J. White allows some securities claims to survive against HP from investors who say the company was not fully transparent on the health of its supplies-centric business arm, which largely revolves around the selling of ink and toner. The company told investors that its supplies business was healthy and that any downward trends were for reasons outside the company's control, but investors say these statements undersold how badly its ink and toner market was suffering. While not all of the company statements are actionable or blatantly misleading, there is just enough on the record to show that investors could have been misled, allowing misrepresentation claims to survive to the next stage.
Court: USDC Northern District of California, Judge: White, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 4:20cv7835, NOS: Securities/Commodities/Exchange - Other Suits, Categories: Securities
J. Holmes finds that the lower court improperly in part granted summary judgment to Netflix after a photographer claimed that the company used several of his videos in its Tiger King documentary series without his permission. While the photographer has waived his right to appeal most of the videos, there is one video he has a potential claim to make upon. Netflix claims their use of the single video fell under its fair use rights, but in doing so, did not provide any evidence that showed the "absence of a market impact" related to its use of the video. Further proceedings on that sole video copyright claim are needed as a result. Reversed in part.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: Holmes , Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 22-6086, Categories: Trademark
J. Coughenour denies the former insurance agency leader's motion to dismiss the fraudulent inducement claim in the insurance brokerage firm's complaint alleging that the former leader manipulated non-party Rice Insurance Agency's financial records to make it appear more profitable than it was, incentivizing the insurance brokerage firm to invest more than it should have. The insurance brokerage firm plausibly suggests that the former leader did not intend to honor his promises, as one pre-sale email has the former leader instruct an employee to delay recording commission checks so he could present an "earn out" of over 10 times until after the sale closed.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Coughenour, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv1468, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Fraud, Contract
J. Cruser finds that the lower court improperly issued an order granting attorney fees in a defamation case. The group moving for the fees did not adhere to a 10-day timeline in which attorney fees are requested, and as a result, their motion was untimely and should have been denied. Reversed.
Court: Washington Court Of Appeals, Judge: Cruser, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 58155-8-II, Categories: Defamation, Attorney Fees
J. Menendez partially grants the milking machine makers' motion to dismiss the dairy farmers' suit against them alleging misrepresentation of the machine's capabilities and a number of defects. Claims against two foreign entities and one domestic entity involved in the milking machine business are dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction, since the farmers have not adequately proved their alter-ego, agency or conspiracy theories of personal jurisdiction. A third foreign entity's motion to dismiss is denied, since disputes persist as to whether it has sufficient contacts with Minnesota to warrant personal jurisdiction. The companies' motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim are denied.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Menendez, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 0:22cv1924, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Corporations, Jurisdiction, Contract
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. Gladwin finds the county court properly found the parties had a valid and enforceable marriage. After the husband's hospitalization for COVID, he returned home to find that money in a bank account he had entrusted to his wife was gone. He filed for divorce and the wife denied that the parties had been married. Evidence shows the parties held themselves out to the community at large as a married couple. The presumption of a lawful marriage exists when a couple who have lived together for a considerable time and hold each other out to the public as husband and wife. The property division is based on sufficient evidence. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gladwin , Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: CV-23-127, Categories: Evidence, Family Law, Contract
J. Norton denies Boeing's motion to dismiss this age discrimination suit. The employee who is over the age of 40 says that a supervisor lowered his evaluations after the employee reported his antagonistic behavior. The employee says the supervisor also altered his job title in order include him in a list of workforce reduction layoffs. Allegations that the supervisor changed the employee's job title, that the only other people laid off were 53 and 55, and that the employee was replaced with younger employees are sufficient to make a plausible claim for age discrimination.
Court: USDC South Carolina Aiken, Judge: Norton , Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv2631, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Evidence, Employment Discrimination
J. Austin, of the District of South Carolina, grants the real estate investors' motion to transfer their own investors' suit against them to the Southern District of Florida. While this dispute relates to property in South Carolina, both parties do substantial business in Florida and other related suits are already being litigated in Florida.
Court: USDC Southern District of Florida, Judge: Austin, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 1:24cv21147, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Fiduciary Duty, Venue, Contract
J. Virden finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for meth possession with the purpose to deliver. An officer staking-out a known drug house saw defendant pull up in his vehicle, stopped him, and found baggies with meth on his person. Defendant did not consent to a search of his vehicle, and a drug dog free sniff around the vehicle resulted in a hit giving the officer probable cause. A search yielded various amounts of meth, as well as baggies. The location of the drugs in the vehicle indicated defendant had control and possession of them. Baggies are a well-known packaging used to sell drugs. All evidence supports the conviction. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Virden , Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: CR-23-337, Categories: Drug Offender, Evidence, Search
J. Brown finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for raping his girlfriend's daughter. The victim stated that she was 10 years old when she first made accusations against the defendant. She was removed from the home, though she testifies that she later recanted and was returned home after defendant pressured her. Her aunt then read diary entries detailing events of rape, as well as defendant's having bought her a sex toy. Though defendant argues that the child could not remember locations or details, time is not an essential element for rape. It is not necessary for the state to prove specifically when and where each act occurred. Certain testimony detailing events that occurred outside Arkansas were properly admitted under the pedophile exception. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Brown , Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: CR-23-387, Categories: Evidence, Sex Offender, Child Victims
J. Klappenbach finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for negligent homicide. The victim motorcyclist was killed when he entered the turn lane and defendant, who was travelling in the opposite direction, veered his truck into the lane, striking the victim. Witness accounts and the condition of the defendant's and the victim's vehicles are sufficient to support the conviction. Defendant's above-limit blood-alcohol level test result was properly admitted. Use of an isopropyl alcohol pad on defendant's arm before his blood was drawn would not invalidate the test. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Klappenbach , Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: CR-23-489, Categories: Evidence, Vehicle, Negligent Homicide
J. Miller finds that the trial court properly concluded the son lacked standing to challenge the benefits of homestead granted to the daughter in a probate dispute over the deceased father's estate, in part because the son was not a beneficiary under the disputed will. Affirmed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Miller, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 23-0975, Categories: Wills / Probate
J. Bokor finds the trial court erred in allowing "harmful hearsay statements" in the son's lawsuit alleging Philip Morris fraudulently concealed the dangers of the cigarettes that caused his mother to die from lung cancer. Philip Morris correctly argues that testimony the mother's sons gave at trial regarding her expressions of anger at the tobacco companies following her cancer diagnosis, specifically that the companies represented that filtered cigarettes were safer, was "backward-looking" and did not properly speak to her state of mind at the time. Because it cannot be proved that this inadmissible hearsay did not contribute to the $43 million verdict in the son's favor, the trial court's final judgment is reversed and the case is remanded for a new trial. Reversed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Bokor, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 21-2214, Categories: Fraud, Product Liability
J. Emas finds the trial court did not err by granting the citizen's motion to amend her complaint to add a claim for punitive damages in her lawsuit against the motorist who backed into her in a parking lot and pinned her between two cars, causing injuries requiring surgery. Despite varying accounts given from witnesses, there was an evidentiary basis to allow the citizen to add her claim for punitive damages because, she asserts, the motorist was drunk at the time of the incident. Affirmed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Emas, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 23-0639, Categories: Evidence, Damages, Negligence
Per curiam, the appeals court finds the trial court improperly granted the insured's oral motion to compel appraisal and in the meantime stay his lawsuit against the insurance company. The relevant policy requires that both parties agree to appraisal, and because the insurance company clearly stated at the time of the insured's motion that it did not agree to appraisal, the trial court erred by granting the motion, in the process also violating the company's due process rights by hearing and granting the motion at an unrelated pretrial hearing without prior notice. Reversed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 23-0256, Categories: Insurance, Due Process
J. Peterson grants the U.S. Secretary of the Army's motion for summary judgment in the citizen's pro se lawsuit claiming he was unlawfully denied jobs he applied for with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The citizen has not provided sufficient evidence to show he was denied employment as retaliation for testifying as a witness at his father's EEO hearing in 2002, so his motion for summary judgment is denied, the Army secretary's motion is granted, and the clerk is ordered to close the case.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv351, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Employment Retaliation
J. Davis denies the government's motion for summary judgment in the deceased Vietnam veteran's wife's medical-malpractice suit on her husband's behalf, and denies the wife's motion for leave to file a motion to strike the government's expert physicians' surrebuttal declarations. The wife has exhausted her administrative remedies, since the Veteran's Administration took nearly two years to issue a decision on her claim, and did so after this litigation began. Additionally, questions of fact remain as to whether the wife can establish that the Veterans Administration's failure to dialyze the veteran led to his cardiac arrest. Finally, a prior order in this case did not bar admission of the expert surrebuttals.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Davis, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 0:21cv1431, NOS: Personal Injury - Medical Malpractice - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Experts, Medical Malpractice
J. Sands grants plaintiff insurance companies’’ motion for summary judgment in their suit against a local pharmacy distributor in Tifton, Georgia, that was named as a defendant in 26 opioid lawsuits. The companies provide that the economic losses sought in the underlying opioid lawsuits are precluded by their policies.
Court: USDC Middle District of Georgia, Judge: Sands, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 7:22cv113, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance
J. Simon denies the saw mill owner's motion to dismiss for forum non conveniens the import company owner's complaint the saw mill owner diverted business away from the joint venture shared between the two and refused to disclose profits. Most of the business of the alleged joint venture happened in China, but the saw mill owner should be able to obtain documents located in the country for this lawsuit, especially if the relevant business documents can be scanned and electronically sent to the United States, and it is possible to make witness testimony available either remotely or in-person.
Court: USDC Oregon, Judge: Simon, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv499, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Discovery, Contract
J. Montalvo finds that the district court properly denied defendant's petition for a writ of habeas corpus in a case in which the district court rejected defendants' claim that a life without parole sentence, imposed after he pleaded guilty to public indecency, was grossly disproportionate to his offense in violation of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. The sentence under Oregon’s legislatively-mandated sex offender recidivism statute was correct when factoring in defendant's criminal history. Affirmed.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: Montalvo, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 22-35076, Categories: Constitution, Sentencing, Sex Offender
J. Durkin grants T-Mobile’s motion to certify an interlocutory appeal over whether a putative consumer class has sufficiently alleged antitrust standing. The putative class opposes the now-closed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint and seeks, via this suit against T-Mobile’s parent company, to unwind the merger and prevent T-Mobile from having a monopoly over U.S. wireless services.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Durkin, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv3189, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: Antitrust, Class Action, Technology
J. Méndez-Miró grants the conservation trust's motion for summary judgment. The landowner claims the trust fraudulently induced him into executing a deed constituting a perpetual land conservation easement in favor of the trust over his real property, misrepresenting that he would receive $750,000 in tax credits. The conservation easement is a voluntary agreement limiting use of a property to protect its natural, cultural or agricultural worth. The Puerto Rico Treasury Department’s denial of the tax credit is not illegal and does not render the deed null.
Court: USDC Puerto Rico, Judge: Méndez-Miró, Filed On: March 26, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv1256, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Agriculture, Property, Trusts
J. Tostrud grants the former employee's motion for default judgment in suit against his former employer alleging retaliatory discharge under the False Claims Act and breach of contract. Taken as true, the employee's allegations satisfy all the elements of both claims, and the employer's failure to prosecute its counterclaims warrants dismissal of those counterclaims. Judgment is awarded in the amount of $1,821,620.68.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Tostrud, Filed On: March 26, 2024, Case #: 0:22cv2145, NOS: False Claims Act - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Employment, False Claims
J. Tunheim partially grants the healthcare provider's motion to dismiss the patient's putative class action alleging that it improperly shared personal information with the technology company Meta through its website. The patient's claims for violations of the Minnesota Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act and Minnesota Consumer Fraud Act and for unjust enrichment survive, since the patient has plausibly alleged that the healthcare provider deceived patients as to the extent of its use of patients' data and a failure to comply with HIPAA, that his proposed class action would serve a public benefit, and that the healthcare provider receives benefits from the use of his personal information. His intrusion on seclusion claim fails because he voluntarily provided his data to the healthcare provider, and he has not provided sufficiently specific examples of his use of the website to support a Minnesota Health Records Act claim. He has also not pleaded an unlawful interception of data under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Tunheim, Filed On: March 26, 2024, Case #: 0:23cv482, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Health Care, Privacy, Class Action
J. Cain adopts the magistrate's report and grants the Army's motion to dismiss this employment discrimination case. The Black, female, mentally challenged administrative assistant says her position description was changed in order to harass and discriminate against her based on race, disability, and sex. She says that additional duties were not consistent with those assigned to others in her position and that her work performance was continually scrutinized. The employee fails to offer allegation or evidence that other employees are valid comparators. The absence of minorities in upper-level positions does not prove discrimination without the comparison. Her objection to the magistrate's report merely catalogs issues with her employment, challenging her employer’s decisions rather than the magistrate's findings and conclusions.
Court: USDC South Carolina Aiken, Judge: Cain , Filed On: March 26, 2024, Case #: 3:21cv3708, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Employment Discrimination
J. Simon partially dismisses the coach's complaint that the school district and others accused the coach of sexual harassment and fired him to cover up the extramarital affair of another coach. The coach's defamation claim currently fails because it is unclear if it is time barred and the coach does not provide details about the allegedly defamatory statements. The coach can file a second amended complaint if he believes that he can cure the deficiencies.
Court: USDC Oregon, Judge: Simon, Filed On: March 26, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv1923, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Defamation