117 results for 'filedAt:"2024-04-09"'.
J. Edelstein finds the trial court's finding of financial misconduct on the part of the husband was unsupported by the evidence. Although he undoubtedly used the majority of his retirement assets to fund the startup of an ultimately failing business, the wife was aware of his conduct, agreed to refinance the couple's mortgage well after the business had failed and knew the assets were liquidated. Reversed in part.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Edelstein, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1339, Categories: Evidence, Family Law
J. Lemelle denies a request by an insurer to dismiss two homeowners’ breach of contract and bad faith claims related to their insurer’s alleged failure to compensate them for hurricane-related property damage. The insurer mistakenly contends the property owners’ insurance suit is time-barred for failure to provide notice of their claim within 365 days of the event. State law prohibits insurance policies from limiting its insured's right to sue to a period of less than two years.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Lemelle, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv5396, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Damages
J. Lorish finds the lower court properly denied a niece’s petition seeking an accounting to her aunt’s finances. The aunt executed a durable power of attorney designating an agent. The niece claims she filed the petition because she was concerned that the agent was mishandling her aunt’s finances. The lower court denied the petition, and the instant court finds it did not abuse its discretion in doing so. Affirmed.
Court: Virginia Court Of Appeals, Judge: Lorish, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 0600-23-3, Categories: Fiduciary Duty
Per curiam, the Supreme Court of Ohio finds the lower court properly dismissed the inmate's petition for a writ of mandamus against his trial court judge. The court's failure to include the correct number of firearms in its judgment did not render the judgment nonfinal and, therefore, the inmate had an adequate remedy through a direct appeal. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1291, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Judiciary
J. Riedman finds the district court improperly divided the marital estate. The court improperly classified and valued the wife's student loan debt, auto loan, and certain savings, checking and retirement accounts. The evidence presented does not support using an average daily value, and the wife failed to rebut the presumption the growth of her retirement accounts was marital. Vacated in part.
Court: Nebraska Court Of Appeals, Judge: Riedman , Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: A-23-593, Categories: Family Law, Property, Banking / Lending
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J. Arterburn finds the trial court improperly granted summary judgment to a hospital on medical malpractice claims filed by a widow and estate administrator after her husband died following an emergency room visit. The husband died at home from coronary artery disease after the emergency room doctor diagnosed and treated him for a head injury incurred at work. The court improperly denied the wife's motion to compel and granted the hospital’s motion for a protective order. Though the court correctly received the doctor's affidavit, it improperly declined to receive the wife's expert's affidavit stating the hospital violated standards of care involving the husband's history of heart disease. Reversed in part.
Court: Nebraska Court Of Appeals, Judge: Arterburn , Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: A-23-339, Categories: Negligence, Experts, Medical Malpractice
J. Griesbach grants summary judgment to the city in the former employee's lawsuit claiming he was essentially forced to retire because he called in sick to a training session he did not want to attend due to various anxieties about contracting Covid-19 and wearing a mask to prevent that from happening. The employee's claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act and Families First Coronavirus Response Act both fail, in part because he has not provided any evidence that he had either chronic migraines or anxiety that qualified as serious health conditions for which he could take medical leave, and he has not shown he was retaliated against for a statutorily protected activity.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Wisconsin, Judge: Griesbach, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv1000, NOS: Family and Medical Leave Act - Labor, Categories: Employment, Covid-19, Employment Retaliation
J. Dever dismisses with prejudice a former police chief’s motion to amend his complaint against a municipality and certain of its staff members, alleging they discriminated against him because he is Hispanic and blind in one eye. For instance, the town manager allegedly micromanaged the chief and made racist comments to him, such as “[you] should learn to dance the salsa.” The chief also cites not having been given a pay increase at the same time as others in similar positions, although he previously fought this and succeeded. He also claims constructive discharge based on his negative experiences, but the behavior of the manager and others does not rise to the level of discrimination under the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv446, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Equal Protection, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
Per curiam, the appellate court conditionally grants a writ of mandamus to vacate an order to compel the relator's compliance with a third-party subpoena for an underlying lawsuit alleging three individuals helped her to "obtain medication to facilitate an abortion." The discovery requests "facially request evidence that could, at least, furnish a link in the chain of evidence needed to prosecute relator for a crime."
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 14-23-00834-CV, Categories: Civil Procedure, Discovery, Privilege
J. Friedland vacates six defendants’ convictions for mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud arising from defendants’ sales companies’ tactics in selling printer toner. While "not just any lie that secures a sale constitutes fraud; the lie must instead go to the nature of the bargain." The government’s theory of fraud in this case was overbroad because it did not require the jury to find that defendants deceived customers about the nature of the bargain.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: Friedland, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 21-50162, Categories: Fraud
J. Hurson grants, in part, two third-party subcontractors’ motion to dismiss this negligence and contract dispute brought by the water and sewer authority. The original construction company that hired the subcontractors failed to properly analyze the environmental conditions on land that the water and sewer authority bought, causing them to perform environmental remediation along with other buried debris and waste. The water and sewer authority fails to allege claim of breach of contract against the subcontractors and the language in both subcontracts does not grant them beneficiary status. The contract claim is dismissed, and the negligence claim is withdrawn as to the subcontractors. The water and sewer authority’s request for leave is denied as currently presented.
Court: USDC Maryland, Judge: Hurson, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 8:23cv1328, NOS: All Other Real Property - Real Property, Categories: Construction, Environment, Property
J. Clark finds that the lower court properly found for the police officers in a wrongful death suit filed by the family of a passenger in a fleeing car that hit a tree, killing both driver and passenger. The officers did not owe a duty to the decedent passenger as the fleeing driver had an absolute duty to yield to the officer when they approached with emergency lights on. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Clark, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: ED111491, Categories: Immunity, Wrongful Death
J. Hardwick finds that the lower court properly issued the employer an injunction enforcing a noncompete clause in a doctor's employment agreement preventing him from practicing radiology within a 25-mile radius for two years after leaving the practice. The practice has a legitimate protectable interest in its patient and referral base, even if radiologists rarely have contact with patients, because it relies heavily on the relationships its radiologists have cultivated with referring physicians. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hardwick, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: WD86589, Categories: Employment, Contract
J. Gonzalez finds that the lower court properly dismissed a businessman's SLAPP suit against the AP for reporting on his vicious custody dispute. The article included threatening text messages sent by the businessman threatening to kill his wife, video footage of him doing drugs, and audio of him using racist language. None of the alleged defamatory statements are actionable because they are protected by fair reporting privilege, and are substantially true. The matter shall be remanded for a calculation of mandatory attorney fees. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Gonzalez, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 01898, Categories: Anti-slapp, Defamation
J. Robinson denies a roof contractor's motion for preliminary injunction concerning tortious interference claims against a business rival. The business rival, who won the contract for a drinking reservoir project, sufficiently showed in court that it did not mislead the city with its qualification package and submitted bids.
Court: USDC Kansas, Judge: Robinson, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv2339, NOS: Other Personal Property Damage - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: Construction, Contract, Injunction
J. Lake finds that an auto loan servicer was negligent in reporting the towing of a motorist’s vehicle after an accident as a repossession to credit reporting agencies despite multiple disputes from the motorist whose loan payments were current. The loan servicer failed to properly investigate their own documentation showing that the motorist’s payments were up to date but the evidence does not show willfulness. The loan servicers request for summary judgment is denied on all claims except for the willfulness claim.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Lake, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv1272, NOS: Consumer Credit - Other Suits, Categories: Debt Collection, Vehicle, Banking / Lending
J. Reichek finds in this restricted appeal that the lower court improperly terminated the mother's parental rights. The mother argues that her attorney "failed to appear at trial," thus demonstrating ineffective assistance of counsel. The court concludes that a "presumption of prejudice is warranted" under the circumstances and remands the case for further proceedings. Reversed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Reichek, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 05-23-01142-CV, Categories: Civil Procedure, Family Law
J. Douglas finds that the lower court improperly sentenced defendant following her guilty plea to unlawful possession of scheduled drugs. The lower court abused its discretion in imposing "an unsuspended, three-year prison sentence" based on an "interconnection of drugs with homicides" that had no basis in the record. Defendant's alleged conduct did not involve violence, and there was no evidence she had ever been violent. Additionally, the court failed to reconcile the sentence at issue with a previously imposed sentence. Vacated.
Court: Maine Supreme Court, Judge: Douglas, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 2024ME24, Categories: Drug Offender, Sentencing
J. Dever grants in part a ticket booking firm’s motion to dismiss allegations of breach of contract and fraudulent inducement, among others, brought by the organizer of the Voices of America Country Music Festival. The organizer claims that the firm created over 5,000 duplicate tickets and over 1,800 duplicate parking passes, valued at over $1.4 million total. This is a clear breach of contract, but the firm presents sufficient evidence that its errors were unintentional, so all other claims are dismissed.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv676, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Fraud, Trade, Contract
J. Welsh finds the district court properly dismissed the property owner's complaint concerning a speed bump the other property owner installed on a private road subject to the moving party's easement. The owner failed to establish the speed bump materially interfered with use of the easement. Affirmed.
Court: Nebraska Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welsh , Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: A-23-446, Categories: Administrative Law, Property
J. Hull finds that the district court properly sentenced defendant to 840 months in prison following his guilty plea to using a minor to produce child pornography and distributing and possessing child pornography. The district court correctly applied a sentencing enhancement based on images and video defendant created of the same victim, his four-year-old daughter, at around the same time. The videos showed separate instances of sexual abuse and were recorded over two days. The district court also did not commit any error in viewing defendant's active-duty military status as an aggravating rather than mitigating factor for sentencing purposes. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Hull, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 22-11153, Categories: Sentencing, Child Pornography
J. Hodges finds that the trial court properly denied defendant's request for a hearing on a previously withdrawn 12-year-old motion to withdraw his guilty plea to armed robbery and aggravated assault. Defendant's counsel withdrew the motion with defendant's approval and defendant told the trial court that he did not feel comfortable taking the motion forward. The trial court was not obligated to issue a ruling on the motion. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Hodges, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: A24A0083, Categories: Robbery, Plea
J. Maxa finds that the lower court improperly issued summary judgment in favor of Industrial Scientific Corporation (ISC) in a lawsuit brought by an independent contractor who suffered respiratory injuries after being exposed to chlorine dioxide at a paper mill. While summary judgment was properly issued to the owner of the mill for not having a special duty of care towards the contractor, the same cannot be said for ISC. It had safety monitors that failed to go off after the contractor was exposed to the dangerous levels of chlorine dioxide, and as a result, claims can continue against it under the product liability theory. Affirmed in part.
Court: Washington Court Of Appeals, Judge: Maxa, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 58137-0-II, Categories: Negligence, Product Liability