169 results for 'filedAt:"2024-03-13"'.
[Consolidated.] J. Mercier finds that the trial court improperly granted the customers' motions for spoliation sanctions in premises liability actions against the convenience store arising after customers were attacked and injured by an assailant while shopping. The customers alleged the store committed spoliation by failing to preserve surveillance footage showing time periods before the attacks. The trial court applied an incorrect standard of review in considering the customers' motions and considered evidence in the light most favorable to the customers rather than the store. Vacated.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Mercier, Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: A23A1597, Categories: Sanctions, Premises Liability
J. Pryor finds that the district court properly granted the motion by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to dismiss the nonprofit's injunctive relief action arising after the department notified it that activities and payments under five grants would be terminated or withheld due to potential fiscal mismanagement. The department later withdrew the notices, rendering the notices non-final and the case moot. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Pryor, Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: 22-14057, Categories: Jurisdiction, Injunction
J. Doyle finds that the trial court properly granted the ex-husband's and other individuals' motions to dismiss the ex-wife's action with respect to her claims for false-light invasion of privacy, false imprisonment, emotional distress and damage to reputation. The action arose after the ex-husband and others allegedly planted evidence and made false statements to police which led to the ex-wife's arrest for sexual exploitation of children. The charges against her were dismissed. The trial court incorrectly dismissed the ex-wife's malicious prosecution claim on the basis of interspousal tort immunity. The couple was already separated and the actions underlying the complaint were allegedly committed to injure the ex-wife during the divorce proceedings. There was no marital harmony to preserve and no fear of collusion between the parties. Affirmed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Doyle, Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: A23A1310, Categories: Malicious Prosecution, Privacy
Want access to unlimited case records and advanced research tools? Create your free CasePortal account now. No credit card required to register.
Try CasePortal for Free
J. Doyle finds that the trial court properly denied the park's motion for a new trial and for judgment notwithstanding the verdict after a jury awarded the widow $22 million in damages in a wrongful death action arising from the husband's death while riding his dirt bike on a park trail. Evidence showed that the owner hit a tree with an excavator, causing the tree to fall onto the husband. The jury could have found that the owner was the agent of each corporate entity or that evidence authorized piercing the corporate veil of each entity. The trial court did not commit any error by refusing to give several of the park's proposed jury charges. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Doyle, Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: A23A1541, Categories: Wrongful Death
J. Watkins finds that the trial court properly granted the department's motion to dismiss the hiker's negligence action arising from injuries he suffered after falling at a state park. The trial court correctly found that the individual's claims were barred by sovereign immunity. The department's policy of preserving the park's natural beauty and historical accuracy guided its decision not to implement metal railings around the crevice where the hiker fell. Since the department was making a policy judgment and not ignoring a hazard, the discretionary function exception applies and the case was correctly dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The trial court incorrectly granted the department's motion for summary judgment under the Recreational Property Act. Affirmed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Watkins, Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: A23A1323, Categories: Negligence
Vice Chancellor Fioravanti dismisses a petition seeking assignment for the benefit of creditors, Delaware's bankruptcy alternative, because the assignee failed to comply with statutory mandates such as timely filing an asset inventory and retaining appraisers who procured appraisals without prior court order.
Court: Delaware Chancery Court, Judge: Fioravanti, Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: 2023-1294-PAF, Categories: Bankruptcy, Civil Procedure
J. Lazar finds the circuit court improperly dismissed the business lobby's lawsuit over the village's enactment of a "transportation user fee" to fund a transportation utility, a fee which the lobby claims is actually an unlawful tax. In light of a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision directly handling a similar fee enacted by another municipality, the "funding mechanism" for the village's transportation utility counts as a tax, and it is illegal as enacted. Reversed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Lazar, Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: 2023AP000690, Categories: Tax
[Consolidated] J. Fernandez finds the trial court partially erred in its final judgment and judgment awarding attorney fees in a dispute between an investment firm and holding company over a joint venture and subsequent settlement agreement for a business manufacturing organic juices. All portions of the firm's main appeal of the trial court's final judgment are affirmed, but the trial court is reversed in part as to the company's cross-appeal as it relates to the company's claim of breach of the settlement agreement and the count in the firm's third amended counterclaim seeking to set aside the settlement agreement and mutual release on grounds of duress and coercion. The award of attorney fees is affirmed without discussion. Reversed in part.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Fernandez, Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: 22-1292, Categories: Settlements, Contract
[Consolidated.] J. Rabner finds that the appellate division improperly dismissed a counterclaim contending the condo association wrongfully denied a disabled tenant an emotional support animal because the resident was entitled to seek accommodations to the pet policy, and nothing disputed that his wife suffered several mental health conditions. Meanwhile, the chancery court dismissed the claim without addressing whether the accommodation was unreasonable.
Court: New Jersey Supreme Court, Judge: Rabner , Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: A-60-22, Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act, Landlord Tenant
J. Miller finds the trial court properly ordered defendant to be civilly committed as a sexually violent predator, as none of the cases defendant cites trumps the fact that he was found to have violated multiple aspects of his plea agreement that conditionally suspended civil commitment. Affirmed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Miller, Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: 22-2047, Categories: Sex Offender, Commitment
J. Gregory finds that the lower court properly quashed a subpoena initiated to obtain an oral deposition of the Australian company's employees. In this trademark dispute, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is prohibited from seeking a discovery deposition. The Melbourne-based company has only the bare minimum corporate presence in Virginia to apply for a trademark, and can only be compelled to produce written discovery.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Gregory, Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: 22-1871, Categories: Civil Procedure, Trademark, Discovery
[Consolidated.] J. Molaison finds that the trial court properly denied an adopted daughter's wrongful death action on behalf of her biological father against the manufacturer of a powered wheelchair and homeowner after the wheelchair caught on fire in the home. In this case, the adopted daughter unequivocally testified she was adopted by another man when she was a minor, and therefore had no right to assert a survival and wrongful death action on her biological father as a result of his death. Further, under Rismiller, Louisiana Civil Code articles 2315.1, 2315.1 and 199 do not unconstitutionally deprive children given in adoption of a right of action, as "[a] rational basis exists for limiting the categories of eligible claimants in La. C.C. arts. 2315.1 and 2315.2 to those who ‘are likely to be most affected by the death of the deceased.’" Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Molaison, Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: 23-CA-164, Categories: Family Law, Wrongful Death
J. Volk grants the motions of the recreational vehicle manufacturer and the retail outlet to dismiss the customer's breach of warranty suit claiming the outlet sold him a defective 2022 Cardinal 390 FBX 5th Wheel Camper, with both refusing to cancel his retail installment contract and purchase agreement or refund his money when multiple attempts to repair the RV were unsuccessful. Since the forum-selection clauses the customer signed "are mandatory and thus presumptively enforceable" in either Indiana or Texas, the court grants the motions without prejudice under the doctrine of forum non conveniens.
Court: USDC Southern District of West Virginia, Judge: Volk , Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv535, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Jurisdiction, Warranty, Contract
[Consolidated.] J. Dishman transfers these two consolidated real estate cases to the Northern District of Texas, Wichita Falls division, based on improper venue.
Court: USDC Western District of Oklahoma , Judge: Dishman, Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv227, NOS: All Other Real Property - Real Property, Categories: Civil Procedure, Real Estate, Venue
J. Partida-Kipness finds that the lower court properly denied the appellant insurance company's motion to compel arbitration in this dispute involving "the scope of a release in a settlement agreement between the parties." The declaratory claims at issue fall under the settlement agreement's forum-selection clause. The court also concludes that the agreement "superseded the ADR Endorsement" contained in an excess liability policy with respect to the declaratory claims. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Partida-Kipness, Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: 05-23-00719-CV, Categories: Arbitration, Insurance, Contract
[Consolidated.] J. Molaison finds that the trial court properly denied an adopted daughter's wrongful death action on behalf of her biological father against the manufacturer of a powered wheelchair and homeowner after the wheelchair caught on fire in the home. In this case, the adopted daughter unequivocally testified she was adopted by another man when she was a minor, and therefore had no right to assert a survival and wrongful death action on her biological father as a result of his death. Further, under Rismiller, Louisiana Civil Code articles 2315.1, 2315.1 and 199 do not unconstitutionally deprive children given in adoption of a right of action, as "[a] rational basis exists for limiting the categories of eligible claimants in La. C.C. arts. 2315.1 and 2315.2 to those who ‘are likely to be most affected by the death of the deceased.’" Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Molaison, Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: 23-CA-586, Categories: Family Law, Wrongful Death
J. Friedrich grants, in part, Black Lives Matter D.C.'s motion to amend to include Donald Trump and the U.S. government as defendants in its case pertaining to police officers’ use of force to clear Lafayette Square. The group has not acted in bad faith, did not intentionally delay the addition and the amendment is not prejudicial to the other parties.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Friedrich, Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: 1:20cv1469, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Procedure, Civil Rights
J. Cooper denies, in part, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's motion for summary judgment on a nonprofit's Freedom of Information Act case seeking text messages from three agency workers. Although the agency properly applied deliberative process privilege to certain messages, it failed to show foreseeable harm in their disclosure; thus, the agency will be given a second chance to justify the withholdings.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Cooper, Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv3414, NOS: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) - Other Suits, Categories: Energy, Public Record
J. Harrison finds the trial court properly convicted defendant by conditional guilty plea for charges related to drug and drug paraphernalia possession, and firearm possession. Defendant reserved the right to challenge the denial of his motion to suppress evidence recovered in a warrantless search of his pickup truck prompted by a drug dog alert. The dog died from cancer soon after the search, and its success record was lost due to a computer crash. The dog's alert was not the only fact contributing to probable cause. The officer also saw defendant's vehicle moving erratically and smelled marijuana inside. This alone can provide probable cause for a vehicle search. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Harrison , Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: CR-23-35, Categories: Drug Offender, Evidence, Search
J. Zilly awards the consumer $3,900 in damages for his purchase of the ASC service contract and $182 for the Gateway Auto Repair emissions repairs for the consumer's lawsuit accusing the car dealer of selling vehicles with illegally altered emission controls. The consumer proves that he suffered both an “injury” and actual damages under the Consumer Protection Act because the car dealer did not disclose that the vehicle had a tampered turbocharger, tampered airbox and lacked VECI sticker constitute.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Zilly, Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: 2:20cv1616, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Damages, Consumer Law, Contract
J. Treadwell grants four employees' motion for default judgment against the employer in a class action alleging that the employer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to provide overtime pay. Judgment is entered against the employer in the amount of $131,000. The employees' testimony confirmed their allegations that the employer knew they worked more than 40 hours per week but failed to compensate them appropriately. The employer retaliated against two employees after they complained about their overtime compensation by reducing their hours and firing one. The employees are entitled to $36,000 in attorney fees.
Court: USDC Middle District of Georgia, Judge: Treadwell, Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: 5:21cv95, NOS: Fair Labor Standards Act - Labor, Categories: Class Action, Labor