133 results for 'filedAt:"2023-08-29"'.
J. Vazquez partially grants the city and its police officers' motion to dismiss the civilian's suit alleging that he was unconstitutionally racially profiled. The civilian has failed to state a claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress, and his failure-to-train and municipal liability claims are not sufficiently supported by allegations showing that city officers regularly engaged in racial profiling. He also has not sufficiently pleaded failure-to-investigate and gross negligence claims. Unlawful-search-and-seizure and conspiracy claims survive dismissal.
Court: USDC New Jersey, Judge: Vazquez, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv2792, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Police Misconduct
J. Kirsch finds unconstitutional a state law prohibiting New Jersey, its political subdivisions and private entities from contracting to own or operate a facility which detains people for violations of civil immigration law. By preventing Immigration and Customs Enforcement from contracting with in-state companies to aid in its enforcement of federal immigration law, the state law violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution since immigration detention is a function that "is and always has been performed solely by the federal government."
Court: USDC New Jersey, Judge: Kirsch, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: 3:23cv967, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Constitution, Immigration, Preemption
J. Spain finds that the trial court improperly sided with a building owner that challenged the validity of an association's amendment to a condominium declaration that resulted in greater common-area expenses for the owner. The owner's declaratory-judgment claim was barred by the statute of limitations. Reversed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Spain, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: 14-22-00395-CV, Categories: Civil Procedure, Real Estate
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J. Farris finds the lower court properly granted divorce to a wife, but improperly divided the marital assets. The husband did not answer or appear in the divorce proceedings, and the lower court granted divorce to the wife on grounds that the marriage was insupportable. But the lower court based its division of the marital assets on the wife’s inventory, but that inventory was never entered into evidence. Evidence is insufficient to support the lower court’s division of marital property, and the matter is remanded for further proceedings. Reversed in part.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Farris, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: 01-22-00550-CV, Categories: Family Law
J. Holdridge finds that the trial court properly ruled in favor of the general contractor and dismissed the claims relating to a subcontractor's damaged crane that was used in a demolition project. Because the general contractor did not control how the crane workers performed their jobs, it could not be held liable for the accident that damaged the crane. Affirmed in part.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Holdridge, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: 2022CA0892, Categories: Civil Procedure, Construction, Negligence
J. Emfinger finds the lower court properly convicted defendant of leaving the scene of an accident that caused mutilation, disfigurement, and/or destruction of a limb or organ, aggravated driving under the influence, and the DUI-related death of an unborn child. Defendant crashed into an oncoming vehicle after drinking and smoking marijuana. The crash severely injured the driver of the other vehicle and killed her unborn child. Defendant left the scene of the crash on foot before emergency personnel arrived. On appeal, defendant argues he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel, but the record indicates otherwise and his arguments are without merit. Affirmed.
Court: Mississippi Court Of Appeals, Judge: Emfinger, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: 2021-KA-01265-COA, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Dui
[Consolidated.] J. Pan reverses, in part, the district court's finding that a rule issued by the Department of Education that prohibits federal student loan guarantors from charging debt collection costs to borrowers who seek to cure their default within 60 days as exceeding the the department's authority. The rule is consistent with the Higher Education Act, and is neither arbitrary nor capricious. Reversed in part.
Court: DC Circuit, Judge: Pan, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: 22-5104 , Categories: Education, Government, Banking / Lending
J. Thomson finds the lower court properly dismissed a citizen's petition for writ of mandamus seeking to compel the Missouri Secretary of State to process his sample initiative petition for the November 2024 ballot prior to the November 2022 election. The state had no constitutional obligation to process the citizen's sample initiative petition until the day following the November 2022 election. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Thomson, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: WD85857, Categories: Elections
J. Sannes preserves a woman’s false arrest, malicious prosecution and conspiracy claims against the city of Saratoga Springs. She says a local police officer and two officials at the Saratoga Casino Hotel, one of which was the city’s former chief of police, conspired to arrest her on false charges of petit larceny after a casino cashier mistakenly gave her an extra $850 while redeeming her lottery scratch-off tickets. She sufficiently alleges probable cause did not exist for her arrest because the defendants were informed by the local district attorney’s office that it believed no crime had been committed on the belief that the woman herself had asked the cashier to verify the amount, thinking she had received too much.
Court: USDC Northern District of New York, Judge: Sannes, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv1154, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Malicious Prosecution, Police Misconduct
J. Africk awards $53,687 in unopposed damages to a freshman college student who was punched, choked and beaten in his dorm room by another man, who has not answered the lawsuit, without any justification, resulting in his jaw being wired shut for two months. The student spent weeks in significant pain and months on a liquid diet, and during his recovery he “missed a part of the freshman college experience.”
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Africk, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv4056, NOS: Assault, Libel, & Slander - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Damages, Assault
J. Gonzalez issues a preliminary injunction prohibiting a New Jersey-based pizzeria from using the litigant’s trademarked “Bravo Pizza” and “Bravo Kosher Pizza” names or anything similar that might cause consumer confusion. The litigant granted the defendant use of the names for its pizzeria under a licensing agreement, but later terminated the arrangement when it discovered they were using the name for a separate bagel shop. However, after the court issued a temporary restraining order, the defendant changed their name to “Ravo Pizza,” which the court clearly saw as a ruse. The court finds the litigant establishes that it will suffer irreparable harm due to the defendant’s bad faith actions. The court further compels them to arbitrate the remaining claims under the agreement.
Court: USDC Eastern District of New York, Judge: Gonzalez, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: 1:23cv4540, NOS: Trademark - Property Rights, Categories: Arbitration, Trademark, Injunction
J. Pryor finds that the district court properly denied the pharmaceutical company's and executives' request for relief from $40 million in contempt sanctions for violating an injunction against making unsubstantiated claims regarding weight loss products to consumers. The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in AMG Capital Management v. Federal Trade Commission did not impact the district court's authority to enforce the injunction through equitable monetary relief. The district court did not abuse its discretion in rejecting the company's and executives' request for an accounting of funds collected by the FTC. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Pryor, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: 21-14161, Categories: Contempt, Sanctions, Injunction
[Modified.] J. Ramirez makes multiple changes related to the terms "low burden of proof" and "substantial evidence" with no change in judgment. The trial court properly denied defendant's petition to vacate his felony murder-based first degree murder conviction. The trial court properly admitted into evidence this court's previous opinion that contained a record of conviction showing he was the actual killer, which means the conviction survives changes to the felony murder law. Defendant did not object to the admission of the previous opinion and therefore he may not object on appeal. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Ramirez, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: E079750, Categories: Evidence, Murder
J. Booth agrees with the lower court that the counsel provided a man convicted of distribution of heroin was sufficient. The man, arrested by one officer after a strip search revealed he was carrying heroin in his underwear, protests the counsel who represented him because the attorney failed to move to compel production of the arresting officer’s internal affairs division files. However, the attorney’s failure to do so does not demonstrate a deficiency in his representation, and the man has not shown any evidence that his conviction would’ve been different had the officer’s file been produced. Affirmed.
Court: Supreme Court of Maryland, Judge: Booth, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: 112222006, Categories: Drug Offender, Evidence, Ineffective Assistance
J. Hall grants a motion for judgment on the pleadings and finds in favor of a group of special agents with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Child Exploitation Group of Homeland Security department on a mother’s false arrest, malicious prosecution and failure to intervene claims. She alleges they fabricated evidence that alleged she sexually exploited her five-year-old daughter. The court finds the case presents a new context under the Bivens framework in several aspects which preclude the court from ruling on her claims.
Court: USDC Eastern District of New York, Judge: Hall, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: 1:15cv34, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Immigration, Malicious Prosecution, Police Misconduct
[Consolidated.] J. Siler finds that even in light of the Supreme Court's ruling in Ruan v. U.S., the jury instructions given by the trial court in defendants' drug trafficking case were not clearly erroneous. In context, they made clear the jury was required to find defendants opened their clinics for the purpose of illegally distributing Schedule II controlled substances. The instructions might not have spelled out the "knowingly" means rea specified by the Ruan court, but the trial court made clear the jury was required to make a subjective determination as to whether defendants purposefully distributed controlled substances, which complies with the high court's standard. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Siler, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: 20-6245, Categories: Drug Offender, Conspiracy, Jury Instructions
J. Ellis finds that the lower court properly denied a company's petition for sale in error after it purchased a commercial property at Cook County's annual tax sale only to discover the property was contaminated with asbestos, lead, and black mold. The company's reading of the property tax code would allow a buyer to reverse a sale simply by showing that at some point in the future, cleanup would be required. This is not a valid reading of the law. Rather, the company must show the property's current condition violates an environmental law or requires immediate remediation. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Ellis, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: 210523, Categories: Environment, Property, Tax
J. Elrod finds the district court properly denied the lawful permanent US resident’s motion to withdraw her guilty plea on charges of importation of a controlled substance. Though her lawyer told her that if she pleaded guilty it was “very likely” that she would be deported, defendant still received sufficient advice, as required by the Sixth Amendment, to make an informed decision. This is true in spite of the fact that a guilty plea in this circumstance triggered automatic deportation. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Elrod, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: 22-50647, Categories: Drug Offender, Immigration, Plea
J. Sargus grants, in part, the victim's motion in limine, ruling evidence of previous drug use is irrelevant in relation to his actions on the night he was beaten by police during an arrest and so it will be excluded. Meanwhile, the city's motion in limine to exclude testimony from the victim's expert witness is denied, as the witness's 20 years of experience as a police officer is sufficient to allow him to testify regarding whether officers had probable cause to arrest the victim, and whether the amount of force used was reasonable or necessary.
Court: USDC Southern District of Ohio, Judge: Sargus, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: 2:20cv1229, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Evidence, Experts
J. Delaney finds that the trial court properly dismissed a dangerous condition of public property claim against a city based on hazardous recreational activity immunity. A man who was rendered quadriplegic when he dove off a seawall into shallow water failed to allege triable issues of fact to challenge the statutory assumption that diving from any location other than a diving board or diving platform is a hazardous recreational activity. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Delaney, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: G061277, Categories: Immunity, Negligence
J. Bishop finds the district court properly denied the father’s request to modify custody of the children to a joint physical custody arrangement with their unmarried mother. The district court appropriately emphasized stability in the children’s routines and minimalization of contact and conflict between the parents. Although the parents’ communication has improved, disagreements still affect the children negatively. The district court, though, did not provide any explanation for deviating from child support guidelines, and abused its discretion in failing to set off non-reimbursed health care costs per child per year before triggering the father’s obligation to contribute. Affirmed in part. Affirmed in part as modified. Reversed in part. Vacated in part.
Court: Nebraska Court Of Appeals, Judge: Bishop, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: A-22-786, Categories: Family Law, Guardianship, Contract
J. Falvey finds the Board of Veterans Appeals properly rejected the Army veteran’s argument that the timing of his application for total disability either obscured the validity of his withdrawal of another claim or was a request to rescind that withdrawal. Neither he nor the record suggested that his cognitive impairment cast doubt on the validity of his withdrawal of his appeal, and the Board was not required to explore the issue. The Board considered all the evidence relevant to the claimed reason for disregarding the withdrawal. Affirmed.
Court: Court Of Appeals For Veterans Claims, Judge: Falvey, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: 21-5284, Categories: Health Care, Due Process, Military
J. D’Angelo partially amends a judgment entered in favor of a subcontractor which lent equipment to a contractor, who then failed to pay the subcontractor properly. The trial judge does not have authority to lower the lien amount in situations where the borrowed equipment is on the contractor’s worksite but unused for extended periods of time.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: D’Angelo, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: 21-P-985, Categories: Debt Collection, Contract