55 results for 'judge:"Lee "'.
J. Lee finds that there was spoliation of evidence in this personal injury lawsuit alleging that an apartment tenant was burned due to the temperature of the water in the bathtub, after a repairman had worked on the hot water heater. Specifically, the "rotational limit stop" device on the faucet was adjusted after the alleged burn incident, without the defendant company's "knowledge or presence." However, the proposed sanctions "all go too far." Accordingly, the parties should confer and propose a limiting jury instruction.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Tennessee , Judge: Lee, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv273, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Evidence, Landlord Tenant, Negligence
J. Lee denies a petition for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). The panel rejected an immigrant's suggestion that Immigration Judges and BIA members are principal officers who must be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. They are inferior officers and their appointments may be vested in the head of a department.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: Lee, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: 18-71987, Categories: Immigration
J. Lee finds that the lower court properly awarded the injured police officer $7.5 million on his failure-to-warn claim against the ammunition maker after he was struck in the spine by a breaching round that remained live after a fellow police officer missed a metal target. None of the ammunition maker's product literature warns that breaching rounds that hit wood do not disintegrate. Further, the jury's award was rooted in the substantial evidence of the officer's chronic pain and permanent medical conditions. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Lee, Filed On: August 21, 2023, Case #: 22-1861, Categories: Damages, Product Liability
J. Lee finds that the lower court improperly found for the town on a sex offender's challenge to its restriction on offenders' living within 6,500 feet of each other. The town officers no explanation for why prohibiting offenders from living close by one another would safeguard children, especially given that offenders are already prohibited from living near places where children congregate. Reversed in part.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Lee, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 22-2435, Categories: Civil Rights, Municipal Law
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J. Lee finds that the lower court improperly denied defendant's motion to amend his postconviction petition claiming his counsel was ineffective for failing to inform him of his potential life sentence on drug charges. The court abused its discretion in finding that the proposed amendments to the petition did not relate back to his original petition for statutes of limitations purposes. Reversed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Lee, Filed On: August 15, 2023, Case #: 22-1678, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Ineffective Assistance
J. Lee finds that the lower court properly found for the insurer in a dispute over coverage for an airplane crash. The policy unambiguously excludes coverage for any accident involving the subject aircraft where the pilot lacks a current Federal Aviation Administration medical certificate. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Lee, Filed On: August 9, 2023, Case #: 22-3053, Categories: Insurance, Aviation
J. Lee finds that the lower court properly found for the Virginia agent in a business dispute between two shipping companies. The parties' contract contemplates that the agent could terminate the agreement with or without cause. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Lee, Filed On: August 7, 2023, Case #: 22-1217, Categories: Business Practices, Contract
J. Lee finds that the lower court properly sanctioned the attorney for his attempts to enforce a judgment against his former clients in defiance of a court order disqualifying him from prosecuting this matter due to his former representation. The attorney was not entitled to disregard the order simply because he disagreed with it. His suit is dismissed and he must pay his former clients' legal fees in connection with this appeal. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Lee, Filed On: August 3, 2023, Case #: 22-2691, Categories: Enforcement Of Judgments, Attorney Fees
J. Lee finds that the district court improperly awarded attorney fees to copyright holders��� counsel in a copyright class action on behalf of copyright holders of musical compositions against Rhapsody International, also known as Napster. The fees were disproportionate to the relatively small recovered amount by certain class members. Reversed.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: Lee, Filed On: August 2, 2023, Case #: 22-15162, Categories: Attorney Fees, Class Action
J. Lee finds that the lower court properly found for the employer in a disability discrimination suit filed by a former bus driver alleging it failed to give her a reasonable accommodation for her carpal tunnel syndrome. On the record, no reasonable jury could find that she was disabled within the meaning of the ADA. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Lee, Filed On: August 2, 2023, Case #: 22-1609, Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act, Employment Discrimination
J. Lee vacates a district court preliminary injunction halting enforcement of the informed-consent requirement in Guam���s Women���s Reproductive Health Information Act. The Act requires that women seeking abortions must have an in-person meeting with a physician or a qualified agent of the physician, who must disclose certain medical information. The informed consent requirement does not violate the Due Process Clause because "it furthers Guam���s legitimate governmental interests in preservation of potential life."
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: Lee, Filed On: August 1, 2023, Case #: 21-16559, Categories: Health Care
J. Lee denies an immigrant's petition for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) concerning a removal process. The panel rejected the immigrant's claim that Immigration Judges and BIA members are principal officers who must be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The panel concluded that they are inferior officers because the Attorney General directs and supervises their work.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: Lee, Filed On: July 27, 2023, Case #: 18-71987, Categories: Immigration
J. Lee affirms defendant's 78-month prison sentence for illegally possessing a firearm while selling marijuana in daylight hours on a busy Chicago street. Defendant argues that his above-the-guidelines sentence was tainted by the district court���s lengthy commentary on the general prevalence of gun violence in Chicago, but "district courts may consider the serious problem of gun violence in Chicago in imposing stiff sentences on those who commit firearms offenses in the city.��� Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Lee, Filed On: July 25, 2023, Case #: 21-3287 , Categories: Firearms, Sentencing, Weapons
J. Lee finds that the lower court properly found that an individual was not exempt from a garnishment from his banking account. He claims his account should be exempt because the account contained community property assets. The bank reduced its claim against him before the individual's marriage, a key element of the individual's exemption argument, which means the judgment was timely obtained and the exemption does not apply. Affirmed.
Court: Washington Court Of Appeals, Judge: Lee, Filed On: July 25, 2023, Case #: 56982-5-II, Categories: Banking / Lending
J. Lee finds that the lower court properly revoked defendant's community custody and returned him to prison regarding his underlying rape conviction. Defendant was arrested for a series of offenses while released, as well as admitted to using drugs. All of these offenses supported the move to place defendant back in prison, and the state followed all the proper protocols to do so. Affirmed.
Court: Washington Court Of Appeals, Judge: Lee, Filed On: July 25, 2023, Case #: 57303-2-II, Categories: Sex Offender
J. Lee finds that the lower court properly found for the prison officials on civil rights claims stemming from an inmate's vicious beating at the hands of his cellmate. The inmate's injuries occurred after the cellmate had been reassigned to a new cell and was in the process of moving out when the inmate approached him of his own volition. This interaction was not one that prison officials could reasonably anticipate, and their failure to reassign the cellmate earlier did not cause the fight. Rather, the inmate placed himself in harms way by initiating the interaction. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Lee, Filed On: July 17, 2023, Case #: 22-1340, Categories: Constitution, Prisoners' Rights
J. Lee finds that the lower court properly found that a worker was exempt from the Washington Minimum Wage Act. His work for nonprofit ACLU was without pay or promise of employment down the road. Under state law, those facts do not allow for the worker to be considered a full employee and is, therefore, exempt from the minimum wage regulations. Affirmed.
Court: Washington Court Of Appeals, Judge: Lee, Filed On: June 21, 2023, Case #: 57156-1-II, Categories: Employment, Labor
J. Lee finds the lower court improperly reversed the trial court���s order requiring defendant to pay a set of restitution during his probationary period without payment terms. Tennessee Code Annotated Section 40-35-304 allows, but does not require trial courts to specify payment terms. The instant court finds the trial court���s restitution order is reasonable, considered both parties and is final; as such, the trial court���s order is reinstated. Reversed.
Court: Tennessee Supreme Court, Judge: Lee, Filed On: June 8, 2023, Case #: E2020-01333-SC-R11-CD, Categories: Sentencing, Restitution
J. Lee finds the lower court improperly dismissed defendant���s appeal for lack of jurisdiction. Defendant drove through a cemetery causing $30,490 in damages. He pleaded guilty to DUI and leaving the scene of an accident. Defendant violated the terms of his probation for driving on a revoked license and the trial court revoked his probation, ordered him to serve the balance of his sentence in confinement, and ordered him to pay restitution while incarcerated. Defendant appealed to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, who dismissed on grounds that the trial court���s order was not a final order. The instant court finds that the trial court���s order is a final order and reverses the lower court���s dismissal, but it also finds that the trial court did not properly consider defendant���s ability to pay when it ordered restitution. The matter is remanded to the trial court for further proceedings. Vacated.
Court: Tennessee Supreme Court, Judge: Lee, Filed On: June 8, 2023, Case #: M2020-00359-SC-R11-CD, Categories: Restitution, Dui, Jurisdiction
J. Lee finds that the district court improperly awarded attorney fees to class members��� counsel in a copyright action concerning music composition. Copyright holders of musical compositions and ended up recovering a little over $50,000 for the class members while the attorneys requested $6 million in legal fees to which the court authorized $1.7 million in legal fees, more than thirty times the amount that the class received. The Ninth Circuit commented that "this case will likely make the average person shake her head in disbelief." The panel wrote that the class received a "measly" amount and "obtained no meaningful injunctive or nonmonetary relief." Reversed.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: Lee, Filed On: June 7, 2023, Case #: 22-15162, Categories: Copyright
J. Lee finds that the district court properly entered summary judgment in favor of police officers in an action alleging that officers violated individuals' Fourth Amendment rights against warrantless arrests and excessive force. The officers were shielded by qualified immunity. Affirmed.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: Lee, Filed On: June 1, 2023, Case #: 21-55867, Categories: Civil Rights, Constitution, Immunity
J. Lee finds that the lower court properly denied defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty pleas to drug and firearm offenses. His pleas were entered "knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently," and nothing has been brought before the court to suggest otherwise. Affirmed.
Court: Washington Court Of Appeals, Judge: Lee, Filed On: May 31, 2023, Case #: 56574-9-II, Categories: Drug Offender, Firearms, Plea
[Consolidated.] J. Lee finds that the district court improperly held that the bankruptcy court could not include the release of creditor lawsuits against the non-debtor Sackler family in Purdue Pharma's Chapter 11 reorganization plan. The bankruptcy code permits the founding family to contribute billions of dollars toward bankruptcy in exchange for ending all civil claims concerning the opioid epidemic tied to prescription OxyContin developed by Purdue. Reversed in part.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Lee, Filed On: May 30, 2023, Case #: 22-110-bk (L), Categories: Administrative Law, Bankruptcy, Fraud
J. Lee finds that the district court improperly dismissed due process claims in a civil action brought against police following acquittal on a criminal drug-sale charge because plaintiff's arrest, prosecution, and conviction for drug possession simultaneous to drug-sale proceedings did not preclude plaintiff from arguing that fabricated evidence on the sale count led to illegal custody.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Lee, Filed On: May 22, 2023, Case #: 21-33, Categories: Civil Rights