57 results for 'judge:"Cogburn"'.
J. Cogburn grants a school district’s motion to dismiss civil rights violations allegations brought against it by a student’s parents, who proceed pro se. According to federal civil procedure, the parents of a minor must name the child as the party of interest even if they are proceeding on the minor’s behalf. The parents in this case have failed to do so. Also, parents may not proceed pro se in federal court. However, the parents’ complaint is dismissed without prejudice.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: May 14, 2024, Case #: 3:24cv7, NOS: Education - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Procedure, Civil Rights, Education
J. Cogburn denies a municipality and four of its police investigators their motion to dismiss allegations of 14th Amendment rights violations and tort claims brought by a nursing home aid illegally accused of abuse and sexual assault on a resident. The aid had previously been incarcerated for five years after the officers wrongfully framed him for crimes he did not commit, as was discovered at an evidentiary hearing. The judge immediately released him upon finding him innocent. Evidence shows that the police investigators systematically manipulated and harassed the aid into a false confession, and their arguments to the contrary are insufficient.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: May 14, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv624, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Evidence, Malicious Prosecution, Police Misconduct
J. Cogburn denies two industrial heat transfer systems vendors’ motions to exclude expert testimonies in this second suit over trade secrets and patent law. The first vendor previously sued the second and both came to a settlement agreement, which the first now accuses the second of violating. Presently, although each party essentially argues that the other’s witness presents insufficient or misleading evidence, this is not true and both witnesses will be allowed to proceed.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: May 14, 2024, Case #: 3:21cv302, NOS: Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) - Other Suits, Categories: Fraud, Experts, Racketeering
J. Cogburn grants a collections firm’s motion for judgment on the pleadings following consumer law violation allegations brought by a dental client. The client argues she communicated that she refused to pay a debt assigned to her for dental work and that under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the firm is no longer allowed to communicate with her. However, there are exceptions to the law including, in this case, providing the client with validation of the debt, which she claimed not to have in her possession.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: May 14, 2024, Case #: 3:24cv38, NOS: Consumer Credit - Other Suits, Categories: Debt Collection, Consumer Law
J. Cogburn grants a health insurance marketplace’s motion to dismiss race discrimination allegations brought by a senior benefits advisor after her supervisor used the N-word during a meeting. The adviser, a Black woman, reported the incident to a higher-up and confronted her supervisor directly to no avail. She argues that equitable tolling should apply to her time-barred filing of her revised complaint because the marketplace agreed to mediation, so she voluntarily withdrew her initial complaint. However, the marketplace agreed to arbitration, not mediation, and regardless this should not have had any influence on the advisor’s decision to withdraw the initial complaint. Equitable tolling will not be applied.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: May 14, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv791, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Employment Discrimination
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J. Cogburn denies a hotel corporation’s partial motion to dismiss allegations of breach of contract brought by a class of guests. The guests claim they were placed on a “Do Not Rent” list after they complained about room conditions, but were not made aware of this fact. So, when they went to make reservations within the same hotel franchise again, they were allowed to make non-refundable payments in advance but then barred from staying in the rooms they’d paid for. The franchises refused refunds, saying they were invalid. The guests are correct that the corporation is responsible for its employees, including those of its franchises, so they may proceed.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv663, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Corporations, Class Action, Contract
J. Cogburn grants the U.S. Postal Service’s motion to dismiss wrongful termination claims under Title VII brought by a former employee whom the service accused of theft. The employee denied the charge, but after an investigative interview, the service fired him. He was advised to sue the service federally within 90 days, but instead, he did so through state court 14 months later. Because he admitted the untimeliness of this, the service is granted dismissal.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv747, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Government, Employment Retaliation
J. Cogburn denies a food production company’s motion for summary judgment following allegations of retaliation brought by a former delivery driver. After several work-related injuries and complaints about being pushed to work beyond the accommodations recommended by her doctor, the driver unbuckled her seat belt to roll a window down to talk to another driver who was yelling at her. She then replaced her seat belt. Not long after, the company fired her, citing her violation of their strict seat belt policy. Based on the timing, the driver has sufficient evidence to proceed on the argument that her violation was pretext to her being fired for requesting accommodations.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: 3:21cv655, NOS: Other Labor Litigation - Labor, Categories: Civil Rights, Employment, Employment Retaliation
J. Cogburn partially grants a group of resigned golf club members’ motion for summary judgment in full after it had already previously been granted partial summary judgment when it sued the club for violating policy. The group claimed the club breached its contract for an amount of damages to be determined at trial. Then, it filed the current motion eight months after deadline, and regardless of the merits, the motion will not be considered for good cause. However, the group is granted leave to file a second summary judgment motion.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: April 17, 2024, Case #: 1:21cv333, NOS: Recovery of Overpayment & Enforcement of Judgment - Contract, Categories: Enforcement Of Judgments, Contract
J. Cogburn partially grants an incarcerated trans woman’s renewed motion for summary judgment in her suit against North Carolina’s Department of Public Safety after it denied her request for gender-affirming surgery. A doctor on the state’s Division Transgender Accommodation Review Committee stated that gender-affirming surgery would never be a medical necessity to treat gender dysphoria, although the state has recognized gender dysphoria as a serious mental health issue that may require such surgery. By having stated “never,” the doctor has violated the woman’s Eighth Amendment right requiring prison administrators to give individualized medical evaluation to incarcerated people’s treatment requests. The department of public safety must either grant the woman’s request or form a new committee excluding this particular doctor.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: April 16, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv191, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Constitution, Lgbtq, Prisoners' Rights
J. Cogburn grants a pool products manufacturer’s motion for a temporary restraining order against a competitor in this ongoing trademark infringement case. A jury found in favor of the manufacturer, awarding it over $4.9 million for the competitor’s violations. Because of the manufacturer’s success at trial and likelihood it would be irreparably harmed financially without a restraining order, the competitor’s assets are frozen to prevent it from evading paying the manufacturer’s damages.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: April 11, 2024, Case #: 3:20cv710, NOS: Trademark - Property Rights, Categories: Corporations, Trademark, Restraining Order
[Consolidated.] J. Cogburn grants a municipality’s motion to stay this suit during the ongoing appeal, sought by one of its police officers, of a negligence suit brought by a man the officer shot while he was at the local airport. The appeal must be resolved before the present suit can proceed.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: February 29, 2024, Case #: 3:21cv455, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Government, Police Misconduct
J. Cogburn grants the Postal Service’s motion to dismiss federal tort claims alleged by a driver after she claimed a postal employee crashed into her car. However, the driver did not correctly fill out a form required to sue the USPS, leaving out the amount of money she was claiming. Eventually, she filled it out correctly, but this was only after the two-year time limit to sue had already expired.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: February 29, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv657, NOS: Motor Vehicle - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Government, Tort, Vehicle
J. Cogburn denies a foreign wine importer’s motion for summary judgment after its exclusive wholesale distributor in North Carolina sued the importer following its abrupt contract cancellation. The importer argues that it is not a “winery” and, therefore, not subject to the state’s wine distribution laws. However, whether it is a winery or not is a decision for the state to make, and the suit is stayed until this can be determined.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: February 12, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv203, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Trade, Business Practices, Contract
J. Cogburn denies an incarcerated transgender woman and the state’s department of corrections’ cross-motions for summary judgment after the woman requested gender-affirming surgery. Before both parties are allowed to resubmit their motions, an evidentiary hearing must take place in order to determine whether surgery is medically necessary for the woman and to prevent the state from misrepresenting its Evaluation and Management of Transgender Offenders policy as automatically rejecting the request.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: February 2, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv191, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Health Care, Lgbtq
J. Cogburn denies a home security company’s motion for attorney fees in its trademark infringement suit against a competitor. In a jury trial, the company was awarded $140 million in punitive damages, some of which can be put toward attorney fees and is sufficient as a deterrent to the competitor not to engage in similar behavior going forward.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: January 23, 2024, Case #: 3:20cv504, NOS: Trademark - Property Rights, Categories: Trade, Trademark, Unfair Competition
J. Cogburn denies a pool products manufacturer’s motion in limine to exclude the expert testimony of a competitor that sued it for trademark infringement. The manufacturer argues that the expert’s testimony is improper, but this is to do with the expert’s methods, which it is free to debate using cross-examination. The manufacturer has raised nothing to stop the admission of the testimony.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: January 18, 2024, Case #: 3:20cv710, NOS: Trademark - Property Rights, Categories: Evidence, Trademark, Experts
J. Cogburn grants an infrastructure contractor’s motion to dismiss for a lack of subject matter jurisdiction following allegations of state law violations and breach of contract brought by the founder of an energy consulting company that the contractor acquired. The contractor agreed to pay $360,000 cash to the founder and he kept 9% interest and his seat as company president in exchange for 90% of the company’s shares. Two years later, the contractor fired the founder and stopped paying on a promissory note, prompting the current suit. After a settlement, only the breach of contract claim still stood, but because the founder has not shown that the amount in controversy is not more than $75,000, the suit is dismissed. However, it may proceed in a state court.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: January 18, 2024, Case #: 1:21cv245, NOS: Negotiable Instrument - Contract, Categories: Settlements, Jurisdiction, Contract
J. Cogburn grants partial summary judgment to a group of former members of a golf club as far as liability of the club to reimburse resigned members their invested equity shares after confirming new members to replace them. The group discovered that the club was not repaying resigned members’ investments when new members joined. The club argues that when partial members became full members, this did not constitute admission of a new member. But, as the only members required to invest equity are full members, the club’s reading of the policy is unreasonable.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: January 17, 2024, Case #: 1:21cv333, NOS: Recovery of Overpayment & Enforcement of Judgment - Contract, Categories: Enforcement Of Judgments, Business Practices, Contract
J. Cogburn grants Amazon’s motion for summary judgment following allegations of gender and disability discrimination and retaliation brought by a former associate after she sustained an injury at work. The associate hit her head on a video monitor and got treatment from Amazon’s medical staff in the form of over-the-counter medicine and ice. Although the staff and two other medical professionals approved the associate to return to work, she claimed she had a note from her own doctor stating she could not, although she never produced said note. Despite Amazon warning her they would fire her if she continued to no-call no-show, she continued to not come in for work for at least four days. She fails to present sufficient evidence of either discrimination or retaliation, and Amazon’s firing was legitimate because she violated the attendance policy.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: January 12, 2024, Case #: 3:21cv627, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Cogburn grants a mortgage company’s motion to remand this foreclosure case because the homeowner did not file a notice of removal until nearly four months after she was required to do so. Additionally, because all parties reside or are based in North Carolina, diversity jurisdiction cannot be invoked, so the case must return to state court.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: January 12, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv373, NOS: Foreclosure - Real Property, Categories: Jurisdiction, Banking / Lending, Foreclosure
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. Cogburn orders multiple claim constructions in a patent infringement suit brought by a secure payments provider against a similar company. The provider claims that the company is illegally using particular patented technologies in its telephone processing system used to take customer payments without exposing the customers’ financial information to call center staff. The order outlines disputed terms and the suit is referred to a magistrate judge.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: December 19, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv486, NOS: Patent - Property Rights, Categories: Patent, Technology
J. Cogburn denies the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s motion to dismiss allegations of gender and pregnancy discrimination after two other staff members walked in on her while she was pumping her breasts for milk. The employee asked for accommodation to pump on the job, which the department granted, but despite signage, two staff separately walked in on her and didn’t leave until she directed multiple times for them to leave the room. Another staff joked that one who had walked in on her looked like “a deer in the headlights” upon seeing her pumping. The employee also found a camera installed in one of the rooms the department had designated for her to pump. The department claims the employee doesn’t have enough evidence to claim discrimination, but at this stage, she has produced sufficient evidence to state her claim.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: December 19, 2023, Case #: 3:23cv634, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Employment, Employment Discrimination
J. Cogburn denies a pool product manufacturer’s motion in limine to exclude expert testimony following allegations of trademark infringement brought by a similar company. Essentially, the company claims that the manufacturer uses the company’s name to advertise its own products, which are compatible with the company’s, to make more sales. The manufacturer argues the company’s expert testimony is unreliable, but this is more to do with the manufacturer’s opinion on the testimony than its admissibility.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: December 19, 2023, Case #: 3:20cv710, NOS: Trademark - Property Rights, Categories: Trademark, Experts
J. Cogburn grants a group of legal, mortgage and bank businesses their motion to dismiss breach of contract claims brought by a homebuyer who alleges errors in the property buying process that forced her into bankruptcy. The homebuyer claims that the deed of trust was not filed, that the property she ended up buying was not what she agreed to buy and that the mortgage business set up an escrow account with the bank, which “reversed” her payment to a different account, thus inflating taxes collected. However, she fails to present sufficient evidence of her claims.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Cogburn, Filed On: December 6, 2023, Case #: 3:23cv179, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Real Estate, Banking / Lending, Contract