35 results for 'judge:"Howell"'.
J. Howell finds in favor of the fishery regulators in the environmental group's suit seeking vacatur of the regulators' framework for determining whether they need to adjust recreational management measures for 2023, 2024 and 2025. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act contains no requirements that recreational management measures be developed through a system focused entirely or primarily on annual catch limits, so including consideration of a recreational harvest target does not violate the Act.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Howell, Filed On: September 5, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv982, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Administrative Law, Environment
J. Howell largely declines to dismiss the news organization's suit alleging that the two companies infringed on its copyrights by using one company's subscription to its publications to distribute materials to the other company through an employee and her acquaintance, who would repackage the information in those materials for the acquaintance's employer's clients. The single claim against the subscriber is dismissed, since its employee's conduct related to this suit took place in the subscriber's office in New York or her home in Texas, and the subscriber does not have adequate ties to the District of Columbia to establish personal jurisdiction. The news organization has otherwise plausibly alleged its copyright infringement claims.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Howell, Filed On: August 10, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv1333, NOS: Copyrights - Property Rights, Categories: Copyright, Jurisdiction
J. Howell partially dismisses the estate representative's suit stemming from her charge's death by suicide in jail. The representative has failed to state claims against the department of corrections director, since the director is entitled to qualified immunity on some claims and others do not adequately attribute the harms alleged to the director. She has, however, sufficiently alleged facts to support claims against the District of Columbia.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Howell, Filed On: July 19, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv1670, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Wrongful Death, Prisoners' Rights
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J. Howell grants the injured person and her family's motion for default judgment against the Islamic Republic of Iran in their action alleging that it materially supported members of Hamas who bombed a bus she was riding on in 2003. Iran had by then been designated a state sponsor of terrorism and the bombing was an "extrajudicial killing," so it is not immune from suit. The injured person and her family have also adequately demonstrated that she was a victim of assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress and that the family also suffered intentionally-inflicted emotional distress. They are awarded compensatory and punitive damages totaling $22.5 million.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Howell, Filed On: June 17, 2024, Case #: 1:21cv2639, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: International Law, Terrorism, Assault
J. Howell grants the general contractor's motion to dismiss the clients' suit alleging that it was not a licensed home improvement contractor as required by a District of Columbia Municipal Regulation. Another regulation exempts licensed general contractors from compliance with this, and many other, sections of regulations applicable to home improvement contractors, and the general contractor is indeed licensed as such.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Howell, Filed On: June 10, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv2377, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Fraud, Municipal Law, Contract
J. Howell grants the State Department's motion to dismiss the naturalized citizen's suit alleging an unreasonable delay in the adjudication of her daughter's visa application. The agency's delay was not unreasonable, given the visa backlog and operational delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the citizen has not adequately alleged that it was caused by bad faith or intentional. A due process claim also fails.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Howell, Filed On: May 28, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv1714, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: Administrative Law, Immigration, Due Process
J. Howell grants a preliminary injunction to the advertising nonprofit in its suit alleging that the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's advertising practices guidelines improperly infringe upon protected speech. The advertiser has plausibly alleged that two of the guidelines are unreasonable and viewpoint-discriminatory, but not that it was improperly singled out because of its religious viewpoints. It has shown a likelihood of success on the merits of two of its claims. Enforcement of one of the guidelines is therefore enjoined; claims regarding the other are dismissed as moot.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Howell, Filed On: May 21, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv3695, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Constitution, First Amendment
J. Howell grants default judgment to the family members of servicemembers killed or injured in a 1996 Hezbollah bombing at a Saudi apartment complex in their action alleging that the Islamic Republic of Iran materially supported Hezbollah and directed the attack. The family members and servicemembers have provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that Iran is not immune from suit and is liable for damages totaling $68,500,000.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Howell, Filed On: May 16, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv793, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: International Law, Terrorism
J. Howell grants the employer's motion for summary judgment in the employee's suit alleging failures to provide a computer with enlarged font after the surgical removal of her eye and to grant her adequate leave during the Covid-19 pandemic, along with a failure to promote her which she argues was discriminatory. The employee has not shown that the employer's stated reason for failure to promote her, namely a poor interview performance, was pretextual, nor that its reason for terminating her, namely repeated failures to provide medical documentation required for accommodations including leave, was pretextual. The employee's failure-to-accommodate claims also fail, since the employee has not alleged that, when told that the computer they provided was inadequate, her supervisors refused or failed to follow up on her objections or that it did not engage in a good-faith dialogue with the employee as to her leave requests.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Howell, Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv1507, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Employment Discrimination
J. Howell denies, in part, the district's motion to dismiss a former black records manager's employment discrimination claims. She sufficiently alleges her claims for gender discrimination and retaliation, disability retaliation and failure to accommodate.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Howell, Filed On: March 21, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv1488, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Howell mostly dismisses defamation claims against the widow of the former CEO of a game publisher following a dispute between that publisher and a video game developer over “persistent issues” with the game, “The Outbound Ghost.” The developer can proceed with one part of its defamation claim after the widow claimed on social media that the developer had “sabotaged” efforts to fix the game, which “both parties seemingly agree” is not true.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Howell, Filed On: March 20, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv1302, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Defamation, Contract
J. Howell denies, in part, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's motion for summary judgment on a nonprofit's Freedom of Information Act case seeking certain FERC commissioners' calendars and phone records. The name of a lobbyist who had lunch with a chairman on a certain date must be released, as the agency concedes it "'should definitely not have [been] withheld.'"
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Howell, Filed On: February 12, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv3420, NOS: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) - Other Suits, Categories: Energy, Environment, Public Record
J. Howell dismisses an internet user's action against the publisher of the Washington Examiner under the Video Privacy Protection Act. She fails to show she was a subscriber to the Examiner's video goods and services and, therefore, fails to show she's a consumer, as defined by the Act.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Howell, Filed On: January 29, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv345, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: Communications, Privacy
J. Howell denies a former graduate student’s attempt to disqualify counsel of another party — an allegedly abusive teaching assistant — after the graduate student brought a civil rights suit against the University of Texas. The graduate student argues the counsel should be disqualified because she had contacted the firm before filing her suit, creating a conflict. Disqualification is not mandatory in this case, because while the grad student argues this court should use its discretionary power to disqualify the attorney anyways, the danger of prejudice is “exceedingly minimal” and the law firm has “done everything within its power” to prevent it.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Howell, Filed On: December 11, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv1040, NOS: Education - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Procedure, Civil Rights, Education
J. Howell denies a company’s motion to disregard jury findings and amend judgment after it was sued by a former employee who alleged he was abruptly fired after loaning the company a large amount of money. At jury trial, jurors ruled mostly but not entirely in favor of the employee. They were “presented with sufficient evidence justifying the exact figure they chose,” and the company has not provided adequate basis for overturning their findings.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Howell, Filed On: December 1, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv331, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Employment, Jury, Contract