108 results for 'filedAt:"2023-08-28"'.
J. Walker finds that the district court properly dismissed sexual harassment and retaliation claims a nurse brought against a hospital based on forged text messages, but improperly sanctioned counsel for the nurse. Sanctions terminating the case were properly imposed due to the nurse's failure to preserve her iPhones and phone data, but an explicit finding of bad faith had not been made before sanctions were imposed against her attorney and his firm. Affirmed in part.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Walker, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 21-2084-cv, Categories: Evidence, Sanctions, Employment Retaliation
[Consolidated.] J. Loruie finds that the patent trial and appeal board properly ruled in this dispute over unpatentable image sensors and cell phone devices because substantial evidence supports the ruling. Affirmed.
Court: Federal Circuit, Judge: Loruie, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 22-1293, Categories: Patent, Technology
J. Miller finds that the trial court improperly granted in part defendant's motion for a new trial on his convictions for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and firearm offenses. The trial court incorrectly found that defendant's trial counsel was deficient for failing to request a jury instruction on reckless conduct as a lesser included offense of aggravated assault. Defendant's action in firing warning shots into the air constituted aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, not reckless conduct. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Miller, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: A23A1140, Categories: Firearms, Ineffective Assistance, Assault
J. Sands denies the truck driver's and employer's motion to partially dismiss an intervenor's complaint in the maintenance worker's negligence action arising from injuries he suffered in a vehicle collision and fall. The Georgia Department of Administrative Service is dismissed as a party to the action. The department intervened as a plaintiff but the court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the department's claims. The department is not a citizen for the purpose of federal diversity jurisdiction because it has Eleventh Amendment immunity as an arm of the state.
Court: USDC Middle District of Georgia, Judge: Sands, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 7:20cv253, NOS: Motor Vehicle - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Negligence, Jurisdiction
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J. Wood partially grants the department's motion to dismiss a civil rights and disability discrimination action brought by an individual arising from his DUI arrest after he failed three balance-oriented tests but registered a blood-alcohol content of zero on a breathalyzer test. The individual alleges that he was unfairly arrested due to the balance-impairing symptoms of his hydrocephalus disability. The ADA and Rehabilitation Act claims against the department for money damages are dismissed. However, the claims for declaratory and injunctive relief may move forward, as well as the civil rights claim against the police officer. The officer is not entitled to qualified immunity because he lacked arguable probable cause to arrest the individual. The commissioner's motion to dismiss is granted because the individual failed to properly serve him.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Wood, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv107, NOS: Other Labor Litigation - Labor, Categories: Civil Rights, Ada / Rehabilitation Act
J. Kleeh denies the hydrocarbon exploration company's motion for relief from the court's March 30 order denying its motion for summary judgment in the roustabout's suit claiming the negligence of its employees in following safety protocols for "lockout/tagout" resulted in the amputation of his fingers on his right hand. The company "has not established any intervening change in law, a subsequent trial producing different evidence, or clear error of law creating manifest injustice warranting reconsideration."
Court: USDC Northern District of West Virginia, Judge: Kleeh, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 1:20cv74, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Energy, Tort, Negligence
J. Newsom finds that the district court properly convicted defendant of mailing a threatening communication and threatening a federal official. Defendant wrote in an objection to a federal magistrate judge's recommendation in a separate case that he was "threatening [the judge] with death and bodily harm." The objection also said defendant was "threatening [the judge] who is a woman of color with death" and included a link to a YouTube video of defendant holding a Black preacher's hand as a gospel hymn played. The district court correctly denied defendant's motion to dismiss the indictment. Although defendant was hospitalized for longer than the four months permitted by the statute, the violation does not warrant dismissal of the indictment. Any error committed by the district court in commenting on the religious language and imagery in the hymn when sentencing defendant to 60 months in prison was harmless. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Newsom, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 22-10509, Categories: Sentencing, Threats
J. Magnuson grants the Department of Homeland Security's partial motion to dismiss the employee's gender and disability discrimination and retaliation claims related to the denial of her request to be transferred out of a position reviewing child pornography after a sexual assault by a coworker and her subsequent termination. The employee has not administratively exhausted her claims related to her termination, since they are not so closely related to her other claims as to constitute the same decision for the purposes of review by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She also has not sufficiently alleged recent harassing conduct to support timely hostile-work-environment claims.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Magnuson, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 0:22cv2185, NOS: Amer w/Disabilities-Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. O'Hearn grants the emergency room operator's motion to dismiss claims against it and partially grants its motion to limit damages in a suit stemming from a patient's death in an encounter with police shortly after his discharge from involuntary commitment. The sole signatory of the patient's discharge summary was not employed directly by the emergency room operator, and nothing in the record indicates that other medical providers participated in the decision to release him. Damages are limited to the extent that the patient's decedents' claims fall within the scope of simple negligence, but not gross negligence.
Court: USDC New Jersey, Judge: O'Hearn, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 1:20cv641, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Damages, Negligence, Medical Malpractice
J. Gaitas affirms the district court's denial of a postconviction relief petition arguing that a defendant's due process rights were violated when the district court failed to order a competency evaluation and his attorney did not request one. At relevant hearings, the defendant's behavior was not so unusual that a reasonable attorney should have doubted his competence, regardless of the defendant's previous findings of incompetence for similar behavior. Affirmed.
Court: Minnesota Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gaitas, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: A21-0938, Categories: Competence, Ineffective Assistance, Domestic Violence
J. Immergut denies the university's motion to dismiss the registered nurse's Title VII claim in her lawsuit alleging that the university denied her a religious exemption from the Covid-19 vaccine mandate, which led to her termination from the hospital's mother and baby unit. The hospital does not sufficiently argue how allowing the registered nurse a religious exemption would have created an undue hardship for the hospital, as the registered nurse counters that the hospital could have taken measures to prevent her from contracting or spreading Covid-19, and that reducing the number of available staff is what caused undue hardship.
Court: USDC Oregon, Judge: Immergut, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv1942, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Covid-19, Employment Discrimination
J. Triana finds that the trial court properly ruled to require a minor to register as a sex offender. The minor was previously found to have committed aggravated sexual assault against a child and ordered to complete a sex offender treatment program. On appeal, the minor argues that he should not be required to register as a sex offender since he completed his treatment. Because the trial court could have reasonably concluded that the minor is at a high risk of re-committing acts of sexual violence, the court did not err in requiring him to register as a sex offender. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Triana, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 03-22-00761-CV, Categories: Juvenile Law
J. Abele finds the trial court properly imposed consecutive sentences after defendant pleaded guilty to grand theft and vandalism. It made all required findings, including the necessity of such sentences to protect the public from future harm based on defendant's criminal history. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Abele, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3108, Categories: Sentencing, Theft, Plea
J. Rakoff finds for the lenders in a RICO and fraud suit filed by an urgent care facility related to six merchant cash advance agreements. Under North Carolina law, the transactions are not unlawful, as its usury statute does not apply to loans greater than $25,000.
Court: USDC Southern District of New York, Judge: Rakoff, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv1245, NOS: Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) - Other Suits, Categories: Banking / Lending, Racketeering
J. Albright grants Apple's motion to transfer venue in a patent infringement action brought by the patent owner to the Northern District of California. The owner alleges that Apple's iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch products infringe on a number of patents related to enhancements in mobile device communication functionality and other technology. The Northern District of California is a more convenient forum than the Western District of Texas because 10 of Apple's likely witnesses live in California and Washington and Apple's documents related to the design and development of the accused products are likely located in California.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Albright, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 6:21cv603, NOS: Patent - Property Rights, Categories: Patent, Venue
J. Nathan finds that the district court properly held that a business decision to sell profitable parts before filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy constituted self-dealing and fraudulent transfer. The director who hatched the plan, which collapsed on its own shortly after being implemented, breached fiduciary duties by failing to seriously consider third-party offers, which illustrated her fraudulent intent. Meanwhile, the damages assessment totaling $39.2 million was rooted in future earnings of profitable assets. Affirmed.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Nathan, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 21-2547; 21-2576, Categories: Bankruptcy, Fraud, Fiduciary Duty
J. Levy grants a company’s motion for summary judgment against a company suing it for alleged patent infringement based on a massaging device. Even if the company being sued started its design by looking at or mimicking the complaining company’s design, its finished design is different enough that an ordinary person would not confuse the sued company’s design with the complaining company’s.
Court: USDC Maine, Judge: Levy, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv91, NOS: Patent - Property Rights, Categories: Health Care, Patent, Trademark
J. Nagala denies the helicopter parts buyer's motion to dismiss, ruling the forum selection clause in its contract with the parts distributor is enforceable and, therefore, grants this court jurisdiction over the lawsuit. Although the clause was not included in the purchase order documents themselves, the distributor repeatedly referred the buyer to the terms and conditions listed in the price catalogue, which put the buyer on notice and renders the clause enforceable.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Nagala, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv1445, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Jurisdiction, Contract
J. Dishman grants summary judgment to the defendant car dealer in this lawsuit brought by a former employee alleging race and gender discrimination, as well as retaliatory discharge. The car dealer provided "a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason" for the employee's termination, specifically related to certain car deals, which it claims were "in violation of company policy." Also, the evidence does not show that the decision was pretext for discrimination.
Court: USDC Western District of Oklahoma , Judge: Dishman, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 5:20cv306, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Arterton denies the academic resource website's motion to dismiss, ruling the educational material creator has plausibly alleged a copyright notice and watermark violation based on the proximity of the website's copyright to protected materials included on the website for educators. The language in the notice and watermark section of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is meant to be interpreted as broadly as possible, especially at the pleading stage, and so the website's copyright being located on the same page as the materials it does not own and did not create is sufficient for the claim to proceed.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Arterton, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv1242, NOS: Copyrights - Property Rights, Categories: Copyright, Education, Evidence
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. Marbley denies, in part, the hotel's motion to dismiss, ruling that while it may not have had an overt agreement with the human traffickers who kept the victim at its property, its failure to institute policies to discourage or prevent sex trafficking is sufficient at this stage to be considered willful negligence and grants the victim standing under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act.
Court: USDC Southern District of Ohio, Judge: Marbley, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv3185, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: Evidence, Negligence
J. Stratton finds that the trial court properly dismissed a lawsuit alleging that a teacher "manhandled" a student because the student's school district complaint form did not meet the requirements of the Government Claims Act. In the school district complaint the student sought administrative actions but failed to make a claim for damages or threaten litigation. And the school did not waive its right to assert noncompliance with the Act since the student knew of the claim defects while there was still time to file a late claim. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Stratton, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: B318012, Categories: Education, Damages, Assault
J. Hartz finds that the lower court improperly tossed insurance contract claims in a life insurance beneficiary dispute in which the ex-wife seeks a portion of her deceased ex-husband's life insurance proceeds despite the fact that he was remarried at the time of his death. The lower court improperly found that the ex-wife failed to state a claim and dismissed her complaint. There was a Missouri divorce decree between the first wife and the husband that required him to maintain a $100,000 life insurance policy for her until other obligations were fulfilled, which never happened. This leaves several questions before the record to be answered, and gives the first wife a basis to state a claim. Reversed.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: Hartz, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 22-1099, Categories: Insurance
J. Boasberg denies, in part, a title company's motion to dismiss a company and its owner's action to recover more than $500,000 lost after a third-party absconded with the funds he was to receive from the sale of his property. The company has made sufficient allegations to support its claims for negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and consumer-protection law violations.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Boasberg, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 1:23cv941, NOS: Other Fraud - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: Real Estate, Fiduciary Duty, Negligence