270 results for 'court:"6th Circuit"'.
J. Gibbons finds the lower court erroneously granted the fracking company employees' motion for judgment on liability for Fair Labor Standards Act claims because there are issues of fact regarding whether the employees' irregular schedules are necessitated by the industry or are caused solely by the fracking company's predetermined work schedule. Although many of the weeks during which employees worked fewer than 40 hours stemmed from scheduled time off, a large portion also came from weeks with full work schedules, which lends support to the company's theory irregularities in scheduling are a result of fluctuating demand for services; therefore, the case must be remanded for further analysis. Reversed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Gibbons, Filed On: March 6, 2024, Case #: 23-3247, Categories: Employment, Evidence, Labor
J. Mathis finds that while a statistical disparity exists between the number of black residents in the London, Kentucky area and the number included on the jury wheel used by the district court to empanel a jury, defendant failed to prove the disparity was extreme enough to establish a constitutional violation, especially considering there is no procedural flaw in the method used by the court to select its juries. Meanwhile, although a circuit split exists regarding the constitutionality of felon-in-possession of firearm convictions, there is no controlling precedent that would render defendant's conviction a violation of the Second Amendment; therefore, it will be upheld. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Mathis, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: 22-6048, Categories: Constitution, Firearms, Jury
[Consolidated.] J. Clay finds the lower court properly ordered the pharmacy owner to voluntarily dismiss a False Claims Act suit against State Farm. The parties' settlement agreement following RICO claims filed against the owner encompassed all claims filed by the owner, not just those involved with fraudulent billing practices. Although the false claims suit was filed under seal, the settlement required the owner to dismiss known and unknown claims, and so the enforcement order was valid. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Clay, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: 22-1409, Categories: Settlements, False Claims, Racketeering
J. Thapar finds the lower court properly granted the police officer's motion for summary judgment on excessive force claims filed by the suspect who was tasered when he ran from the officer. This court has held the use of such force on a fleeing suspect is reasonable and allows for the application of qualified immunity. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Thapar, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: 23-3142, Categories: Civil Rights, Immunity
J. Readler denies the Mexican immigrant's petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals' denial of her asylum application, ruling "restaurant owner" is not a particular social group that can be afforded relief from deportation. Although the immigrant was harassed and threatened by gangs shortly after she opened her restaurant in Mexico, "business owners" is not a definable group and has no unifying characteristic that could render it protected under federal immigration; therefore, the board properly denied her application. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Readler, Filed On: March 4, 2024, Case #: 23-3664, Categories: Evidence, Immigration
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J. Clay finds that because the lower court's denial of qualified immunity to the corrections officer turns on a question of fact - specifically, whether the juvenile inmate's constitutional rights were violated - the corrections officer cannot file an interlocutory appeal and his appeal must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Clay, Filed On: February 29, 2024, Case #: 23-1259, Categories: Civil Rights, Immunity, Jurisdiction
J. Larsen finds the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress during his sexual exploitation of a minor and child pornography case. Although the affidavit submitted by law enforcement for a search warrant included a misstatement about defendant operating a peer-to-peer network to host child pornography, the error was caused by a police officer using a template for the warrant and forgetting to delete certain information, a mistake that does not qualify as reckless behavior. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Larsen, Filed On: February 29, 2024, Case #: 22-3793, Categories: Search, Sex Offender, Child Pornography
J. Dales finds the bankruptcy court properly excluded the deposition of the principal witness during bankruptcy proceedings. Although both parties agreed to end the deposition early because of the witness's illness, which led to his death before the deposition could be resumed, there was no cross-examination and, therefore, the testimony was incomplete and one-sided. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Dales, Filed On: February 28, 2024, Case #: 23-8004, Categories: Bankruptcy, Civil Procedure, Evidence
J. Clay finds the trial court applied an upward variance to defendant's sentence on a conviction for involuntary manslaughter because the seriousness of his conduct, including driving drunk while under the age of 21 and speeding at over 90 miles per hour on a dangerous road, was not already included in the base sentencing guidelines, while prior misdemeanor convictions also supported an above-guidelines sentence. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Clay, Filed On: February 27, 2024, Case #: 23-5141, Categories: Sentencing, Vehicular Homicide
J. Sutton finds that while the language and format of the powertrain warranty certificate may be mundane, the certificate is still entitled to copyright protection. Its crafting was the result of a de minimis level of creativity and involved a distinct arrangement of necessary elements; therefore, the lower court properly awarded the copyright holder's motion for summary judgment and damages from the competitor who duplicated the certificate for its own benefit. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 23-3394, Categories: Copyright, Evidence, Warranty
J. Boggs finds the lower court erroneously granted the scrap metal recycling facility's motion for a prescriptive easement over the parcel of land owned by Norfolk Southern. The facility's claims are preempted by federal law. Although the recycler claims it does not want exclusive control over the parcel, the land is fenced in and inaccessible to the railroad without a key to the gate, which renders any taking by the company an unreasonable burden on railroading; therefore, the easement is rescinded and the case remanded. Reversed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Boggs, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 22-4037, Categories: Property, Preemption, Transportation
J. Mathis finds defendant's sentence for methamphetamine possession must be vacated and the case remanded for resentencing. The trial court failed to adequately explain how it determined the base sentencing level, which was not supported by the physical evidence, including the amount of meth found in defendant's possession when he was arrested and charged. Meanwhile, even though the grenade found in defendant's truck was inert, the lower court properly applied a sentencing enhancement for possession of a dangerous weapon because defendant could have used the grenade to threaten violence and avoid arrest. Reversed in part.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Mathis, Filed On: February 22, 2024, Case #: 22-2080, Categories: Drug Offender, Sentencing
J. Thapar finds the employee's appeal of a lower court's injunction to prevent her working for a competitor was mooted by the parties' delay in filing their briefs, which were not filed until after the expiration of the one-year noncompete portion of her agreement with her former employer. Although the employee might recover damages for lost income if she prevails on the merits of the dispute, that only involves the underlying case.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Thapar, Filed On: February 22, 2024, Case #: 23-1028, Categories: Civil Procedure, Injunction
J. White finds the Kentucky Supreme Court misapplied U.S. Supreme Court precedent when it determined a criminal defendant's upbringing can only outweigh aggravating circumstances if it provides a rationale for the charged offenses and, therefore, it improperly denied defendant's request for habeas relief on ineffective assistance claims. Defendant's attorney provided almost no mitigation evidence during the penalty phase of his trial despite the "most severe and unimaginable level of physical and mental abuse" he encountered during his childhood, which prejudiced him and requires habeas relief as to the penalty phase that resulted in a death sentence. Reversed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: White, Filed On: February 22, 2024, Case #: 17-6032, Categories: Death Penalty, Habeas, Ineffective Assistance
J. Mathis finds defendant's previous conviction in Ohio for aggravated robbery did not constitute a crime of violence under federal sentencing guidelines. The conviction did not include an underlying theft offense that involves the use of force, while that state's definition of robbery is broader than the federal definition of extortion. Therefore, the lower court sentenced defendant on an incorrect guideline and his sentence will be vacated to allow for resentencing. Reversed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Mathis, Filed On: February 20, 2024, Case #: 22-4052, Categories: Firearms, Robbery, Sentencing
J. Murphy finds the lower court erroneously denied the jail officers' motion for qualified immunity on civil rights claims filed by the estate of the WWE wrestler. It applied the Sixth Circuit's current caselaw standard, not the standard applicable in 2018 at the time of the inmate's suicide. Although current precedent requires prison guards "recklessly overlook" a pretrial detainee's strong likelihood of suicide, the standard applicable at the time of the incident in question required proof that guards "subjectively believed" there was a strong likelihood of suicide. Because all testimony from the guards in this case indicates the decedent never seemed suicidal, was not experiencing any drug or alcohol withdrawals, and was nearly two decades removed from a previous suicide attempt, they had no reason to believe he would kill himself and are entitled to immunity. Reversed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Murphy, Filed On: February 16, 2024, Case #: 22-5898, Categories: Civil Rights, Immunity, Wrongful Death
J. Readler finds the lower court properly dismissed the released inmate's lawsuit against the parole board members on the grounds of absolute immunity. Their decision to deny an early parole hearing based on changes in Tennessee law involved quasi-judicial authority that bars any suit for damages. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Readler, Filed On: February 15, 2024, Case #: 22-6004, Categories: Parole, Due Process
J. Mathis finds the lower court properly granted the employer's motion for summary judgment because the delivery driver with Tourette syndrome could not perform essential functions of his job. Although he requested an accommodation, there were no delivery routes without face-to-face interactions, which is fatal to his failure to accommodate claim. Meanwhile, the driver's constructive discharge claim also failed because he was offered a warehouse position before he left the company and told his supervisors he "held nothing against" them when he took a position with a different company. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Mathis, Filed On: February 15, 2024, Case #: 23-5397, Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act, Employment Discrimination
J. Nalbandian finds defendant's sentence for distribution of methamphetamine was not procedurally unreasonable. Although the trial court did not consider defendant's claim on appeal the government provoked his deeds by requesting certain amounts of drugs through a confidential informant, he never raised that claim at his sentencing hearing, but rather argued the facts proved he was not a kingpin, but a small dealer, an argument considered and rejected by the trial court. Meanwhile, the trial court's consideration of the drugs' purity does not render defendant's sentence unreasonable because the court used the proper base sentencing guideline and kept the final sentence within the statutory range. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Nalbandian, Filed On: February 14, 2024, Case #: 22-2158, Categories: Drug Offender, Sentencing
J. Nalbandian finds the trial court properly granted the manufacturers' motion for summary judgment in a products liability case. The lack of expert testimony of causation was fatal to the patients' claims, as such testimony is required in complex, multidistrict litigation. Furthermore, the expert witness's reliance on a single clinical trial that did not conclusively prove a link between the diabetes drug and heart failure and his decision to ignore numerous other studies that showed no causal link between the two allowed the trial court to grant the drug manufacturers' motion to exclude his testimony. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Nalbandian, Filed On: February 13, 2024, Case #: 22-6078, Categories: Evidence, Product Liability, Experts
J. Gibbons finds that while the government constructively amended defendant's indictment on a murder-for-hire charge when it filed a superseding indictment without required language about death resulting from the crime, defendant's due process rights were not violated. The prosecution repeatedly mentioned the language and its corresponding increase in potential punishments, while defendant made clear throughout the trial he was aware of the crimes with which he was charged. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Gibbons, Filed On: February 9, 2024, Case #: 22-1650, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Murder, Due Process
J. Sutton finds the lower court properly dismissed the immigrants' request for civil penalties after the government inadvertently filed an unsealed affidavit in response to the immigrants' visa application complaint. Although federal law prevents disclosure of applicants' personal information, not only had the immigrants already disclosed the identifying information in previous filings, but the government requested the affidavit be sealed the following day; therefore, any disclosure was negligent, not willful. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: February 9, 2024, Case #: 23-5867, Categories: Civil Procedure, Immigration, Negligence
J. Gilman finds the lower court erroneously dismissed the parent company's lawsuit against creditors. Although its subsidiary had stipulated to various claims filed by the creditors in a prior bankruptcy case, those stipulations did not constitute a final decision on the merits that would allow for the application of res judicata. Reversed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Gilman, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 23-5476, Categories: Bankruptcy, Civil Procedure
J. McKeague finds the lower court erroneously denied the family services employees' motion for qualified immunity on Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment claims filed by the father. Although he may have revoked his consent to allow the agency to keep his children during an investigation into sexual assault claims, the employees could not have reasonably known they were violating his rights when they continued to keep the children. The father explicitly gave consent for the agency to keep his children during the investigation, and although he asked about getting them back during a phone call, this did not represent a clear revocation under this circuit's caselaw that would implicate his constitutional rights. Reversed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: McKeague, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 23-1372, Categories: Civil Rights, Immunity, Due Process
J. Mathis finds the lower court properly granted the government's motion for summary judgment in a tax case. The Swiss bank account holder's repeated refusal to file required tax documents and his decision to have the account numbered so it would not include his name constitutes willful conduct that allowed for greater penalties under federal tax law. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Mathis, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 23-1481, Categories: Tax, Banking / Lending
J. Batchelder finds the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress the purchase history obtained from Walmart by FBI agents during his trial for bank robbery. Although the agents did not have a search warrant, defendant did not have an expectation of privacy, given he bought the rain poncho and manila envelopes in a public store with a pay app that disclosed his name, address and payment information. Furthermore, the trial court properly refused to suppress results of a search of defendant's vehicle. Law enforcement was not required to obtain a search warrant before they seized and conducted the search, as defendant used his car in the commission of the crimes and was seen leaving Walmart. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Batchelder, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 23-5126, Categories: Evidence, Robbery, Search
J. White finds the lower court erroneously granted the employer's motion for summary judgment on a truck driver's retaliation action. Although the contentious text message exchange that occurred shortly before the truck driver was fired dealt mainly with vacation pay, several messages could be interpreted as the driver's intent to report the employer for its refusal to reimburse him for vehicle repairs, which would qualify as proper notice under the Fair Labor Standards Act and allows his retaliation claims to proceed. Reversed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: White, Filed On: February 7, 2024, Case #: 23-1145, Categories: Employment Retaliation, Labor
J. Clay finds the lower court properly granted the brake manufacturer's motion for summary judgment on indemnification claims. Not only did Nissan fail to produce any evidence at the product liability trial that the brake system was defective and played a role in numerous car accidents, but the jury in the product liability action also failed to attribute any blame to the brake parts, which prevents Nissan from recouping any of the damages awarded by the jury. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Clay, Filed On: February 6, 2024, Case #: 22-5469, Categories: Product Liability, Indemnification, Contract
J. Thapar finds defendant cannot challenge a sentencing enhancement included by the trial court for his control of another individual in the drug trafficking operation. He and his attorney agreed to allow the enhancement, which effectively withdrew his objection and bars his challenge under the invited error doctrine. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Thapar, Filed On: February 2, 2024, Case #: 22-3889, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Drug Offender, Sentencing
J. Larsen finds the trial court properly refused to hold a Remmer hearing when it was informed some jurors used their cell phones during deliberations. There was no evidence to indicate the jurors sought outside information related to the case. Meanwhile, the trial court properly accepted a partial verdict because although the jury foreperson told the court deliberations had broken down, the unanimity on several counts of the indictment allowed defendant to be convicted on those counts and was confirmed by a polling of the individual jurors. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Larsen, Filed On: January 31, 2024, Case #: 22-2041, Categories: Jury, Murder