113 results for 'filedAt:"2024-01-26"'.
Per curiam, the supreme court finds the referee for the lawyer regulation office properly called for John Ifediora's Wisconsin law license to be revoked for 12 counts of misconduct stemming from representing his cousin who was trying to become a permanent U.S. resident. Revocation is required due to the seriousness of Ifediora's misconduct, which included converting at least $250,000 while acting as his cousin's attorney during the process of the cousin investing $500,000 in a commercial enterprise as part of a USCIS program offering a pathway to permanent residency. Ifediora's license is revoked as of the date of this order, and he is ordered to pay the $12,305 cost his disciplinary proceeding.
Court: Wisconsin Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 2022AP000041-D, Categories: Attorney Discipline
J. Watkins finds that the trial court improperly entered a divorce decree giving the mother sole custody of the couple's child and denying the father any parenting time. There was no evidence that limiting the father to supervised visits with the child would be insufficient to prevent contact between the child and the father's new partner. There was also no evidence that contact with the partner would be harmful to the child or that concerns about the father's personal behavior and use of steroids had any effect on how he interacted with the child. Affirmed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Watkins, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: A23A1549, Categories: Family Law
J. Soto finds a lower court ruled correctly in denying an engineering company’s motion to dismiss after it was sued following a pipeline explosion by an oil company, which argued the engineering company had done “deficient surveying work” prior to laying a new pipeline. The engineering company argued the oil company did not obtain a valid certificate of merit prior to suing because the certificate came from an engineer rather than a surveyor, but in fact the oil company’s claims concerned allegedly negligent “professional engineering services, not professional land surveying services.” Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Soto, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 08-23-00029-CV, Categories: Civil Procedure, Negligence, Experts
J. McClendon finds that the ethics board properly found the state agency employee violated the ethics code and assessed penalties against her for receiving "a thing of economic value" from a prohibited source. The evidence shows the employee violated the prohibited gift statute because her husband worked for a company that contracted with her agency. As a result, the employee received one-half of her husband's salary based on the community property regime created by their marriage. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: McClendon, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 2023CA0321, Categories: Administrative Law, Government, Agency
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J. McClendon finds that the trial court properly ruled against the librarian in a defamation suit alleging she was targeted after a library board meeting by other attendees who falsely represented on social media that she promoted pornography and erotic material to children. The librarian's appeal of the judgment granting the attendees' motions to strike was untimely, and she did not challenge the judgment as to attorney fees and costs. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: McClendon, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 2023CA0654, Categories: Civil Procedure, Defamation
J. Douglas finds the district court properly found in favor of Rolex in this trademark infringement suit against a watch restorer that advertises refurbished watches as "genuine Rolex," though its products contain Rolex and non-Rolex parts. The watches lacked sufficient disclosures, which created a likelihood of confusion in consumers. Rolex failed to show the knowing bad faith necessary to foreclose the restorer's equitable laches defense based on Rolex's delay in filing suit, and no damages were awarded. Affirmed in part.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Douglas , Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 22-10866, Categories: Trademark, Damages
J. Growcock finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of misdemeanor animal abuse. The evidence is sufficient to find defendant intended to hurt the dog by using a leach as a makeshift collar to "helicopter" the dog around the yard. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Growcock, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: SD37827, Categories: Animal Cruelty
J. Duhart finds the lower court properly terminated the father's parental rights and granted permanent custody of the child to family services. Although he complied with parts of his case plan, he failed to maintain sobriety, and his arrest and incarceration prevents him from providing a safe home for the child. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Duhart, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-281, Categories: Evidence, Family Law
J. Waterman finds that defendant was properly convicted of sexually abusing his girlfriend's daughter beginning when she was nine years old. Video of a forensic interview with the victim was properly admitted since defendant cross-examined the victim by asking her about specific statements she made during the interview. Affirmed in part.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Waterman, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 21-1676, Categories: Sex Offender, Witnesses
J. Kennedy finds that the lower court properly confirmed an arbitration award in favor of the appellee company in this dispute involving the construction of an affordable housing property and the option provision contained within the parties' limited partnership agreement. The court rejects the appellant's argument that "the option was indefinite and unenforceable." Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Kennedy, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 05-22-00721-CV, Categories: Arbitration, Housing, Contract
J. Garaufis enters default judgment against an insured and grants the insurer’s claims for declaratory relief. The court finds the insurer was within its right when it disclaimed coverage under a commercial liability insurance policy for an underlying personal injury complaint. The insurer had discovered that the insured had rented out three garages on the property without notifying it, and also lied about the size of the property.
Court: USDC Eastern District of New York, Judge: Garaufis, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv2629, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance
[Consolidated.] J. Goodwine finds that plaintiff, a family services office supervisor, was improperly awarded $2 million in whistleblower claims brought after he filed reports contending cases had been seriously mismanaged and that his supervisor lied about her case management notes. Plaintiff did not suffer physical or economic harm, and thus he had been awarded excessive punitive damages. Reversed in part.
Court: Kentucky Court Of Appeals, Judge: Goodwine, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 2022-CA-0935-MR, Categories: Damages, Employment Discrimination, Whistleblowers
J. Pulliam finds a hearing officer ruled correctly in determining that individualized education programs issued for a troubled child were reasonable and appropriately addressed his educational needs. The hearing officer found the school district had done “all that it could” to design an education plan for the student, and the student’s family has not provided adequate evidence that the district failed to provide him a free appropriate public education. Affirmed.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Pulliam, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 5:21cv636, NOS: Education - Civil Rights, Categories: Administrative Law, Civil Rights, Education
J. Dever denies two voters from a majority-Black Senate district in northeast North Carolina their motion for an extraordinary, mandatory preliminary injunction, which they claim is necessary to then establish a racially gerrymandered district in order to abide by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The voters allege that the General Assembly violated the Act precisely because it did not engage in race-based district creation, disadvantaging Black voters in majority-white state. However, as the 2024 elections are already under way, the two voters fail to show that the Voting Rights Act needs this injunction to initiate race-based grouping of voters, and doing so would likely confuse voters and create chaos that could compromise election integrity.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv193, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Elections, Government
J. Bemporad grants an IT company summary judgment on a retaliation claim after it was sued by a former employee who argued she was fired because she is a Black woman. The company’s stated reason for the firing was that the former employee was not meeting performance expectations for a software test, and while the firing came just days after the employee complained of discrimination, she has not provided evidence that the stated reason for termination was pretextual.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Bemporad, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 5:22cv796, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Employment, Employment Retaliation
J. Desai finds that the district court properly entered a summary judgment order granting qualified immunity to a City of Clovis police officer, in an action alleging that the officer violated an individual's due process rights when the officer disclosed a confidential domestic violence report to the individual's abuser, another Clovis police officer. The officer was liable under the state-created danger doctrine. However, the officer was entitled to qualified immunity because it was not clearly established in 2013 that the officer's conduct violated the individual’s substantive due process rights. Affirmed.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: Desai, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 22-16335, Categories: Civil Rights, Immunity, Due Process
J. Ray partially grants the city's and officer's motion to exclude testimony from the driver's accident reconstruction expert witness in a malicious prosecution and civil rights action. The action arose after the driver was twice prosecuted for vehicular homicide after he suffered a seizure and caused a collision which killed his passenger. The case against the driver was eventually dismissed for insufficient evidence. The expert may not testify about whether the driver suffered a seizure, the impact of any such medical emergency on the driver's ability to operate the vehicle or whether the driver had any control over any seizure. The driver failed to show that the expert, who is not a medical doctor, is qualified to opine on whether he suffered a seizure.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Ray, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 4:22cv232, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Malicious Prosecution, Experts
J. Sellers grants a hospital immunity under the Alabama COVID-19 Immunity Act against negligence claims filed by a patient who fell leaving a designated exit for patients receiving monoclonal antibody therapy for COVID-19. The hospital is entitled to immunity based on the language of the statute. Vacated.
Court: Alabama Supreme Court, Judge: Sellers, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: SC-2023-0395, Categories: Immunity, Negligence, Covid-19
J. Hughes finds that the district court properly dismissed a third-party asbestos abatement company's Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act claim against a school after the school terminated its contract with the general contractor when finding asbestos fibers in the school. Although the abatement company could have stated a cause of action under contract law, there is no cause of action under the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act. In this case, the state is a customer acting in furtherance of its governmental function of maintaining school buildings in good repair and free
from health hazards. Affirmed in part.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: Hughes, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 2023-CC-00794, Categories: Education, Evidence, Asbestos
J. Mayle finds the trial court erroneously determined it lacked jurisdiction over the school board's petition for a writ of prohibition. Recent case law and the current interpretation of the Ohio Constitution grants common pleas courts jurisdiction to hear such cases, which are no longer limited to appeals courts and the Ohio Supreme Court. However, because the Ohio Department of Education has the authority to settle residency disputes between school districts and the school district in this case had an adequate remedy by way of a declaratory judgment action, the petition for a writ of prohibition was properly dismissed by the lower court. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Mayle, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-285, Categories: Education, Jurisdiction