176 results for 'filedAt:"2024-05-09"'.
J. Harper finds the lower court properly terminated the mother's parental rights. She not only continued to have contact with the children's abusive father, who stabbed her in front of the children, but also failed to complete required counseling sessions and lacked a clear understanding of the children's emotional needs, as evidenced by her allowing one to play violent video games that involved knives. Affirmed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Harper, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: AC46612, Categories: Evidence, Family Law
J. Kitchens finds the 2001 public dedication of the subdivision's road as public roadways, as well as the county's refusal to levy taxes on the property and their continued use by members of the general public, renders the roads public and requires the county to pave and maintain them. Although the roads were not officially added to the registry, the minutes of the 2001 council meeting are an official document that effectuated transfer of the roadways to the care of the county. Affirmed.
Court: Mississippi Supreme Court, Judge: Kitchens, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 2022-CA-1227, Categories: Government, Property, Transportation
J. Kitchens finds the trial court erroneously imposed a life sentence without parole after the jury in defendant's murder trial was unable to agree on a sentence. The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Miller v. Alabama bars such sentences for juvenile defendants; therefore, the case will be remanded to allow proper sentencing. Reversed.
Court: Mississippi Supreme Court, Judge: Kitchens, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 2023-CT-1381, Categories: Constitution, Juvenile Law, Sentencing
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the lower court improperly granted the petition to invalidate a candidate's designation as a candidate in the primary election for the nomination of the Democratic Party as its candidate for the office of Member of the New York State Assembly for the 32nd Assembly District. The candidate's statement admitting certain allegations in the petition was not a formal judicial admission. Therefore, further proceedings on the petition are required to determine if his candidacy should be invalidated. Reversed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 02558, Categories: Elections
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J. Barker grants the employer's motion for partial judgment on the pleadings, ruling the former executive's fiduciary duty claims fail. The employer was not a shareholder in the parent company and, therefore, owed him no duty of care in relation to the value of his shares of stock.
Court: USDC Northern District of Ohio, Judge: Barker, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv986, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Fiduciary Duty
J. Jones finds the lower court erroneously granted the first wife's motion to transfer her a piece of real estate from the trust after the trustee's death. The court failed to determine whether notice in writing was the only method the second wife could use to properly revoke the original trust and implement an updated trust that named her as beneficiary. Therefore, the case will be remanded to determine whether a "writing" is the exclusive notice method for termination of the trust. Reversed.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Jones, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 2024COA51, Categories: Real Estate, Trusts, Wills / Probate
J. Clarke dismisses the landlords' complaint that the county's code enforcement officer wrongfully accused the landlords of violating county code by not obtaining agricultural exemptions or structural permits for 20 greenhouse structures and not obtaining electrical permits for the same 20 greenhouses, leading to a citation for $40,000 fine. The landlords do not state a claim for wrongful use of civil proceedings because while they may have a valid defense for the legality of the structures that their tenant built on their property, they do not allege that the code enforcement officer did not have probable cause to issue the citation.
Court: USDC Oregon, Judge: Clarke, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv1607, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Municipal Law, Due Process
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that attorney Rita Horowitz Altman, sanctioned for misconduct where she lives and practices immigration law in Florida, should be suspended in New York for three years. Altman failed to timely report the discipline in her home jurisdiction, which stretched over nearly 20 years, as well as discipline imposed by the board of immigration appeals based on the Florida misconduct. Meanwhile, her actions in Florida would have qualified for discipline New York.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: PM-86-24, Categories: Attorney Discipline
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that attorney William Brammer should be suspended for 30 days due to similar sanctions imposed upon misconduct in his home jurisdiction of Washington, D.C. Brammer promptly alerted New York officials to the discipline, which included his admission to lack of client communication, and the New York suspension is retroactive to the suspension imposed in D.C. in January 2021.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: PM-87-24, Categories: Attorney Discipline
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that attorney Gerald Orseck should be suspended for three years for misconduct. The parties agreed to the discipline following lengthy negotiations over charges that Orseck mismanaged his escrow account and engaged in conflicts of interest with a current client, and other instances of discipline during his 65 years of practice were also considered.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: PM-88-24, Categories: Attorney Discipline
J. McShan finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of predatory sexual assault against a child and sexual abuse involving three alleged victims. Defendant contends the children's delay in disclosing the alleged abuse suggested fabrication, but they testified they were afraid of defendant, and expert witnesses credibly testified about the reasons minors may delay in reporting abuse. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: McShan, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 110741, Categories: Evidence, Experts, Child Victims
J. Beck finds that the lower court improperly sentenced defendant following his guilty plea to driving under the influence of alcohol. His DUI conviction should not be treated as his third offense in 10 years for sentencing purposes based on his prior conviction in Ohio, for physical control of a vehicle while under the influence, that was improperly classified as substantially similar to Pennsylvania’s offense of a DUI. Vacated.
Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court, Judge: Beck, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: J-A06036-24, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Sentencing, Dui
J. Conley denies the state military affairs department's motion for summary judgment in the federal government's lawsuit on behalf of an employee claiming the department discriminated against her by offering her a lower salary for a promotion than the male applicant it ultimately hired for the position. There is enough evidence in the record at this point for a reasonable jury to find that the employee's sex motivated the department to use pretexts to offer her a $78,000 salary, which was below the posted minimum of $79,040, then offer her the minimum and pay the male applicant it hired $85,000 for the same job when she turned it down. The employee's motion to file a sur-reply brief is granted.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Conley, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv60, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment Discrimination
The appeals court upholds the trial court denial of an anti-SLAPP motion that an ex-wife filed in response to her ex-husband's petition for a restraining order. Emails she sent about a lawsuit she planned to file against him were protected by litigation privilege, but others were unrelated and unprotected. However, using the litigation privilege in support of an anti-SLAPP motion to bar his petition for a restraining order would run counter to the purpose of litigation privilege. A restraining order would not limit her access to the judicial process, and preventing him from filing for one would limit his. And he met his prima facie burden of showing that her emails were sufficiently abusive under statute to withstand her anti-SLAPP motion. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: H049873, Categories: Anti-slapp, Restraining Order
J. Quinn finds that the lower court improperly awarded certain damages in this dispute involving a well drilling business and two former employees. The court concludes that the $1.53 million award for lost profits was in error, as it was not sufficiently supported by the evidence. The finding of $1.1 million in damages to the parent corporation was supported by the evidence, however. Reversed in part.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Quinn, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 07-23-00378-CV, Categories: Employment, Damages, Fiduciary Duty
J. Tenney finds that police lacked reasonable suspicion for a traffic stop during which drugs were found. The officer testified that he did not see any traffic violations but stopped defendant because he had recently been stopped for driving without a license. However, the officer did not have any new information about his license status and the months-old citation did not give police reasonable suspicion to detain him. Reversed.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Tenney, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 20220313-CA, Categories: Drug Offender, Search
J. Mortensen finds that the trial court properly denied a phone book publisher's motion for judgment as a matter of law because of ambiguity in the terms of a contract with a plumber for a phone book listing. Extrinsic evidence was properly admitted to resolve the ambiguities. And attorney fees to the plumber were supported by its success in defending the contract claim. Affirmed.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Mortensen, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 20220339-CA, Categories: Evidence, Attorney Fees, Contract
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the lower court improperly dismissed a constructive eviction claimed filed by a tenant due to Legionella bacteria contamination in its building. This is a commercial lease, not a residential one, so the implied warranty of habitability does not apply. Although the contamination did not constitute a casualty under the lease, there is still good reason to permit discovery over damages. Reversed in part.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 02580, Categories: Landlord Tenant, Discovery
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the lower court properly dismissed a negligence claim due to failure to prove a serious injury under the meaning of state insurance laws. Although the injured party offered an MRI scan to prove the injuries, a defense expert opined that the low impact of the accident in question could not have caused the claimed injuries, which rather appeared to be degenerative in nature. The medical records themselves contain no evidence of bodily limitations contemporaneous with the accident, but rather merely the report of a pain management doctor who examined the injured person years later. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 02600, Categories: Negligence, Experts
J. Penzato finds that the workers' compensation judge properly granted summary judgment in favor of the festival company in a jouster's claim for benefits for injuries sustained while performing at a renaissance festival when he was knocked off his horse. The jouster was exempted from workers' compensation coverage since he was "rendering services pursuant to a performance contract." Affirmed in part.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Penzato, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 2023CA1003, Categories: Employment, Contract, Workers' Compensation
J. Guerra finds that the trial court properly declined to dismiss a former contestant's request for sanctions against the production company for Netflix's "Love is Blind." A motion for sanctions is not a "legal action" pursuant to the Texas Citizens Participation Act, so the trial court did not err in denying the TCPA motion to dismiss. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Guerra, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 01-23-00443-CV, Categories: Sanctions
J. Farris finds that the trial court must vacate its order setting aside the jury verdict and granting a new trial in divorce proceedings. The order did not provide the litigants with a reasonable and specific explanation for setting aside the verdict. However, because the basis of the trial court's order setting aside the verdict is unclear at this point, the ex-wife is not entitled to her request to direct the trial court to enter a judgment on the jury's findings.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Farris, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 01-23-00309-CV, Categories: Family Law
J. Wooton reverses the lower court's order partially granting motions of two municipal police departments, their respective police chiefs and two officers to dismiss a motorist's amended complaint alleging the officers wrongfully arrested him for disorderly conduct, and later DUI, after he made remarks on how their vehicles were parked at an apartment complex while responding to a call for a vehicle break-in. The judge committed plain error by basing her immunity decisions on common law qualified immunity principles applicable only to the state of West Virginia or its employees and agents and not on the West Virginia Tort Claims Act applicable to political subdivisions and their employees. Reversed.
Court: West Virginia Supreme Court Of Appeals, Judge: Wooton, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 22-428, Categories: Government, Immunity, Police Misconduct
J. Guerra finds that the trial court properly granted an amended temporary injunction in an action over the alleged violation of a non-compete agreement. The injunction, which forbids the nurse practitioner from working as a nurse practitioner in a medical environment within a 20-mile radius of the business that she sold. There is sufficient evidence that the nurse practitioner has caused irreparable harm by working within one mile of her former business and diverting her patients to her new practice. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Guerra, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 01-23-00482-CV, Categories: Contract, Injunction
J. Landau finds that the trial court properly admitted extraneous offense evidence during the guilt phase of defendant's murder trial. Evidence that defendant assaulted the murder victim's teenage son a few months before the murder had significant probative value that was not outweighed by the risk of unfair prejudice to defendant. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Landau, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 01-23-00173-CR, Categories: Evidence, Murder, Sentencing
J. Ramos finds that the lower court grants the biotech company's motions for attorney's fees after prevailing in a contract dispute over the alleged breach of a finder's fee agreement. The contract is silent on the issue of attorney's fees, so the company is not barred from seeking them, but it must resubmit billing statements for its attorneys that disaggregate which portions of the total are attributable to which attorney or paralegal.
Court: USDC Southern District of New York, Judge: Ramos, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 1:20cv1391, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Attorney Fees, Contract
J. Pritzker finds that the lower court properly distributed marital property in a divorce action by equally dividing sale proceeds of the family home. The wife contends she did not receive credits for a money gift from her mother in the down payment, or from her own investment of personal-injury proceeds in home improvements, but she failed to sufficiently delineate which money in the bank account that she claimed to be separate property. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Pritzker, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: CV-23-0173, Categories: Family Law