14 results for 'judge:"Westbrook"'.
J. Westbrook finds the lower court erroneously denied a portion of the hospital's motion to dismiss because claims made in relation to its disclosure of the patient's private medical records at his trial on a drunk driving charge were covered by litigation privilege. However, the lower court properly denied the motion to dismiss in relation to claims brought for information disclosed to the prosecution prior to trial. The hospital failed to provide any evidence to dispute the patient's claim that information in excess of that compelled through a subpoena was disclosed. Affirmed in part.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Westbrook, Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: AC46339, Categories: Evidence, Privacy, Privilege
J. Westbrook finds the trial court properly granted motions to dismiss against two law firms and their attorneys in this real estate dispute brought by a Vermont property seller. The seller argues one of the law firms solicit on the website with ‘‘Attention: out of state sellers.’’ She never has entered into the state of Connecticut, so the court lacks jurisdiction. Affirmed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Westbrook, Filed On: April 15, 2024, Case #: AC45631, Categories: Real Estate, Jurisdiction, Contract
J. Westbrook finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for sexual assault upon a minor under 14 and use of the minor in pornography based on sufficient evidence. Though defendant contends the court improperly instructed the jury that a mistake as to the victim's age is not a defense to a charge of using a minor in pornography, the state is not required to prove the defendant "knowingly" used her. Because defendant admitted he believed the minor was 16 years old during their sexual relationship, the instructional error was harmless. Affirmed.
Court: Nevada Court of Appeals, Judge: Westbrook , Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 85868-COA, Categories: Sex Offender, Child Pornography, Jury Instructions
J. Westbrook finds the lower court erroneously granted the property owner's motion for summary judgment on adverse possession claims brought by the neighbors. Genuine issues of material fact existed regarding whether the neighbors could establish the 15-year period of exclusive use necessary to prove their claims. The neighbors used the piece of land at issue exclusively for eight years, but because the previous owners had used it since 1961, they could prove all necessary elements of adverse possession if privity existed between the sets of owners. Therefore, the case must be remanded to allow the neighbors to provide proof there was an implied conveyance of the land when they acquired it. Reversed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Westbrook, Filed On: March 1, 2024, Case #: AC45508, Categories: Property, Real Estate
J. Westbrook finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for leaving the scene of an accident involving injury. A day after the accident, the passenger in defendant's vehicle told the injured child's family that defendant had accidentally hit the child. Defendant turned himself in after this, but denied having been intoxicated, saying he thought he had hit a pothole. The passenger testified defendant was intoxicated, while other substantial evidence supports the conviction. Affirmed.
Court: Nevada Court of Appeals, Judge: Westbrook , Filed On: February 29, 2024, Case #: 86161-COA, Categories: Dui, Witnesses, Criminal Negligence
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J. Westbrook finds the lower court properly denied the request for a new criminal trial filed by the rabbi convicted of sexual assault. Although the affidavit filed by the assistant rabbi claimed the victim was over the age of 16, it was not corroborated by any other evidence and likely would not have changed the outcome of the trial. The victim admitted he was unsure of his age at the time of the abuse, but this statement did not equate to a retraction of his trial testimony, while the assistant rabbi's credibility was also an issue, based on his evasion of subpoenas during both the criminal and civil trials. Affirmed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Westbrook, Filed On: February 23, 2024, Case #: AC46055, Categories: Evidence, Sex Offender, Child Victims
J. Westbrook finds the lower court properly used the wife's 2020 earnings to calculate alimony and child support payments to the husband. There was insufficient evidence from 2021 and 2022, while the husband's claim of an intentional reduction of income was not supported by evidence in the record, including the Covid-19 pandemic and an increase in the number of partners at the wife's company. Affirmed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Westbrook, Filed On: February 23, 2024, Case #: AC45727, Categories: Evidence, Family Law
J. Westbrook finds the trial court did not violate the father's rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act when it denied his requests for half-day trial days during the couple's marital and custody dispute. Even if his claim of a disability is legitimate, he failed to make a formal request under the Act and his doctor's accommodation request made no specific mention of shortened trial days. Additionally, the award of sole custody of the child to the wife was not a retaliatory decision by the trial court for the husband's accommodation requests, but rather, was based on the evidence of the case and the husband's refusal to appear at various hearings because they took place in the afternoon. Affirmed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Westbrook, Filed On: February 15, 2024, Case #: AC45698, Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act, Family Law, Judiciary
J. Westbrook finds the district court properly denied defendant's petition for a writ of mandamus challenging her forgery and identity theft convictions due to an improper 76-day delay between her first appearance and preliminary hearing. Although the trial court improperly found good cause for the delay, defendant's request to dismiss due to unlawful detention should have been raised in a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Affirmed.
Court: Nevada Court of Appeals, Judge: Westbrook , Filed On: January 25, 2024, Case #: 85383-COA, Categories: Habeas, Forgery, Identity Theft
J. Westbrook finds the district court improperly dismissed the estate's claims for negligence and wrongful death. The estate filed a survivorship suit a year after the decedent's death, which was dismissed as time-barred. The motion for reconsideration as timely of the claim's construal as wrongful death was dismissed for failure to state a claim. However, the affidavit of merit is not required to propose causation in order to support a negligence-base wrongful death claim. Reversed.
Court: Nevada Court of Appeals, Judge: Westbrook , Filed On: December 28, 2023, Case #: 84978-CoA, Categories: Health Care, Due Process, Wrongful Death
J. Westbrook finds the district court properly entered judgment regarding a petition for judicial review of an administrative decision by the transportation authority. The charter bus company was cited and fined for improperly staging vehicles at casinos without a charter order. Though the charter service says the staging prohibition is federally preempted, this is incorrect since the prohibition is related to safety. The charter service has also failed to develop the record at the agency level. Affirmed.
Court: Nevada Court of Appeals, Judge: Westbrook , Filed On: November 30, 2023, Case #: 85007-COA, Categories: Transportation, Agency
J. Westbrook finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for attempted lewdness with a child under the age of 14. After extradition from Michigan to Nevada, the court did not inquire into defendant’s ability to pay extradition and psychosexual evaluation restitutions after he objected on the basis of an inability to pay. The court is not required to make a psychosexual evaluation but is required to impose costs only to the extent of defendant’s ability to pay. Affirmed in part. Vacated in part, and remanded.
Court: Nevada Court of Appeals, Judge: Westbrook, Filed On: October 19, 2023, Case #: 85099-COA, Categories: Sex Offender, Child Victims, Extradition
J. Westbrook finds the trial court improperly granted the ex-wife awards for alimony and attorney and expert fees in an unequal distribution of community property and debt in the divorce decree. The court improperly adopted the wife’s proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law in its entirety, without modification. Though this does not in itself constitute an abuse of discretion, portions contain numerous legal and factual deficiencies. On remand, the court must reevaluate the awards. Reversed and remanded.
Court: Nevada Court of Appeals, Judge: Westbrook, Filed On: October 5, 2023, Case #: 84427-COA, Categories: Family Law, Property, Due Process
J. Westbrook finds the district court properly denied Larry Flynt's Hustler Club's request to quash and unseal warrants used to seize property regarding allegations of prostitution, as disclosure may compromise the police's ability to further investigate. However, the district court erroneously denied the return-of-property motion without allowing the club to demonstrate privilege, and improperly adopted the police's search protocol, which allowed the forensics lab to disclose confidential communications to law enforcement based on its unilateral determination of privilege without affording the club opportunity to challenge this. Nevada's return-of-property statute allows an owner to seek the return of privileged materials even when the government has an ongoing investigation. Reversed in part.
Court: Nevada Court of Appeals, Judge: Westbrook , Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: 84931-COA, Categories: Search, Prostitution