J. Chuang partially grants an IT firm’s motion for partial summary judgment after a limited partnership property owner alleged the firm broke the lease agreement between the two. An indemnification clause obligates the owner to pay its mortgager in the event the firm does not pay the owner under the lease terms. The owner argues that this clause does not apply because it is only part of the lease, not the mortgage. However, the clause is applicable to both.
Court: USDC Maryland, Judge: Chuang, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: 8:18cv720, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Property, Banking / Lending, Contract
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the lower court improperly granted the Archdiocese's motion to dismiss a suit alleging abuse by two Catholic priests. While the Archdiocese did not legally own the premises where the alleged abuse occurred, that fact does not foreclose the possibility the alleged abusers were agents of the Archdiocese or that the Archdiocese had supervisory authority over them. Reversed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: 02455, Categories: Property, Tort
J. Mead finds that the lower court improperly granted the wife's protection from abuse order against the appellant. The lower court erred in identifying the date that the appellant had allegedly entered the home, which was significant in that the amended temporary protection order was not in effect on the actual date. Accordingly, the issue should be remanded for reconsideration. Vacated.
Court: Maine Supreme Court, Judge: Mead, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: 2023ME28, Categories: Evidence, Family Law, Restraining Order
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J. Robinson declines to dismiss Advanta-Star Automotive Research's copyright infringement claim against its competitor based on reviews made by both companies comparing the 2019 Ford Transit Connect and the 2019 Nissan NV200. Advanta-Star's comparisons "possess the requisite degree of creativity to qualify for protection." Numerous sentences and paragraphs in the competitor's comparisons of the Ford Transit and the Nissan "are copied verbatim" from Advanta-Star's work, and the information is presented "in a markedly similar way."
Court: USDC Southern District of California, Judge: Robinson, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv1186, NOS: Copyrights - Property Rights, Categories: Copyright
J. Cunningham finds that the patent trial and appeal board improperly ruled in this dispute over a drug delivery device because the competitor failed to establish obviousness. Reversed.
Court: Federal Circuit, Judge: Cunningham, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: 2021-1981, Categories: Patent
[Modified.] The appeals court changes the judgment in a consumer warranty opinion. The trial court improperly awarded a consumer $98,000 in attorney fees and costs when he settled his lemon law claims after rejecting earlier settlement offers. On first impression, the appeals court holds that the penalty provisions of section 998 still apply when a case ends with a subsequent settlement offer before a trial. A stipulated settlement with the structure and terms of a final determination meet the definitions of "judgment" in the attorney fee provisions of both section 998 and the Song-Beverly Act. The trial court must reconsider whether the offer made to a consumer was more favorable than the judgment he obtained. Reversed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: C090463, Categories: Settlements, Warranty, Attorney Fees
J. Walker grants the company's motion for default judgment. The franchisee has failed to respond to a request to answer for breach of contract, conversion, and tortious interference claims.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Virginia, Judge: Walker, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv272, NOS: Franchise - Contract, Categories: Tort, Conversion, Contract
J. King partially denies summary judgment to the cleaning technology company for the former employee's wrongful discharge claim that the company fired him for complaining about discrimination and investigating sexual harassment. The former employee creates a genuine issue of material fact about the motive behind his termination because there is temporal proximity between when the former employee raised the issue about his supervisor's response to sexual harassment complaints and his termination.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: King, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv5732, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Employment Retaliation
J. McKinnon finds that the trial court properly declined to suppress blood-alcohol evidence from a DUI trial. Police had specific and articulable facts to support their conclusion that defendant was under the influence and to detain her. She said she had been drinking, she drove into a ditch, was acting erratically and had intentionally driven her car at her boyfriend. They initiated their contact under the community caretaker doctrine and prolonged their investigation because the car was traffic hazard. Affirmed.
Court: Montana Supreme Court, Judge: McKinnon, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: DA 22-0166, Categories: Evidence, Search, Dui
J. Soto finds a lower court ruled correctly in convicting defendant, a former police officer, of assault causing bodily injury and official oppression. Defendant argued that his confrontation clause rights had been violated when prosecutors entered video evidence containing statements from witnesses whom he was not allowed to confront, but defendant did not properly raise a hearsay objection and any error caused by admitting said evidence was not so great as to effect the outcome of defendant’s case. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Soto, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: 08-22-00138-CR, Categories: Confrontation, Evidence, Due Process
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the trial court should have upheld a petition seeking to invalidate local election law requiring that county commissioners count all write-in votes cast in primary elections, regardless of the candidate's party affiliation, because plaintiffs lack the right to involve non-members in party nomination processes, and because statute does not preclude non-party candidates from participating in the general election. Reversed in part.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: CAE 23-00703, Categories: Elections, Due Process, Equal Protection
[Modified.] [Consolidated.] The appeals court modifies its previously published opinion with no change in judgment. The trial court properly awarded penalties and attorney fees to an adjunct professor because the university that employed her failed to provide accurate wage statements. A subsequently enacted law that would exempt adjunct faculty from hour and pay reporting is not retroactively applicable. It was also right that the adjunct professor's wage claims are preempted by federal law, which bars state courts from interpreting collective bargaining agreements, including the one between her union and the university. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Van Aken, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: A161477, Categories: Preemption, Attorney Fees, Labor / Unions
[Redacted.] J. Smith finds that the trial court properly awarded attorney fees in claims contending an employee breached the non-compete clause by working for the employer's client because the client had ample notice of the non-compete agreement before the suit was filed, and the consulting firm should not have been required to file a separate complaint against the employee to recover fees. Affirmed in part.
Court: New Jersey Appellate Division, Judge: Smith, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: A-1067-20, Categories: Trade Secrets, Attorney Fees
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the lower court properly dismissed the valuation service's complaint against 24 of the defendants in this lawsuit as there is already a pending prior lawsuit in California based breach of contract claims involving the same engagement letters. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: 02449, Categories: Jurisdiction, Contract
J. Henderson finds that a former Guantanamo Bay detainee voluntarily signed a form waiving his right to appellate review, so the court lacks the authority to consider vacating his convictions for war crimes. dismissed.
Court: DC Circuit, Judge: Henderson, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: 21-1218, Categories: Civil Procedure, Civil Rights
J. Agee finds the lower court improperly granted declaratory judgment to the consulting firm. The insurance company was right to deny indemnity coverage after shareholders filed several lawsuits alleging that the shareholders received below-market consideration for their shares in a merger because the bump-up exclusion excludes indemnity coverage. Reversed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Agee, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: 21-2396, Categories: Insurance, Securities
J. Benton finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to 324 months in prison after a jury convicted him on charges of being a armed career criminal in possession of firearms and ammunition. The defendant argued that the lower court erred in refusing to grant his motion to suppress eyewitness evidence, arguing that it was based on an "impermissibly suggestive photo array line- up." However, the government presented sufficient evidence in court that the line- up photo was reliable and did not have a likelihood of mistaken identity at the hands of two eyewitnesses who interacted with him before he began shooting in a bar. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Benton, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: 22-2196, Categories: Firearms, Sentencing, Witnesses
J. Georges finds no error in the conviction of defendant, who murdered his wife by blunt force trauma and strangulation. The evidence was sufficient and the judge did not abuse her discretion in admitting certain propensity evidence. Affirmed.
Court: Massachusetts Supreme Court, Judge: Georges, Filed On: May 9, 2023, Case #: SJC-13022, Categories: Evidence, Murder