25 results for 'judge:"Osteen"'.
J. Osteen denies a retired businessman’s motion for preliminary injunction against the U.S. Department of Agriculture to prevent it from enforcing the Horse Protection Act against him. The department claims the businessman violated the Act when he entered his own horse into a Virginia horse show when the horse was sored, or exposed to harmful chemicals in order to make the horse produce a more desirable gait. The businessman denies that he sored the horse and contests the process by which he was accused. Because one of the department’s judicial officers, and not its secretary, filed the complaint against the businessman, he incorrectly believes this delegitimizes the process and demands a jury trial. He is not likely to succeed on the merits and his motion is therefore denied.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Osteen, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: 1:24cv175, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: Agriculture, Constitution, Injunction
J. Osteen partially denies a fire extinguisher company’s motion to dismiss a second amended class action complaint alleging a slew of allegations after many extinguishers failed to work properly. Almost all of the class’s claims allege violations of California and Florida state laws, and include unfair trade practices, fraud and breach of warranty. Most of the claims are barred by other state law regulations. However, several survive, including fraudulent inducement and implied warranty violations because the company concealed its knowledge of extinguisher malfunctions for 12 years before they were recalled in 2017.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Osteen, Filed On: March 29, 2024, Case #: 1:21cv839, NOS: Other Fraud - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: Fraud, Trade, Warranty
J. Osteen denies the state department of health and human services’ secretary’s motion to dismiss allegations of disability discrimination brought by a class of parents and guardians of disabled children. The class shows sufficient evidence that hundreds of children with disabilities are unnecessarily institutionalized at understaffed state psychiatric wards every year in North Carolina. The children are subject to physical, emotional and sexual abuse and given heavily mind-altering drugs by untrained employees in violation of the ADA, specifically the Olmstead Act.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Osteen, Filed On: March 29, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv1046, NOS: Amer w/Disabilities - Other - Civil Rights, Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act, Government, Class Action
J. Osteen grants a municipality’s motion to dismiss allegations that a new ordinance that puts limitations on short-term rentals is in violation of the state constitution. A couple who owns a short-term rental property in the municipality brings this action. Because the couple also has an underlying suit pending in state court, this action is dismissed, but the couple can bring a new action after the state suit has resolved.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Osteen, Filed On: March 29, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv102, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Property, Zoning
J. Osteen grants Quest Diagnostics’ motion to dismiss allegations of civil rights violations and race discrimination brought by a physician account executive. The executive, a Black woman, claims that her white, male supervisor treated her with derision and comparatively praised and better treated her white, female coworker. She further alleges the supervisor systematically discriminated against her, eventually firing her for a frivolous reason. However, the executive’s claims fail to meet requirements for federal civil rights and race discrimination protections.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Osteen, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv736, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Employment, Employment Discrimination
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[Consolidated.] J. Osteen defers consideration of a Silicon Carbide fabrication facility’s argument that its high-voltage power semiconductor patent claim term is indefinite at this stage, and so no claim construction can happen. The Purdue University Board of Trustees says construction of patent claim terms must proceed, but since the term is currently indefinite, consideration must be deferred.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Osteen, Filed On: March 19, 2024, Case #: 1:21cv840, NOS: Patent - Property Rights, Categories: Education, Patent, Technology
J. Osteen grants an online political strategy firm’s motion for summary judgment following its claim that a multinational investment company failed to pay a third installment on a $900,000 promissory note. This claim comes after the company was recently sued for public corruption for bribing politicians in exchange for governmental decision making power that would benefit the company. The company shows no evidence that it is not obligated to pay the third installment of $300,000 plus interest and attorney fees of $45,000.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Osteen, Filed On: March 14, 2024, Case #: 1:21cv206, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Debt Collection, Attorney Fees, Contract
J. Osteen denies a male university student’s motion for preliminary injunction following an investigation into allegations of rape and sexual assault brought against him by a female student. The male student, found responsible for sexual misconduct, counters by saying that procedural irregularities in the investigation and hearing were committed against him based on gender bias. However, the male student provides no evidence of gender bias or violation of the university’s Title IX policy.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Osteen, Filed On: March 14, 2024, Case #: 1:24cv41, NOS: Education - Civil Rights, Categories: Education, Tort, Assault
J. Osteen partially denies the Department of Veterans Affairs’ motion to dismiss allegations of disability discrimination and retaliation brought by a former program support assistant. While the assistant fails to state a claim for retaliation, the evidence she produces is sufficient to bring a discrimination claim. The department created a new position similar to hers requiring a graduate degree, of which she has three, but hired someone who was not college-educated instead. The assistant argues this is because of the department’s prejudice against her based on the atrophy of the left side of her body due to a stroke.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Osteen, Filed On: February 6, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv8, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Employment, Employment Discrimination
J. Osteen denies North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls’ motion for preliminary injunction following a proposed investigation by the state’s judicial standards commission of some of Earls’ public comments. Earls, the sole Black woman on the state supreme court, has publicly claimed that the court lacks racial diversity and harbors implicit bias, and that she has the First Amendment right to make such statements. She argues that an investigation would infringe upon this right. However, according to the commission, Earls’ comments potentially violate a code of judicial conduct wherein judges should not make such public comments about each other because this can undermine public confidence in the court. The state court acted first, which could mean abstention doctrine would at least temporarily stop an injunction from proceeding. But, in this case, Earls has failed to establish a probability of success on the merits based on her potential violation of the code of conduct, so her motion must be denied.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Osteen, Filed On: November 21, 2023, Case #: 1:23cv734, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Government, First Amendment, Injunction
J. Osteen partially denies the University of North Carolina’s motion to dismiss allegations including race discrimination, wrongful discharge and tortious inference brought by a Ph.D. student. The only Black person in the organizational behavioral Ph.D. program at the time, the student confided in close faculty that she had been raped and that this had triggered symptoms of her PTSD diagnosis. When she attended a hearing involving her attacker instead of a non-mandatory program seminar, the faculty claimed she was being irresponsible and disrespectful. From there, the student alleges, her treatment by the faculty — all of whom are white or of Indian descent — became increasingly severe to the point where they allegedly complained to professors at other universities and sabotaged her attempts to transfer schools. While the student does not sufficiently evidence her claims against the individual staff members involved and has since withdrawn those claims, she does have standing against the university itself on eight of 10 claims including disparate treatment, retaliation and failure to accommodate.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Osteen, Filed On: October 20, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv717, NOS: Amer w/Disabilities-Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Education, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Osteen denies an employment screening service’s motion for summary judgment following one claim of willful violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act brought by an apartment leasing agent applicant. Another applicant with the same first and last names and the same birthday happened to have a criminal record. The service attached this record to the first applicant’s file and consequently, the apartment leasing company did not hire him. Because there is a dispute of material fact as to whether the service followed its own policy in fact checking the criminal background checks it outsources to a different company, whether the service acted willfully or not cannot yet be determined.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Osteen, Filed On: September 29, 2023, Case #: 1:19cv1077, NOS: Consumer Credit - Other Suits, Categories: Employment, Consumer Law, Negligence
J. Osteen partially denies a county school board’s motion to dismiss a host of alleged ADA, Rehabilitation Act and state law violations brought by two students, who are sisters, and their mother. The family claims the sisters were often targeted and bullied because one of them was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. The bullying often included physical attacks from other students, including the principal’s daughter, such as hitting them in the head with balls in gym class and at one point knocking one of them to the floor, causing concussion and neck injuries requiring medical treatment. Despite their mother’s attempt to intervene multiple times, the behavior continued. Although the state and individual claims against the principal and several teachers are dismissed under sovereign immunity, the school’s apparent “deliberate indifference” to how the two students were treated by others constitutes federal law violations.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Osteen, Filed On: September 29, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv12, NOS: Amer w/Disabilities - Other - Civil Rights, Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act, Education, Tort
J. Osteen dismisses the remaining claims, for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, brought by a former employee who says he was cheated out of his pension after his employer merged with another, larger firm. The entities the retiree sues are not proper parties to his ERISA claims.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Osteen, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv274, NOS: Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) - Labor, Categories: Civil Procedure, Pensions, Jurisdiction
J. Osteen grants an insurance firm’s motion to dismiss a hospital’s allegations of bad faith after the firm refused to cover wind and hail damage sustained by two buildings. Following the hospital’s insurance claim, an investigator concluded that further inspection of the site was necessary to conclude what was the cause of the damage. Although the hospital construes this as a bad faith action, the need for further inspection does not constitute malice or intentional injury as is required for the claim.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Osteen, Filed On: September 22, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv849, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Property, Contract
J. Osteen denies a former investment management specialist her motion to amend her complaint against Wells Fargo for alleged race, gender and age discrimination. The specialist, a Black woman who was 62 years old at the time, claims that after she complained of discrimination to Wells Fargo’s CEO, she was not chosen for a promotion even though she was qualified. She noted that every other employee already in this position was white and younger than her. She did not have to establish specific incidents of discrimination in her original complaint, but her amendment fails to add any precise details about her claims.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Osteen, Filed On: August 25, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv51, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Osteen partially denies a group of food manufacturers and retailers its renewed motion for class certification in a suit against a coupon processing service business. The manufacturers allege the business overcharged them in shipping fees, but discovery revealed that one-third of them were uninjured, so they will not be certified. However, the group of retailers will be certified, as more than two-thirds of them were injured.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Osteen, Filed On: August 23, 2023, Case #: 1:19cv141, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Class Action, Contract
J. Osteen grants a group of tenants final approval of a class settlement against a property owning firm after the firm allegedly illegally charged the group with eviction-related fees. The parties came to a settlement agreement providing monetary relief of over $800,000 to the group, and no tenants opted out of the settlement classes when given an option. The firm did not oppose the group’s motion.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Osteen, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 1:20cv1049, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Landlord Tenant, Settlements, Class Action
J. Osteen partially denies a municipality’s motion for summary judgment on an excessive force claim and assault and battery claim against a particular police officer, one of several who pulled a Black female driver over and arrested her. Although the driver alleges officers racially profiled her, she fails to state a claim. However, based on her testimony and footage from the officers’ body cameras, her claims against one officer stand because he pulled his firearm on her when she showed no threat to the officers and held her hands up. He then pulled her out of the car by her arm and hair and dragged her to the ground, eventually handcuffing her even though she had been given about 10 seconds to comply with the officer’s orders.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Osteen, Filed On: August 14, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv322, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Tort, Assault, Police Misconduct
J. Osteen denies a life insurance company’s motion for summary judgment following allegations that it violated ERISA when it denied a dental analyst for Blue Cross Blue Shield her long-term disability benefits. Although she had been receiving these benefits for nearly 20 years due to a debilitating disease, one of the insurance company’s agents observed the analyst and found that she could walk and perform other daily activities in a “normal” manner. Therefore, the company cut off her benefits, but it made the decision without full evidence of the analyst’s disability. The benefits claim is therefore remanded to the company for further review.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Osteen, Filed On: August 14, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv186, NOS: Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) - Labor, Categories: Employment, Erisa, Insurance
J. Osteen denies, in part, a medical center's motion for summary judgment on an employee's discrimination and retaliation claims. She has presented sufficient evidence to support her claims for hostile work environment and retaliation.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Osteen , Filed On: July 31, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv698, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Osteen grants, in part, a blind individual's motion for summary judgment on her Americans with Disabilities Action against a plasma donor bank. The individual is entitled to a declaratory judgment that the facility violated the ADA when it refused to allow her to access the donor floor with her service dog, and she is entitled to an injunction allowing her to be assisted by her animal when she donates plasma.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Osteen, Filed On: July 31, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv953, NOS: Amer w/Disabilities - Other - Civil Rights, Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act, Injunction