102 results for 'judge:"Wright"'.
J. Wright grants the catheter-system patent claimant's motion to enforce a settlement in its suit against the medical device company. The company's uncontested response of "agreed" to a judge's email detailing the terms of the proposed settlement and a subsequent letter stating that the parties had agreed to settle this matter in principle are sufficient to confirm its agreement to the settlement terms and render the settlement enforceable.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Wright, Filed On: January 18, 2024, Case #: 0:17cv5096, NOS: Patent - Property Rights, Categories: Patent, Settlements
J. Wright grants a medical professional apparel company's motion to dismiss stockholders' consolidated class action complaint alleging securities fraud. The stockholders allege that the company schemed to artificially increase securities prices "for the purpose of selling stocks quickly to gain windfall profits" and that the company misled investors with false statements and omissions. The stockholders do not sufficiently allege scienter, do not sufficiently support claims of insider trading, do not clearly allege that the company's statements were misleading or that the company did not sufficiently discuss risk factors. The class is granted leave to amend.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Wright, Filed On: January 17, 2024, Case #: 2:22cv7939, NOS: Securities/Commodities/Exchange - Other Suits, Categories: Securities, Class Action
J. Wright denies the insured's motion to remand its action against its insurer to state court. The insurer's removal of the action to federal court was timely, since service did not occur until the Commissioner of Commerce, as a required statutory agent, was served. Equitable estoppel of arguments of timeliness is also not appropriate, since the insured does not allege that the insurer intentionally provided an incorrect address to the insured.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Wright, Filed On: January 10, 2024, Case #: 0:23cv2314, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Civil Procedure, Insurance, Contract
J. Wright approves a settlement between the tech firm and its shareholders. The terms of the settlement, namely the use of $300,000 for improvements to the company's risk management, are appropriate in relation to the merits of the shareholders' claims and manageable given the financial condition of the firm and its officers. The shareholders have also been adequately represented by the lead plaintiffs. Attorneys' fees of $1,600,000 and service awards totaling $15,000 are also reasonable.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Wright, Filed On: January 9, 2024, Case #: 0:21cv1965, NOS: Securities/Commodities/Exchange - Other Suits, Categories: Securities, Class Action
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J. Wright denies in part an employer's motion to dismiss an employee's allegations of quid pro quo harassment, hostile environment harassment and wrongful termination. The employee alleges that as CEO, she "was subjected to verbally abusive and denigrating behavior" and was fired before her equity could vest. Venue is proper, as the employee was residing in California during the alleged harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination. The employee's claims for quid pro quo harassment and hostile environment harassment continue.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Wright, Filed On: January 3, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv4320, NOS: Other Labor Litigation - Labor, Categories: Employment, Employment Retaliation
J. Wright finds the trial court properly admitted a copy of the mother’s will to probate as a muniment of title. The mother's stepdaughter probated her father's will after his death, fours years after the mother's death. She also filed a copy of the mother's will for probate as a muniment of title to show her father had inherited all of the mother's real estate, and that the transfer on death deed passed to her. Contrary to the mother's biological son's argument, the copy of his mother's will was not untimely filed. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Wright , Filed On: December 14, 2023, Case #: 09-21-00269-CV, Categories: Property, Wills / Probate
J. Wright finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for possession of a controlled substance based on sufficient evidence. The arresting officer discovered defendant living in a purportedly stolen RV while investigating a report of a stolen RV, and found baggies of meth, glass pipes with meth residue, digital scales and used syringes during a search. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Wright , Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: 09-21-00266-CR, Categories: Drug Offender, Evidence, Sentencing
J. Wright grants the pension benefit plan trustee's motion for judicial notice as to two exhibits, but denies it as to 18 more, and grants its motion to dismiss as to a claim of co-fiduciary liability brought by the employee but denies it otherwise. The exhibits for which notice is denied are largely unrelated to the parties involved in this case, but existence of the news report and website for which notice is granted are adjudicative facts for which notice can be granted. The co-fiduciary duty claim is dismissed along with claims against the employer's principal, which fail because they do not adequately allege a fiduciary role for him. Claims against the trustee for breach of duties of prudence and loyalty survive, as do claims against the employer for co-fiduciary liability and failure to monitor.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Wright, Filed On: December 12, 2023, Case #: 0:23cv301, NOS: Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) - Labor, Categories: Erisa, Fiduciary Duty
J. Wright denies the Arizona company's motions for judgment as a matter of law, for a new trial and to alter or amend judgment in its patent suit against its Minnesota competitor, along with the competitor's motion for attorney fees. A jury's finding that the Arizona company did not prove infringement by a preponderance of the evidence and that its patent claims were invalid was reasonable and supported by substantial evidence. The company also has not established that allegedly improper arguments changed the result of the trial, and while new non-infringement arguments introduced by the Minnesota competitor at trial should have been disclosed earlier, the Arizona company has not shown that they impacted the result enough to warrant a new trial. It also has not shown that jury instructions and evidentiary rulings were prejudicially erroneous. Claim construction disputes were resolved before trial and cannot justify a new trial. The Minnesota competitor, however, is not entitled to attorney fees since the Arizona company's case was not so weak, nor its litigation conduct so poor, as to warrant an attorney fees award, and "the relative resources available to each party weigh against rewarding Defendants for potentially overwhelming CellTrust in litigation."
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Wright, Filed On: December 6, 2023, Case #: 0:19cv2855, NOS: Patent - Property Rights, Categories: Jury, Patent, Attorney Fees
J. Wright denies an individual's motion to dismiss a breach of contract claim brought against him by a cryptocurrency owner who alleges the individual did not make repayment agreement payments following the alleged theft of his cryptocurrency from a digital wallet. The individual who was holding the cryptocurrency agreed to pay in installments following the theft, but only made the first payment to the cryptocurrency owner. The cryptocurrency owner has sufficiently pleaded the existence of a valid contract.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Wright, Filed On: December 5, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv5607, NOS: Negotiable Instrument - Contract, Categories: Contract
J. Wright finds the lower court properly dismissed a wrongful death claim. The daughter of a man who fell to his death while working filed suit against his employer claiming the employer’s negligence caused her father’s death. Because the father died in the course of doing his job, the lower court determined that all claims for damages must be remedied through the Maryland Workers’ Compensation Act. As the daughter is not a dependant, she has no claim to benefits under the Workers’ Compensation Act, and the lower court dismissed the case. The instant court finds no error in the lower court's findings. Affirmed.
Court: The Appellate Court of Maryland, Judge: Wright, Filed On: November 30, 2023, Case #: 1755, Categories: Negligence, Wrongful Death, Workers' Compensation
J. Wright finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for capital murder. Though defendant pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to beating his 2-year-old daughter to death with a hammer, objecting to the admission of evidence of voluntary intoxication, his insanity plea allowed for the rebutting evidence of voluntary intoxication. That he admitted to officers after his arrest that he was aware of what he did and that he knew it was wrong also successfully rebuts the insanity defense. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Wright , Filed On: November 29, 2023, Case #: 09-21-00273-CR, Categories: Evidence, Murder, Due Process
J. Wright denies the city, county and park board's motions for judgment on the pleadings in the recently homeless individuals and nonprofit's suit alleging that sweeps of encampments in Minneapolis parks violate their civil rights and unlawfully convert their property. While all of the individual plaintiffs are now housed, the transitory nature of homelessness and housing instability are sufficient to confer standing to pursue injunctive relief. They have also adequately alleged that the governments had unconstitutional customs of providing insufficient notice before shutting down encampments and seizing or destroying property found in them, and that they coordinated encampment closures with each other. The nonprofit has also adequately pleaded that the diversion of funds to pay for hotel rooms for displaced encampment residents constituted an injury traceable to the governments' conduct.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Wright, Filed On: November 21, 2023, Case #: 0:20cv2189, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Injunction
J. Wright grants the life insurer's motion for summary judgment in the daughters' suit arguing that a change in the beneficiaries of their mother's life insurance policy shortly before her death was fraudulent and that the insurer's payout only to the sole remaining beneficiary after that change was a violation of its fiduciary duties. The daughters' allegations are too speculative to warrant reformation of their mother's policy, and the insurer did not breach its fiduciary duty by honoring the latest designation.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Wright, Filed On: November 16, 2023, Case #: 0:21cv2247, NOS: Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) - Labor, Categories: Erisa, Fraud
J. Wright denies a company's motion to dismiss consumers' class action alleging violations of false advertising laws "by misleading consumers with deceptive advertisements featuring falsely discounted home organization products." The consumers have standing, have asserted a cause of action for Consumer Legal Remedies Act violations and have sufficiently alleged breach of contract and breach of express warranty claims.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Wright, Filed On: November 16, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv2218, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Contract, False Advertising
J. Wright denies a toy company's motion to dismiss a putative class action alleging unjust enrichment and violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law. The class alleges that the toy company markets and sells toys that have small parts that violate the Small Parts regulation and therefore are banned hazardous substances in violation of the the Federal Hazardous Substances Act. The class has sufficiently alleged that the toys, marketed to children under the age of three, contain small parts that violate the Small Parts rule.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Wright, Filed On: November 13, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv2567, NOS: Personal Injury - Product Liability - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Product Liability
J. Wright, in this accelerated interlocutory appeal, finds the trial court improperly denied the law firm’s motion to dismiss this suit alleging legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty filed by a minority shareholder in a company against the law firm hired to represent the company against the shareholder. Claims made by the shareholder on behalf of the company arise out of and relate to the firm’s legal representation of the majority shareholder and company, and fall within the scope of the arbitration clause of an agreement entered into by the law firm and majority shareholder and company. Reversed and remanded.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Wright, Filed On: November 9, 2023, Case #: 09-21-00342-CV, Categories: Securities, Fiduciary Duty, Legal Malpractice
J. Wright grants final approval to a class action settlement in an action alleging securities law violations by a smart-home tech company. The relief provided by the settlement, which provides that the company spend $300,000 yearly for the next five years to improve its risk management practices and implement other terms designed to protect its shareholders, is adequate. Attorney fees of $1,600,000 and service awards of $15,000 to named plaintiffs are also appropriate.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Wright, Filed On: November 7, 2023, Case #: 0:21cv1965, NOS: Securities/Commodities/Exchange - Other Suits, Categories: Securities, Attorney Fees, Class Action
J. Wright grants the law firm and lawyer's motion to dismiss their former client's legal malpractice suit stemming from their representation in three prior legal malpractice suits. The client's failure to comply with a 180-day deadline to serve an expert affidavit warrants dismissal of its malpractice claims, and remaining claims arise from the same factual basis and are therefore dismissed along with it.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Wright, Filed On: October 30, 2023, Case #: 0:21cv2289, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Fraud, Experts, Legal Malpractice
J. Wright grants final approval to a class-action settlement in securities litigation, the exact nature of which remains under seal, but which involved allegations that a company misrepresented facts about its products and supply chains to investors. The settlement provides adequate relief for all class members in the form of reforms to the company's corporate governance and risk management, and the attorney fees awarded are appropriate.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Wright, Filed On: October 25, 2023, Case #: 0:21cv1965, NOS: Securities/Commodities/Exchange - Other Suits, Categories: Securities, Class Action
J. Wright denies the former employee and his new employer's motion to dismiss the prior employer's suit claiming violations of noncompetition agreements, but grants their motion to strike an amended complaint and denies the former employer's motion to amend. The lack of a signature from the former employer's CEO on the employee's employment agreement does not render it unenforceable, and the former employer has sufficiently pled a legitimate business interest justifying restrictive covenants in the agreements. The employee and new employer's argument that the former employer has not sufficiently pled its claims involving non-compete or supplier or employee non-solicit violations is barred because it was not raised in their first motion to dismiss, and the former employer has adequately pled two tortious-interference claims.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Wright, Filed On: October 25, 2023, Case #: 0:21cv1512, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Employment, Contract
J. Wright denies a healthcare services company's motion to dismiss or strike class action allegations that it recorded telephone conversations without the individual's knowledge or consent. "Under California law, it is not necessary for [the company] to directly call or record the phone calls with Plaintiff to be liable for an offense...intending for the calls to be recorded without providing adequate safeguards to prevent the calls from being illegally recorded" is sufficient.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Wright, Filed On: October 23, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv4513, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Tort
J. Wright finds the trial court properly dismissed the father’s child custody claims in this divorce proceeding, denying his motion to reinstate the suit. The couple was married in Japan, where the children were born. The family moved to California, where the couple separated; then the husband moved to Texas before the wife filed for divorce. The husband provided no evidence of how long he had possession of information written in Japanese and did not provide evidence that he could not translate the Japanese information himself, or through an interpreter (or “Google Translate”) at least 45 days prior to trial. The court properly made implied findings that the father’s failures were “intentional or due to conscious indifference.” Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Wright, Filed On: October 5, 2023, Case #: 09-22-00101-CV, Categories: Evidence, Family Law, Guardianship
J. Wright finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for possession of a controlled substance, sentencing him to 25 years in prison. Weapons and drugs were found upon the search of a vehicle in which defendant was a passenger. The officer stopped the vehicle for an improperly placed license plate and detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. The search was made upon probable cause, and defendant’s motion to suppress a statement admitting to possession was properly denied as he was not yet in custody when the statement was made. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Wright, Filed On: October 4, 2023, Case #: 09-22-00213-CR, Categories: Drug Offender, Search, Weapons
J. Wright denies a made-to-measure clothing franchisor's motions to alter or amend the judgment after the court awarded rescission and punitive damages to a franchisee in a contract dispute. The franchisee alleged fraudulent misrepresentation and breach of contract, and filed suit to confirm rescission of the franchise agreement. The franchisor was sanctioned for discovery misconduct during the proceedings, and its counsel withdrew, leading the court to grant default judgment to the franchisee and awarded rescission. The judgment is not erroneous and does not violate due process.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Wright, Filed On: October 3, 2023, Case #: 2:19cv9090, NOS: Franchise - Contract, Categories: Fraud, Contract