Per curiam, the Nevada supreme court grants the petition for a writ of mandamus challenging the denial of a petition for temporary guardianship over minor children. The grandparents filed a petition for general guardianship, explaining that the children had been exposed to unsafe conditions living with their mother and her new partner with a criminal background. The petition was denied without prejudice for failure to provide proof of proper service. The mother filed an objection, and the children filed to appoint the grandparents as temporary guardians pending a decision on general guardianship. The court denied the petition without a hearing, failing to give the request consideration.
Court: Nevada Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 88027, Categories: Family Law, Due Process, Guardianship
J. Higginson finds the district court properly convicted defendant for wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy. Defendant committed extensive fraud in connection with student loan applications submitted on behalf of real and fictional students. He concealed his identity as a paid application preparer, also falsely representing student eligibility, qualifications, and academic history, and paying people to impersonate students. Though post-trial counsel suggested that defendant was delusional, and without the ability to understand the proceedings, the district court conducted a careful evaluation of his lack of history of irrational behavior, his demeanor and behavior at trial, and medical records and opinions regarding his competency. No abuse of discretion is found. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Higginson , Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 23-30069, Categories: Competence, Fraud, Conspiracy
Per curiam, the Nebraska supreme court accepts the lawyer's voluntary surrender of his license, entering a judgment of disbarment. The lawyer was arrested and charged with four counts of possession of a controlled substance and had his license temporarily suspended. He pled no contest to the charges before filing the voluntary surrender. He has knowingly filed for voluntary surrender, meeting all requirements, and has waived all proceedings.
Court: Nebraska Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: S-24-061, Categories: Licensing, Attorney Discipline
J. Cummings partially grants an auto body shop's motion for summary judgment on a former employee's discrimination claims. The former employee claims she faced discrimination at work on the basis of her pregnancy, and was eventually fired. The court finds the former employee has abandoned her hostile work environment claim, as she did not respond to the auto shop's argument against it, but allows the rest of her allegations to go forward.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Cummings, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 1:21cv2524, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Vehicle, Employment Discrimination
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J. Dysart finds that the trial court properly denied a contractor's motion for post-judgment relief against the water board regarding the interruption in service for the contractor's failure to timely pay an invoice for water service after the contractor was awarded damages for breach of contract regarding the replacement of two sewerage pumping stations. In this case, the contractor cannot obtain payment of the judgment through compensation of water service. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Dysart, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 2023-CA-0787, Categories: Water, Contract
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that attorney Kali Chantelle Jones may be reinstated following her may 2019 suspension for failing to meet registration requirements because she demonstrated compliance with the suspension order and possessed the requisite character to practice law.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: PM-75-24, Categories: Attorney Discipline
J. Bailey finds that the lower court properly denied the appellant's motion to recuse the judge based on an allegation of partiality in this eviction proceeding. The judge dismissed the appellant's counterclaim petition "the day after it was filed." It may have been improper to rule on the dismissal motion "without notice or hearing," but the ruling was "not a result of prejudice." Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Bailey, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 11-22-00127-CV, Categories: Civil Procedure, Real Estate
J. Luthy finds that the trial court properly imposed probation conditions on defendant for sex offenses he committed as a minor. He argued that since statute does not require sex offender registration for defendants whose offenses were committed as minors, it was error to impose the same restrictions on him as conditions of probation. But statute does not bar the imposition of sex offender conditions during the limited period of probation. However, the requirement to provide a DNA specimen was error since it is an express component of the requirement to register as a sex offender. Reversed in part.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Luthy, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 20230194-CA, Categories: Dna, Probation, Sex Offender
J. Kirsch dismisses the South African immigrant's appeal of the cancellation of his removal based on having overstayed his visa. The immigrant was twice arrested on domestic violence charges, and, although the charges were dismissed, the board reasonably found that his criminal history made him ineligible to cancel his removal proceedings.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Kirsch, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 23-2208, Categories: Immigration
J. Schreier grants a motion for leave to proceed after an individual filed a pro se lawsuit under the False Claims Act. The action is sealed because the individual alleges it is a qui tam action, but the court wrote that it does not appear that the individual has served the government with a copy of his complaint and a written disclosure of substantially all material evidence. The matter stems from a dispute over car repairs at a shop in Worthington, Minnesota.
Court: USDC South Dakota, Judge: Schreier, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv5071, NOS: Qui Tam (31 U.S.C. § 3729(a)) - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: Fraud, Vehicle
J. Kuhar finds that the appeals court erroneously held that a products liability claim over a failed safety harness had not been resolved in a New Jersey federal court and could be tried in Utah. The New Jersey case ended in summary judgment for the manufacturer when that court ruled that consumers failed to produce an admissible expert report and testimony. The appeals court took this to mean the case had not been resolved on its merits, but a determination that the consumers failed to meet their initial burden of proof by providing necessary expert testimony is tantamount to a decision on the merits under the doctrine of issue preclusion. Reversed.
Court: Utah Supreme Court, Judge: Petersen, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 20220282, Categories: Product Liability, Experts
J. Rivera finds that the appellate division improperly convicted Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein of sex crimes based on uncharged prior bad acts not germane to the case because cross-examining Weinstein about those allegations threatened to portray him in a highly prejudicial light, and a new trial should be held since both errors deprived him of a fair trial. Meanwhile, the court properly held that rape charges were not time-barred because the statute of limitations had been tolled for time during which Weinstein was continuously out-of-state. Reversed in part.
Court: New York Court Of Appeals, Judge: Rivera, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 24, Categories: Evidence, Fair Trial, Sex Offender
J. Cannataro finds that defendant was properly convicted of drug possession based on a legally sufficient chain of custody for cocaine seized during a traffic stop. Defendant raises evidentiary questions due to the fact that a night passed between between the seizure of the drug and the cocaine being formerly logged, but the evidence remained under police control in sealed envelopes. Affirmed.
Court: New York Court Of Appeals, Judge: Cannataro, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 33, Categories: Drug Offender, Evidence
J. Halligan finds that the appellate division improperly held that defendant's confrontation rights were violated when the state introduced a standardized form of pedigree information suggesting that defendant lived in a basement where a gun allegedly used in a road rage incident had been discovered. The form is prepared for all New York City arrestees to assist in bail decisions and thus had not been created primarily for trial testimony. Reversed.
Court: New York Court Of Appeals, Judge: Halligan, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 39, Categories: Confrontation, Evidence
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the homeowner is entitled to nominal damages of $10 in a breach of contract action against her neighbor who completed their renovation using a cheaper brick that does not exactly match the homeowner's front façade. No evidence was admitted as to the cost of the bricks the defendant neighbor used, so it is not possible to determine the difference between that figure and the cost of matching bricks. However, the homeowner is entitled to attorney fees of $30,000, 10 percent of the amount she requested. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 02253, Categories: Attorney Fees, Contract
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the lower court improperly dismissed a petition for a declaration that the July 27, 2023 elections of the democratic district leaders for the 68th Assembly District, Part A are null and void. The elections were invalid because the meeting of 13 out of 84 members of the divisional committee lacked a quorum, and notice for the meeting should have been sent to members elected in the June 2023 primaries, not the outgoing 2022 members. Reversed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 02255, Categories: Elections
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the lower court properly dismissed an employee's age discrimination suit. The employer submitted evidence that it believed its swap dealer registration was imminent, and therefore restructured the employee's department based on the bank's anticipated future needs. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 02264, Categories: Employment Discrimination
J. Lee finds that the lower court finds that the lower court improperly found in favor of the professor on his emotional distress counterclaims against a another professor who accused him of sexual assault in online posts, assessing damages of $700,000. No reasonable jury could find that the defendant professor acted in an outrageous manner by posting comments intended to inform students of the professor's notorious reputation. However, there is sufficient evidence that an accusing student's knowingly false allegations of rape are outrageous enough to support an emotional distress claim for $100,000. Reversed in part.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Lee, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 23-1960, Categories: Emotional Distress
J. St. Eve finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant on drug charges and of being a felon in possession of a firearm after searching a stolen car and finding his belongings inside. Defendant has no evidence to support his claim he did not know the rental car was stolen, especially as the license plates had been switched out. Further, he had no expectation of privacy in the safes located in the stolen car. Even if he did, the automobile exception to the warrant requirement applies as officers had ample reason to believe the car held contraband. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: St. Eve, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 23-1364, Categories: Drug Offender, Search
J. Hamilton finds that the lower court improperly dismissed the hospital's claim against the state because the private managed care organizations the state contracts with to pay Medicaid bills systematically delayed and reduced payments owed to the hospital for treating patients covered by Medicaid. The hospital has a viable right to have the state ensure timely payments from managed care organizations and this right is enforceable in this section 1983 actions against the state health agency's director. Reversed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Hamilton, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 21-2325, Categories: Government, Health Care, Medicaid
J. Troutman finds that the appellate division improperly held that rehabilitation mandates for paroled sex offenders confined to prison residential treatment facilities were met through internal state programs. The offenders remained in these facilities because they could not secure community housing away from schools, and they should not have been categorically denied access to educational, training, and employment programs outside the prison. While the appeal was mooted by plaintiffs' release, the exception to the mootness doctrine applied because the issues would likely recur. Reversed in part.
Court: New York Court Of Appeals, Judge: Troutman, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 32, Categories: Civil Procedure, Prisoners' Rights
J. Gorton allows a corporation’s motion to dismiss a former employee's claims of violation of his right to due process and equal protection, as well as his civil rights. The corporation allowed employees to be unvaccinated, but required unvaccinated employees to test themselves weekly for Covid-19, and they fired the employee when he refused to follow the testing requirement.
Court: USDC Massachusetts, Judge: Gorton, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv12206, NOS: Civil Rights - Habeas Corpus, Categories: Employment, Health Care, Covid-19
J. Snyder denies a patent holder's motion to amend judgment or in the alternative, motion for a new trial, on its willfulness claim in a patent infringement dispute. The court found in favor of the alleged infringer on the patent holder's willfulness claim. The patent holder has not shown that the conduct rose to the level of "wanton, malicious and bad-faith behavior required for willful infringement." The patent holder has not sufficiently identified which testimony it alleges was inadmissible or how the court relied on that testimony in its findings of fact and conclusions of law. "Leave to amend to address post-suit willfulness would not be appropriate."
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Snyder, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 2:18cv7090, NOS: Patent - Property Rights, Categories: Patent
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that attorney Katherine Ann Aidala of Colorado may be reinstated following her January 2014 suspension for failing to meet registration requirements and grants her leave to resign from the New York bar for nondisciplinary reasons.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: PM-71-24, Categories: Attorney Discipline
J. Tijerina finds that the lower court properly ruled in favor of the city in this breach of contract case arising from an agreement to perform certain road improvements. On appeal, the construction companies contend that the evidence is insufficient to establish their breach of the contract. But the evidence showed a "failure to adhere to the progress schedule." Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Tijerina, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 13-22-00416-CV, Categories: Evidence, Damages, Contract