory judgment and fraud claims.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv1191, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Construction, Fraud, Contract
J. Holcomb finds in favor of Mercedes-Benz USA against the customer’s complaint accusing the company of refusing to repair or replace a defective 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA250W. The customer leased the defective vehicle from Mercedes-Benz of Ontario, an MBUSA-affiliated dealership, but MBUSA was not implicated in the customer’s lease and it did not provide a new warranty for the vehicle, meaning it is not liable for any defects.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Holcomb, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 5:21cv1914, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Vehicle, Warranty, Contract
J. Marutollo extends discovery proceedings by an additional 60 days to allow a wholesale medications distributor to cure any prejudices it might suffer after Gilead, a large biopharmaceutical company, submitted a list of possible witnesses only two weeks before the end of discovery. Gilead claim’s stem from the sale of adulterated bottles of BIKTARVY, a medication to treat HIV.
Court: USDC Eastern District of New York, Judge: Marutollo, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 1:21cv4106, NOS: Trademark - Property Rights, Categories: Health Care, Discovery
J. Long affirms a lower court ruling in favor of a pest control company, barring its former employee from performing any pest control services for its prior or current customers for two years. The employee failed to show his former employer improperly modified the terms of his employment contract, which included a non-compete agreement. Furthermore, the record supports the trial court’s finding the pest control company’s loss of customer goodwill outweighs its ex-employee's preference for performing services for its clients. Affirmed.
Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court, Judge: Long, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 22-356, Categories: Employment, Evidence, Whistleblowers
J. Ramos grants the government a preliminary injunction to bar the proposed acquisition of DeepIntent by IQVIA. The government has carried its burden of showing that the merger will substantially lessen competition in the field of programmatic advertising to health care professionals by merging DeepIntent with Lasso, a division of IQVIA, which are two of three leading firms in the industry.
Court: USDC Southern District of New York, Judge: Ramos, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv6188, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: Antitrust, Health Care
J. Scarsi grants summary judgment to the county against the arrestee’s complaint accusing the county and its social workers of detaining her without reasonable cause. The arrestee’s false arrest and imprisonment claims fail because she displayed clear signs of mental illness and a present danger to others, with one example being that the arrestee threw cheese at one of the social workers during a visit and expressed her desire to hurt that social worker.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Scarsi, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 2:22cv6342, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights
J. Brasher finds that the district court properly denied defendant's petition for habeas relief from his death sentence for murder. Defendant's trial counsel was not deficient for failing to adequately impeach an eyewitness with evidence of his probationary status and probation violation warrants which were pending at the time of the trial. Defendant's counsel was also not ineffective for failing to call a detective to testify that the eyewitness said he could not swear to his identification of defendant during a photo lineup. Defendant's counsel challenged the strength of the eyewitness's identification during cross-examination in other ways. Other ineffective assistance claims raised by defendant are barred by the statute of limitations because they do not relate back to the initial, timely filed habeas petition. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Brasher, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 22-13616, Categories: Habeas, Ineffective Assistance, Murder
J. Varlan grants the dismissal motions filed in this civil rights lawsuit stemming from a child custody dispute. The court notes initially that the father's pro se complaint is "difficult for the Court to comprehend" and determines that Child Protective Services is entitled to sovereign immunity under the 11th Amendment. Additionally, the magistrate judge is entitled to absolute judicial immunity, and the claims against the mother are dismissed for a lack of jurisdiction.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Tennessee , Judge: Varlan, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv194, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Immunity, Jurisdiction
J. Fitzwater denies, in part, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's motion for a protective order quashing subpoenas served on four non-party witnesses in its case against an airline. Although the individuals need not produce the requested text messages, which would be duplicative of information already provided by the EEOC, the airline will be able to depose the individuals, as the depositions are not outside the scope of discovery.
Court: USDC Northern District of Texas , Judge: Fitzwater, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv1807, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Discovery
J. Miller finds that the trial court improperly granted the city volunteer a 12-month protective order and incorrectly denied the city councilwoman's counterclaim for attorney fees in a dispute arising from several incidents between the parties which the volunteer claimed amounted to harassment. Insufficient evidence was presented to show that the councilwoman committed stalking. The evidence does not establish that the councilwoman's actions--which included making an open records request inquiring into the volunteer's role, asking a clerk whether the volunteer was in his office and filming the volunteer after he turned her away from a group photo--placed the volunteer in reasonable fear for his safety. Reversed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Miller, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: A23A1540, Categories: Restraining Order, Attorney Fees
J. Petrou vacates the appeals court's previous opinion on order of the California Supreme Court, but again rules that defendant forfeited her right bring a Racial Justice Act claim. Following general appellate forfeiture rules, her claim is barred because she failed to raise it before the trial court entered judgment, in which she was convicted of one count of first degree murder and one count of second degree murder. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Petrou, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: A163074A, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Murder
J. Milazzo denies a request by the maker of an allegedly defective chemotherapy drug to vacate the multi-district court’s case management order in a mass product liability litigation. The pharmaceutical company unsuccessfully argued the lawyers for the cancer patient-litigants violated the multi-district litigation (MDL) court’s established procedure for controlling pretrial discovery by introducing new and previously excluded testimony. Out of 14 hours of preserved testimony, the drug-maker alleges only five violations, which can be cured by striking the improper testimony. The order specifically provides the MDL court will not decide issues related to admissibility of preservation deposition testimony at trial, which are reserved for the receiving courts.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Milazzo, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 2:16md2740, NOS: Personal Injury - Health Care/Pharmaceutical Personal Injury/Product Liability - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Fraud, Product Liability, Discovery
J. Morrison denies, in part, the advertising firm's motion to dismiss, ruling the videoconferences it conducted with Ohio insurance technology firm and the service of work contracts signed between the companies satisfy Ohio's long-arm statute and give this court jurisdiction over the insurance technology firm's RICO lawsuit. Meanwhile, even though the executive at the insurance firm allegedly devised the sham services scheme, the advertising firm's submission of invoices and wiring of money from its own accounts to the executive's other business entity are sufficient to constitute conduct to establish a RICO claim at this stage.
Court: USDC Southern District of Ohio, Judge: Morrison, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv512, NOS: Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) - Other Suits, Categories: Fraud, Jurisdiction, Racketeering
J. Trauger grants the two dismissal motions filed in this lawsuit brought by a former fraternity pledge who alleges that he was subjected to racial discrimination and "intense hazing." As to one of the fraternity members, there are no facts alleged to show that he "participated in tortious conduct." Another is alleged to have "regularly used racial slurs," but the complaint fails to show that the member "breached a duty to the plaintiff or caused him serious emotional injury."
Court: USDC Middle District of Tennessee , Judge: Trauger, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv808, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Civil Rights, Education, Emotional Distress
J. Niemeyer finds the lower court properly sentenced the defendant for violating the conditions of his supervised release. The defendant was arrested and convicted under state law on three counts of manufacturing or distributing illegal drugs and sentenced to 13 years imprisonment for those offenses during his supervised release for a previous drug trafficking conviction. Despite the judge referencing some prohibited factors during sentencing, the sentence itself is not unreasonable. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Niemeyer , Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 22-4291, Categories: Drug Offender, Parole, Sentencing
J. Boyle grants a civilian and military training company’s second motion for preliminary injunction against a former employee who allegedly withheld confidential information, including copies of 98,000 emails. The company’s first motion was denied because up to that point, the former employee’s misappropriation of the information was speculative. Thanks to discovery in a related suit, it was found that the employee does possess said emails, which contain highly sensitive personal information about current employees. This is enough to demonstrate that the company is likely to succeed on the merits and existence of irreparable harm.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Boyle, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv334, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Privacy, Discovery, Contract
J. Welte orders a new joint North Dakota legislative district be drafted for the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and Spirit Lake Tribe which claimed a prior 2021 redistricting plan violated the Voting Rights Act and diluted the tribes’ voting strength. The court previously gave the North Dakota Secretary of State until 22nd of December, 2023 to remedy the violation, but the Secretary did not propose a district correction.
Court: USDC North Dakota , Judge: Welte, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv22, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: Elections, Native Americans
J. Fujisaki finds that the trial court properly refused to compel arbitration of employees' individual wage and hour claims. The subject arbitration agreement is unenforceable because it impermissibly requires employees to waive their right to bring representative Private Attorneys General Act claims in all forums. And because of the agreement's nonseverability and poison pill clauses, the whole arbitration agreement is unenforceable. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Fujisaki, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: A167091, Categories: Arbitration, Employment, Class Action
J. Cogburn denies a home security company’s motions to alter judgment and for a new trial following a jury’s decision to award its competitor $49.7 million in damages. The losing company misled customers by saying it was affiliated with its competitor and would be taking over the latter’s customer accounts, upgrade its equipment and so on, to gain the customers’ business at competitor’s loss. The firm that lost argues that the awards are inflated and based on inflammatory evidence. However, the evidence presented is not exaggerated and is properly used to discourage the very behavior in which the company engaged.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 3:20cv504, NOS: Trademark - Property Rights, Categories: Tort, Trademark, Unfair Competition
J. Heytens finds the lower court improperly did not provide a sufficient explanation of its rationale for applying an obstruction of justice enhancement. The defendant is accused of trading gunshots with another man late at night. When police arrived on the scene, they found the defendant, who claimed not to be a victim, rather than one of the two men firing shots. The defendant not sharing that he had also fired shots does not count as concealment to obstruct justice. Vacated.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Heytens, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 21-4281, Categories: Firearms, Sentencing, Obstruction