J. Wood finds that the trial court improperly ruled in this child custody complaint because the record does not support the decision that the child's best interests are served by awarding the mother sole custody. Reversed.
Court: North Carolina Court of Appeals, Judge: Wood, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: COA23-700, Categories: Family Law
J. Ellison finds that a homeowner whose house was damaged in a flood and now disputes the cost of the damages with his insurance company has not provided sufficient evidence on several of his claims. Many of the claims are based on the estimates of an insurance adjuster that the homeowner hired however the court grants the insurance company’s motion to strike the homeowner’s expert because the expert refuses to provide his resume or other qualifications. The insurance company’s own expert indicated that the damage compensation provided by the insurance company is inadequate to so a dispute of fact as to the cost of the damages exists. The homeowner’s claims based on his own repairs and the dispute of fact can proceed but the insurance company is granted summary judgment on all other claims.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Ellison, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv34, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Insurance, Experts
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Per curiam, the circuit finds that attorney George Adrian Rusk should be publicly reprimanded for his conduct in a 2022 appeal that was dismissed as frivolous. The order advises Rusk that similar future misconduct will result in more severe discipline and requires that he attend continuing legal education programs on both federal appellate practices and appellate brief writing.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: 23-90006-am, Categories: Attorney Discipline
J. Prata finds that the trial court properly granted the town summary judgment in claims contending the town was not authorized to review a major land development application because a town resident failed to establish standing or grounds to challenge the ruling, and failed to raise claims that the town engaged in illegal contract zoning in the superior court. Affirmed.
Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court, Judge: Prata, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: 22-326, Categories: Civil Procedure, Zoning
J. Hampson finds that the trial court properly ceased a paternal grandmother's efforts to reunify with her grandchildren following their removal from her care for suspected sexual abuse by the father because evidence indicates the decision served the best interests of the children. Affirmed.
Court: North Carolina Court of Appeals, Judge: Hampson, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: COA23-853, Categories: Family Law
[Consolidated.] J. Cho consolidates two securities class actions against New York Community Bancorp, a Northeast-regional bank holding company, which allegedly made misleading statements regarding the quality of its assets following the acquisition of two commercial banks, leading to a steep decline in its stock value once it announced it would cut dividends following substantial quarterly losses. The court finds the two cases involve the same set of claims and questions of law. The court further appoints the Boston Retirement System as lead plaintiff, finding it suffered the second biggest financial losses at $889,177 and it satisfies the court’s preference to have institutional investors as lead plaintiffs in class actions.
Court: USDC Eastern District of New York, Judge: Cho, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: 2:24cv1118, NOS: Securities/Commodities/Exchange - Other Suits, Categories: Securities, Class Action
J. Doyle finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of aggravated child molestation, child molestation and incest. The trial court correctly denied defendant's motion for a new trial. Defendant's trial counsel was not deficient for failing to strike from the jury a juror employed as a corrections officer in the jail where defendant was held after his arrest. The juror had no arrest powers and no personal knowledge of defendant being an inmate when he served on the jury. Defendant failed to present evidence showing that the juror could not be impartial. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Doyle, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: A24A0217, Categories: Jury, Sex Offender, Child Victims
J. Carpenter finds that the trial court properly denied siblings judgment notwithstanding the verdict in this dispute over their parents' estate, and granted a new trial, because evidence did not support the verdict in which the jury determined the parents lacked the mental capacity to create new deeds to the property. Affirmed.
Court: North Carolina Court of Appeals, Judge: Carpenter, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: COA23-927, Categories: Wills / Probate
J. Gorton denies in part a pharmaceutical company’s motion to dismiss a class action brought against it by health and welfare funds of labor unions for allegedly engaging in anti-competitive practices, causing the funds to overpay for prescription asthma medication. “Because no generic QVAR existed at the time [the pharmaceutical company] purportedly discontinued QVAR in favor of QVAR Redihaler, asthma patients necessarily had to be transitioned onto QVAR Redihaler.”
Court: USDC Massachusetts, Judge: Gorton, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv11131, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: Antitrust, Health Care, Labor / Unions
J. Halpern partially denies the school district's motion to dismiss an Ashkenazi Jewish woman's employment discrimination claims based on the denial of her request to take days off for Jewish holy days. While a hearing officer found that the woman did not engage in religious observances during this time, this determination is not a proper factual finding. While she traveled to Trinidad to visit family, the employee has plausibly pled religious discrimination based on her discipline for exercising her religious beliefs.
Court: USDC Southern District of New York, Judge: Halpern, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: 7:23cv6202, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Employment Discrimination
J. Pitman dismisses claims in a countersuit brought by the co-founder of the Austin Chronicle and South by Southwest (SXSW) after he was sued by a former employee, who says he coerced her into sex and then withheld her salary after she refused to marry him. He countersued, alleging she had stolen “several valuable comic books and pulp magazines” from his garage. The counterclaim is inappropriate, as the legal questions in the suit and countersuit “contain no overlap,” and the co-founder’s alleged sexual harassment and abuse would not “excuse or legally justify” the alleged theft or vice versa. At the same time, claims against the Chronicle should be dismissed because no evidence suggests the Chronicle knew about this situation and “deliberately chose to look the other way.”
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Pitman, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv1197, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Employment, Tort, Civil Extortion
J. Corker grants the former employer’s motion for summary judgment in this lawsuit alleging discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. The former employees fail to provide direct evidence of age discrimination, and they do not dispute that their terminations “occurred in the context of a workforce reduction.” Additionally, they do not show that the reasons given by the employer were pretext for discrimination.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Tennessee , Judge: Corker, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv392, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Employment Discrimination
J. Richardson grants the defendant company’s motion for summary judgment in this case brought by a former employee asserting certain state-law employment related claims, including retaliatory discharge under the Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Law and discriminatory discharge under the Tennessee Disability Act. As to the former employee’s two claims, which both stem from his termination, the court concludes that there are no issues of fact and that the employer is “entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”
Court: USDC Middle District of Tennessee , Judge: Richardson, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv87, NOS: Other Labor Litigation - Labor, Categories: Employment, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Nye grants an employee's motion for reimbursement of fees and costs in a matter in which pizza delivery drivers allege their employer underpaid them and did not reimburse them for vehicle-related expenses. The employees sought contact information for former employees from the employer, but the employer alleges that it lost access to that information after changing payroll providers. The employees used publication notice to reach potential class members. The employer knew of the employees' imminent state law claims and failed to preserve the employee information in anticipation of litigation. The employees are entitled to reimbursement for the costs of the publication notice.
Court: USDC Idaho, Judge: Nye, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: 1:17cv283, NOS: Fair Labor Standards Act - Labor, Categories: Employment, Class Action
J. Rice holds that the district court properly concluded that a one-year statute of limitations applied to a county's contract claim against the state corrections department over the $69 daily rate cap for county jail reimbursement costs. The county failed to show a special relationship with the department to support its bad faith claim, as the county has the corporate power to enter contracts, was represented by counsel and any damages could be recouped without seeking tort damages. The county's unjust enrichment claim also failed because it cannot seek equitable relief after letting a valid contract claim expire. Affirmed.
Court: Montana Supreme Court, Judge: Rice, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: DA 22-0427, Categories: Tort, Contract
J. Menetrez finds that the trial court properly terminated a mother's parental rights without an inquiry into the native heritage of extended family members. She and the child's father denied any Indian ancestry and the child was taken into custody on a protective custody warrant after the mother was arrested for battery and DUI. Statute requires an expanded duty of inquiry only if a child is placed into temporary custody without a warrant. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Menetrez, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: E082401, Categories: Family Law, Native Americans
J. Wilkin finds the trial court properly granted the Department of Forestry's motion to quiet title. Its expert witness established property boundaries for the state park and the neighboring landowner, including former boundary agreements and markers on the disputed land. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Wilkin, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1842, Categories: Government, Property, Experts