22 results for 'judge:"McHugh"'.
J. McHugh finds that the lower court properly granted immunity to a series of state officials after a doctor sued them with claims that he was arrested without good cause and that social workers took his children away after they entered his home without a warrant. He was arrested over reports of sexual abuse against a minor, though eventually the charges against him were dropped and his children returned. Given the evidence available to investigators at the time, they had reasonable suspicion to think that the children were in danger. Affirmed.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: McHugh, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: 23-2056, Categories: Civil Rights, Immunity
J. McHugh finds that a group of conservationists lack standing to challenge a series of agency decisions related to an easement for a property in Rio Grande National Forest that has been selected to become a ski resort village. The groups take issue with a series of biological opinions and other documents that were approved by the agency to green-light development of the project and a land exchange that would help make the property more accessible in the wintertime, but their claims lack merit. They have not been able to show any evidence of major errors in the documents, and even if they were able to show error, there is nothing on the record that suggests the error would have been harmful enough to justify tossing the entire development project. Affirmed.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: McHugh, Filed On: April 19, 2024, Case #: 22-1438, Categories: Property, Agency
J. McHugh grants the federal government’s motion to dismiss an argument by Safehouse, a proposed nonprofit safe injection center for those struggling with opioid addition, that the federal government would be violating the organization’s First Amendment right to free exercise of religion if it criminally prosecuted them for drug crimes after opening the center. While Safehouse argued that it is informed by classic Judeo-Christian beliefs about the need to “preserve life, provide shelter to our neighbors, and do everything possible to care for the sick,” the court found no evidence that the organization is a religious entity in its articles of incorporation.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Judge: McHugh, Filed On: April 3, 2024, Case #: 2:19cv519, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: Civil Procedure, Government, First Amendment
J. McHugh grants in part a real estate services firm’s motion to dismiss a consumer’s suit alleging that, in the transfer of title for a property the man purchased, it charged him substantially more for notary services than Pennsylvania law allows. Pennsylvania’s notary law does not create a private right of action, so he fails to make a statutory claim.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Judge: McHugh, Filed On: February 15, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv3628, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Property, Real Estate, Consumer Law
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J. McHugh finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The jury was presented with enough evidence found during a search of his home to find that he was the owner of a firearm and several rounds of ammunition, and the lower court correctly included a prior 2002 conviction when calculating his offender score for sentencing purposes. Affirmed.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: McHugh , Filed On: December 26, 2023, Case #: 23-2029, Categories: Firearms, Sentencing
J. McHugh grants Philadelphia’s motion to dismiss a self-representing litigant’s complaint against the Licenses and Inspections Department for failing to back his eviction of tenants from a property, which his late mother owned, due to raw sewage in the basement. The litigant failed to state a claim for the department’s violations of his rights to due process or equal protection.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Judge: McHugh, Filed On: December 22, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv4651, NOS: All Other Real Property - Real Property, Categories: Property, Due Process, Equal Protection
J. McHugh finds that the lower court improperly denied class certification to a class of women who, as minors, were sent to a residential treatment center that they allege forced them into required labor and gave them "primitive" living conditions as part of their treatment. The lower court denied class certification on the grounds of not meeting the commonality, typicality, and predominance requirements, but the lower court used the incorrect legal standard in reviewing all three of those elements. The lower court also failed to discuss certain elements of its findings, such as why some factual differences defeated the typicality requirements. Further proceedings are needed as a result. Reversed.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: McHugh, Filed On: October 31, 2023, Case #: 22-8080, Categories: Employment, Fraud, Class Action
J. McHugh finds that the lower court properly denied post-conviction relief to defendant regarding his murder conviction. Defendant says he received ineffective assistance of counsel during his trial, but defendant never raised that issue on direct appeal following his death sentence. Even if defendant were not barred to raise these claims, there is not enough evidence of error that would justify reversal. Affirmed.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: McHugh, Filed On: August 30, 2023, Case #: 21-6097 , Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Murder
J. McHugh finds that the lower court properly convicted defendants of child abuse crimes after the two took a child to an emergency room covered in bruises and suffering from internal bleeding, despite defendants claiming he had only injured himself by jumping off a bed and landing on a scooter. Defendants raise nearly a dozen issues on appeal, but none of them hold merit. The jury was properly instructed and evidence on the record supports the findings. The sentencing, which was applied well beyond the upper range of the standard guidelines, was properly considered before being passed down. Affirmed.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: McHugh, Filed On: July 24, 2023, Case #: 22-5005, Categories: Sentencing, Child Victims
J. McHugh finds that the lower court properly dismissed all claims against the operator of ski resorts after a class of consumers sued them for not providing refunds for passes after the resorts were closed during the Covid-19 pandemic. When the consumers bought the ski passes initially, the contract to buy them included a clear no-refund policy. Though the resort owner was the one who broke the contract by closing the resorts, which consumers say voids the no-refund clause, there is nothing in Colorado law that allows for that interpretation. Affirmed.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: McHugh, Filed On: June 6, 2023, Case #: 21-1400 , Categories: Consumer Law, Class Action