122 results for 'nos:"Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits"'.
J. Tharp grants Illinois’ motion to dismiss Volkswagen’s constitutional challenge to the Illinois Motor Vehicle Franchise Act, which makes it so independent auto dealerships operate independently of “legacy” auto manufacturers like Volkswagen, meaning Volkswagen can’t operate service centers in independent dealerships. But because new and pre-owned vehicles come with manufacturer warranties, Volkswagen still has to reimburse the independent dealerships for any repair and service work they do to their customers’ cars. Volkswagen claims a 2022 amendment to the Act meant to give auto repair workers greater compensation violates its free speech, due process and equal protection rights. But the court finds Volkswagen has failed to state an actionable claim for its due process and equal process claims, and lacks standing for its First Amendment allegations.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Tharp, Filed On: May 6, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv7045, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Constitution, Vehicle, Due Process
J. Eagles partially grants a medical doctor’s motion for summary judgment in her suit against the state for its strict regulatory laws regarding Mifeprex, an abortion-inducing drug. While the FDA eased restrictions on the drug in 2007, North Carolina kept the same restrictions and added more to its own legislation, which now conflict with federal law. However, federal law in this case trumps state law. Thus, the state provisions requiring physician-only prescribing; in-person prescribing, dispensing and administering; scheduling of an in-person follow-up appointment; and non-fatal adverse event reporting are unconstitutional.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Eagles, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv77, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Civil Rights, Constitution, Health Care
J. Carter denies the conservative law professor's motion to enforce a preliminary injunction against the New York Attorney General to prohibit enforcement of the Hateful Conduct Law, which requires social media networks to provide mechanism for reporting hateful conduct on their platforms. The professor failed to show the AG violated the injunction by sending investigative letters to six social media networks regarding the state's growing concern about antisemitism and Islamaphobia. The AG has other statutory authority to issue such letters, and there is no evidence the letters had any impact on the platforms' conduct.
Court: USDC Southern District of New York, Judge: Carter, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv10195, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Constitution, Restraining Order, First Amendment
Want access to unlimited case records and advanced research tools? Create your free CasePortal account now. No credit card required to register.
Try CasePortal for Free
J. Graham denies the ballot referendum petitioners' motion for a preliminary injunction, ruling that they cannot establish standing to bring First Amendment claims against the Ohio Attorney General. Their issue regarding delays in the ballot certification process cannot be traced to the actions of the Attorney General, but is actually a claim against the judicial branch of the government and its methods for certification of a ballot issue.
Court: USDC Southern District of Ohio, Judge: Graham, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 2:24cv1401, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Constitution, Elections, First Amendment
J. Settle denies the state's motion for reconsideration of the court's prior order denying in part the state's bid for dismissal of a challenge to HB 1470, which requires a slew of rules and regulations for private detention facilities that appear to place a burden on the Northwest Detention Center. The state does not show any manifest error that the court made during its ruling, and it once again does not state the similarities between detention centers and residential treatment facilities that might question the ruling. Also, the preliminary injunction against the Department of Health and the Department of Labor and Industries holds, because both are appointed by and serve the governor.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Settle, Filed On: April 15, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv5626, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Constitution, Injunction
J. Brooks partly grants an online business trade association's motion to limit discovery in a suit against the state on a law, paused in its enforcement, that would require social media companies to verify the age of account holders to protect minors. Limited discovery will be allowed since "extensive discovery is excessive and unnecessary."
Court: USDC Western District of Arkansas , Judge: Brooks, Filed On: March 24, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv5105, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Civil Rights, Constitution, Discovery
J. Jackson dismisses a group of D.C. residents' challenge to a law that allows noncitizen residents to vote in local elections. They fail to show an injury-in-fact and, therefore, lack standing.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Jackson, Filed On: March 20, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv1261, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Constitution, Elections, Jurisdiction
J. Mosman denies the pharmaceutical trade group summary judgment for the commerce clause claim of its complaint alleging that Andrew Stolfi, Director of the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, allowed disclosure laws that unfairly require pharmaceutical manufacturers to hand over trade secrets and threaten to publicize that information if the manufacturers decide to increase their prices. Neither party is entitled to summary judgment on the commerce clause, because neither party can definitely say how House Bill 4005, which is a law providing for “drug-pricing transparency," will effect interstate commerce.
Court: USDC Oregon, Judge: Mosman, Filed On: March 19, 2024, Case #: 6:19cv1996, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Civil Rights, Commerce, Government
J. Jenkins partially grants the suing personal protective equipment manufacturer’s motion to dismiss the defendant capital investment firm’s counterclaims, brought as part of an ongoing contract dispute between the parties. Both parties accuse the other, in various ways, of ruining a deal between them to make and sell personal protective equipment during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. In response to the manufacturer’s lawsuit and refusal to hand over $8 million in profits, the capital investment firm brought counterclaims for contract breach, conversion, accounting and violations of the Illinois Sales Representative Act. The court strikes the investment firm’s accounting claim and several affirmative defenses, and dismisses its conversion and Illinois Sales Representative Act violation claim. It may still pursue damages against the manufacturer in a limited capacity.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Jenkins, Filed On: March 18, 2024, Case #: 1:21cv1094, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Damages, Accounting Malpractice, Contract
J. Bennett grants the individual members of the Maryland Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission and denies the commission, its executive director and the attorney general’s motion to dismiss improper defendants in this Interstate Commerce Act complaint brought by a citizen and two out-of-state breweries. The citizen and breweries argue that the commission has unconstitutionally allowed in-state alcohol manufactures to ship their product directly to consumers, while prohibiting the out-of-state brewers from doing the same. The Direct Shipping Act is scheduled to expire June 30, 2024, and at that time this case may be dismissed. Therefore, until the direct shipping act expires the motion to dismiss the complaint in full is denied.
Court: USDC Maryland, Judge: Bennett, Filed On: March 15, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv2045, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Commerce, Constitution
J. Durkin partially grants a number of staffing and temp agencies’ motion to enjoin a number of new Illinois labor protections for temporary workers that Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law last year. One new protection requires the agencies to pay workers who are at a job site for more than 90 days wages commensurate with the lowest-paid, directly hired employee of the company that hired the agencies for their temp workers. Another protection attempts to discourage scabbing during labor strikes: It requires the temp agencies to inform their workers of any job happening at the site of a labor dispute, and bars the temp agencies from holding temp workers’ refusal to work despite the strike against them when they seek another job. A third protection allows “interested parties” to seek private action against any temp agency the parties suspect of violating labor law. The court finds that the temp agencies have made a showing of irreparable harm and that the balance of equities tips in their favor, but orders the agencies and the Illinois Department of Labor to jointly submit a proposed preliminary injunction order on or before March 15.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Durkin, Filed On: March 11, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv16208, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Erisa, Labor / Unions, Labor
J. Rochon grants the duck farms' motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging they falsely market their foie gras to sustainability-focused restaurants in California despite California's ban on the sale of foie gras for animal cruelty reasons. The plaintiff restaurant has not plausibly alleged it suffered an injury from the diversion of its resources to education consumers about foie gras. Further, given the alleged consumer confusion due to the texture of foie gras, which is allegedly similar to plant-based foods, "resolving plaintiff’s purported problem would require changing the very nature of foie gras itself, not merely who sells it."
Court: USDC Southern District of New York, Judge: Rochon, Filed On: March 11, 2024, Case #: 1:15cv6624, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Business Practices
J. Settle blocks the state of Washington from enforcing most sections of a law aimed at regulating private for-profit immigration detention facilities. HB 1470, which required a slew of rules and regulations for private detention facilities, violates the supremacy clause because it imposed a burden on the Northwest Detention Center that did not apply to any other facility in the state. Only Section 4 of the law, which does not apply to any contract signed before Jan. 1, 2023, remains in place while the rest is blocked by a preliminary injunction.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Settle, Filed On: March 8, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv5626, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Constitution, Jurisdiction, Injunction
J. Jensen denies a pro se litigant’s motion to disqualify the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and an Illinois assistant attorney general. The litigant claims an assistant attorney general conspired with law enforcement officials in 2017 to wrongfully arrest him, fabricate evidence against him and ensure his conviction in an underlying bogus criminal case. Though a court eventually vacated his conviction, this court finds the litigant has not sufficiently shown how the assistant attorney general acted unethically.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Jensen, Filed On: March 4, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv50041, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Constitution, Malicious Prosecution, Police Misconduct
J. Pallmeyer grants Cook County’s motion for summary judgment on claims that its statute barring assault weapon trade and ownership violate the Second Amendment. Two Cook County residents, backed by gun rights advocacy groups, challenged the county statute as unconstitutional in 2021. Given contrary determinations from the Seventh Circuit, which supported the county law, and nearly identical city-level assault weapon bans, the residents moved to have this case decided in the county’s favor so they could challenge factual underpinnings of the Seventh Circuit rulings on remand from an appeal. The county rejected that motion and instead committed to overcoming the legal challenge on its merits. Yet more support for assault weapon bans has emerged from the Seventh Circuit since 2021, and the court defers to the appellate judges’ determinations in granting the county summary judgment.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Pallmeyer, Filed On: March 1, 2024, Case #: 1:21cv4595, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Constitution, Firearms
J. Carter denies a temporary restraining order to a casino developer who accused the Northern Mariana Islands of overcharging it for missed casino license fees and violating constitutional contract clauses. The developer could not show that an additional regulatory fee is an unreasonable impairment as the developer paid the fees for several years before it stopped. The commonwealth has not violated due process, as the interactions and relationship between its casino commission and the developer during previous litigation do not constitute a conflict of interest.
Court: USDC Northern Mariana Islands, Judge: Carter, Filed On: February 29, 2024, Case #: 1:24cv1, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Government, Contract
J. Furman denies the arms manufacturers' motion to dismiss the state's claims that they sell products used to make "ghost guns," including unfinished frames and receivers, designed to subvert state and federal laws by allowing people to build homemade guns that lack serial numbers. The state plausibly alleges the manufacturers' products are "firearms," and the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act does not preempt its claims.
Court: USDC Southern District of New York, Judge: Furman, Filed On: February 23, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv6124, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Commerce, Constitution, Firearms
J. Coggins partially grants the law enforcement agency's motion for summary judgment in the drivers' suit arguing that traffic citations issued to them improperly deprived them of their right to trial by jury. The drivers have not established that the citation system deprives them of that right, since the printed language of the citations unambiguously informs the recipients that they are entitled to a jury trial regardless of any statements by officials. The constitutional claim is therefore dismissed, and a remaining claim for unjust enrichment is remanded to a state court.
Court: USDC South Carolina Aiken, Judge: Coggins, Filed On: February 22, 2024, Case #: 7:21cv2799, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Civil Rights, Constitution, Vehicle
J. Sinatra declines to impose a preliminary injunction against the state in claims contending 2020 amendments to state labor laws violate the U.S. Constitution by requiring farms to enter arbitration and compulsory "contracts" with unions short of reaching an agreement after 70 days of collective bargaining. Courts have upheld similar compulsory arbitration provisions in state statutes that apply to the private sector, but free speech claims regarding the enforcement of state labor laws may be in the public interest.
Court: USDC Western District of New York, Judge: Sinatra , Filed On: February 21, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv1044, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Constitution, Contract, Labor
J. Xinis grants the former business partners, the state attorney office, investigators and prosecutors’ motion to dismiss this criminal investigation and prosecution of a Persian man. The man claims common law and constitutional torts were violated when he was investigated and prosecuted for criminal theft. He failed to show or cure any pleading defects in his complaint. Therefore, all claims are dismissed and his motion for leave is denied.
Court: USDC Maryland, Judge: Xinis, Filed On: February 20, 2024, Case #: 8:23cv1357, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Civil Rights, Constitution, Tort
J. Marbley grants the internet trade association's motion for a preliminary injunction, ruling it is likely to succeed on the merits of its First Amendment claims against the state of Ohio regarding enforcement of its law to prohibit minors under the age of 16 from registering social media accounts without parental consent. It is a content-based restriction of speech that infringes on minors' free speech rights in an extremely broad fashion. Although protecting children from harmful content and reducing the likelihood of mental health issues are compelling interests, the social media ban is "a breathtakingly blunt instrument" to accomplish such goals and is also likely void for vagueness under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Court: USDC Southern District of Ohio, Judge: Marbley, Filed On: February 12, 2024, Case #: 2:24cv47, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Government, First Amendment, Injunction
J. Young denies Massachusetts agricultural regulators’ motion for summary judgment against the pork producers suing them over legislation intended to improve animal welfare. One provision, which creates an exception for sales made at slaughterhouses within Massachusetts, violates the dormant commerce clause because it would disallow federally inspected facilities outside the commonwealth from shipping their pork to Massachusetts customers, who could buy noncompliant pork on the premises of in-state slaughterhouses.
Court: USDC Massachusetts, Judge: Young, Filed On: February 5, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv11671, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Commerce, Consumer Law, Animal Cruelty