267 results for 'judge:"Smith "'.
J. Smith denies Marriott's motion to dismiss the negligent hiring and supervision claims. The former employee alleges her supervisor sexually assaulted her at a social gathering by drugging her drink and raping her while she was unconscious. Though Marriott says the alleged assault occurred outside of work and was committed by an employee with no record of violence, the supervisor had previously resigned under allegations of sexual assault and was later rehired under the assumption that he "had grown up." The issue of whether the conduct was foreseeable considering his prior sexual harassment is a fact question that cannot be determined at this stage.
Court: USDC Rhode Island, Judge: Smith , Filed On: May 17, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv487, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Negligence, Assault
J. Smith finds that the trial court properly terminated the father's parental rights to his child. There was sufficient evidence to support the predicate ground of endangerment and the best-interest finding. This includes the father's "history of recurring substance abuse" and "drug-related incarceration." Also, the child was "very attached" to his foster family, which was able to provide him a safe and stable home. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: May 16, 2024, Case #: 10-24-00002-CV, Categories: Evidence, Family Law
J. Smith finds the lower court properly denied the husband's motion to dismiss for a failure to prosecute. The court's issuance of a temporary support order and the wife's motion to find the husband in contempt when he fell behind in payments were actions sufficient enough to allow the case to remain on the docket. However, the court's decision to convert the temporary payments into a permanent obligation must be reversed for its failure to hold a hearing and the lack of analysis of disputed facts regarding the fault of each party regarding the divorce. Affirmed in part.
Court: Mississippi Court Of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: May 14, 2024, Case #: 2022-CA-908, Categories: Civil Procedure, Family Law
J. Smith finds that while defendant's indictment did not include the word "killed" or "murdered," the language was sufficient to put him on notice that he was being charged for the death of the victim, which allowed him to put forth an adequate defense and allowed the jury to convict him of the lesser-included offense of manslaughter. However, because the jury instructions for defendant's aggravated assault charges included conflicting intent elements of "knowingly" and "recklessly," his due process rights were violated and those convictions must be vacated. Affirmed in part.
Court: Mississippi Court Of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 2022-KA-705, Categories: Murder, Assault, Jury Instructions
J. Smith finds the lower court properly dismissed the contract claim filed by the general contractor against the masonry company. Any defects in fireplaces should have been discovered when the homes were finished in 2016, which means the 2021 claim was barred by Mississippi's three-year statute of limitations. However, because the first fire did not occur until 2018, the negligence claims were not barred by the same statute of limitations and will be reinstated upon remand. Affirmed in part.
Court: Mississippi Court Of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: 2022-CA-938, Categories: Civil Procedure, Construction, Contract
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J. Smith affirms the district courts' grants of the defendant's demands to execute his sentences in two cases in two separate counties. A district court may grant such demands even if the conditions of probation are less onerous than the conditions of an executed sentence. Affirmed.
Court: Minnesota Court Of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: May 6, 2024, Case #: A23-1342, Categories: Sentencing, Dui
[Consolidated.] J. Smith finds a lower court properly dismissed a defendant's motion to remain in the U.S. The defendant, who was arrested and convicted for possession of illegal drugs, argued that he was entitled to a deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture Act, and then a bid for reconsideration after the board of immigration appeals denied his application for CAT. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that he was not entitled to relief based on lack of evidence that he would be tortured by a drug cartel and high ranking, corrupt officials in Mexico. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Smith, Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: 22-2474, Categories: Drug Offender, Evidence, Immigration
J. Smith denies the Mexican citizens' petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals' denial of their application for asylum and relief under the Convention Against Torture. Petitioners entered the U.S. without documentation and say that the Mexican Navy will persecute and torture them in order to stop the mother's campaign to hold the military responsible for her son's disappearance. Though the immigrants are not required to establish past persecution in order to support the possibility of future persecution, that the mother had publicly spoken out against the Navy via news media repeatedly for months without suffering harm does not support the claims of persecution.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Smith , Filed On: May 1, 2024, Case #: 23-60089, Categories: Evidence, Immigration, International Law
J. Smith finds that despite defendant's claim he did not open his knife before he threw it at the moving vehicle being driven by the victim, his murder and assault convictions were supported by sufficient evidence and the state proved intent by introducing testimony from a hotel employee that he and the victim had argued before she drove away, as well as surveillance footage that showed him throwing the knife. The issue of whether defendant opened the knife consciously prior to throwing it was irrelevant because his decision to throw the object clearly proved an intent to cause harm, while his initial denial of throwing anything also weighed against his credibility as a witness. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: May 1, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1680, Categories: Evidence, Murder, Assault
J. Smith finds that the trial court properly ruled against a doctor's motion to dismiss a negligence case filed against her by the mother of a child who committed suicide a day after being discharged from the doctor's care. On appeal, the doctor argues that she is entitled to dismissal of the case because the mother's expert report "lacks any evidence" to show that the care she provided was negligent and subsequently led to the suicide. The expert report provides a sufficient summary of the facts and establishes a line of causation from the doctor's care to the suicide. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: 03-22-00177-CV, Categories: Negligence, Experts, Medical Malpractice
J. Smith finds that the lower court properly entered judgment in this negligence suit arising from a car accident. The appellant argues that he should have been awarded damages after the appellee was found by the jury "to be at fault for the accident." However, the jury's finding of zero damages was not "manifestly unjust." Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: 05-23-00390-CV, Categories: Tort, Damages, Negligence
J. Smith finds the bankruptcy court improperly denied the Electric Reliability Council's motion to abstain. The energy company filed for bankruptcy after receiving a bill for nearly $300 million resulting from the council's production-incentivizing price manipulation in response to the 2021 winter storm in Texas. The council sought payment and the energy company initiated an adversarial proceeding challenging its proof of claim. The council moved to dismiss, alternatively requesting the bankruptcy court abstain. Though the circuit finds the council is not an arm of the state, and not entitled to immunity, the U.S. Supreme Court requires abstention under guiding case law. Texas���s interest in utility regulation and litigation, and its protection of the electricity-related public interest, is the more significant concern. Reversed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Smith , Filed On: April 29, 2024, Case #: 22-20603, Categories: Administrative Law, Bankruptcy, Energy
J. Smith finds the district court improperly found the insurer owed the racing event organizer a duty to defend. The organizer sought legal defense when injured parties and estates of deceased sued after a vehicle careened into the crowd of spectators. A motor vehicle exclusion unambiguously excludes coverage for the damages at issue. The policy is not "illusory," as claimed by the organizer, as it does cover spectator slip and falls. Reversed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Smith , Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: 23-50336, Categories: Insurance, Damages, Wrongful Death
J. Smith finds the district court properly denied the firearm advocates' request for a preliminary injunction. The advocates challenge provisions of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022, saying the government has shown no historical analogue for expanded background checks for 18- to 20-year-olds. The 10-day waiting period for background checks is not abusive, nor does it impose a de facto prohibition on possession. Existing case law makes clear that background checks are constitutional. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Smith , Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: 23-10837, Categories: Administrative Law, Constitution, Firearms
J. Smith finds the district court properly convicted defendant for distributing child pornography. A large collection of pornography was found at the home defendant shared with his parents after agents detected suspicious activity from an IP address in the home. Though defendant had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia, he was found competent to stand trial. There was a "genuinely mixed bag" of evidence from skilled witnesses as to the nature of defendant's mental illness, providing for no plain determination, and, therefore, deferment must be made to the district court���s "reasonable assessment of the complex record." Affirmed in part.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Smith , Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 22-50987, Categories: Competence, Witnesses, Child Pornography
J. Smith denies the insurer���s motion for summary judgment in this insurance dispute stemming from an uninsured motorist claim related to a collision involving the insured vehicle caused by another vehicle driver that fled the scene in Texas. The insurer argues the policy does not cover hit-and-runs in another state because the insured misrepresented the fact the vehicle would be garaged in Alabama and failed to timely provide the change in garaging. There is a genuine issue of material fact on if the policy was void from the beginning and that the evidence presented by the insurer fails to show that the vehicle was not at the policy���s garaged location.
Court: USDC Northern District of Alabama , Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv934, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Vehicle
J. Smith finds that the trial court properly and improperly ruled in a breach of fiduciary duty case filed by the co-owner of a corporation against an attorney who represented the corporation in litigation. The co-owners alleged in their complaint that the attorney failed to inform the corporation's board of directors of a possible conflict of interest and aided another owner of the corporation in starting a competing firm. Nothing in the evidence establishes a relationship between the co-owner and the attorney. However, remaining questions on the award of attorney fees in this litigation still exist and should be adjudicated. Affirmed in part.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: 03-22-00234-CV, Categories: Corporations, Fiduciary Duty, Attorney Fees
J. Smith finds the witnesses' close relationships to the victim and minor variations in their testimony does not render defendant's sexual imposition conviction against the weight of the evidence. The testimony established all elements of the offense, while the jury was in the best position to determine the witnesses' credibility. Meanwhile, because defendant's girlfriend was not present at the time of the assault, his attorney's failure to call the woman as a witness did not constitute ineffective assistance, as her testimony would not have included any relevant evidence. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 22, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1678, Categories: Evidence, Ineffective Assistance, Sex Offender
J. Smith grants a buyer leave to amend breach of contract claims concerning the sale of real property because the buyer sufficiently claimed that the original contract was breached when the U.S. changed the closing date.
Court: Court of Federal Claims, Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 18, 2024, Case #: 23-1182, Categories: Property, Contract
J. Smith finds for the U.S. in this pre-award protest concerning a contract to provide spiritual services for the life connections program facilitator at the federal correctional institution located in Milan, Michigan, because the U.S. adequately described its procedures for screening employees.
Court: Court of Federal Claims, Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 18, 2024, Case #: 23-322, Categories: Contract
J. Smith grants the solid waste director���s motion to dismiss this complaint brought by a citizen who claims he was deprived of procedural due process and his constitutional rights were violated. The citizen alleges he was served a summons for not paying the solid waste collection fee, even though he is allegedly exempt from participating. He was convicted and ordered to pay fines and restitution, but later that was dismissed and never validated. The court concluded he failed to state a claim, declares the collection fee is mandatory, and finds the statements made by the director did not constitute fabricated evidence.
Court: USDC Northern District of Alabama , Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 18, 2024, Case #: 5:24cv23, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Constitution, Government, Due Process
J. Smith finds that defendant was properly convicted of murder and that his objections regarding the admission of certain evidence are without merit. The disputed testimony about a jail telephone call made by defendant in which he threatened an ex-girlfriend was relevant since it showed his knowledge about what had happened to the victim and also rebutted his theory that a different perpetrator murdered the victim. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 18, 2024, Case #: 10-23-00146-CR, Categories: Evidence, Murder, Identification
J. Smith conditionally grants the relator husband's petition for a writ of mandamus, in which he challenges a ruling in the lower court "refusing to enter a final judgment based on the parties' Mediated Settlement Agreement." The lower court abused its discretion when it ordered the parties "back to mediation" to reform the agreement in connection with an alleged mistake, as it was not permitted to evaluate the merits of the property division. The court also concludes that the relator has no adequate remedy by appeal.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 11, 2024, Case #: 05-23-00593-CV, Categories: Civil Procedure, Property, Settlements