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Case Summaries
Civil Procedure
[08/14] American Int'l Specialty Lines Ins. Co. v. Continental Cas. Ins. Co.
In an action for insurance indemnity and contribution, arising out of a trademark dispute between Goto.com and Disney, summary judgment in favor of group of insurers who objected to settlement funded by a separate group of insurers is affirmed over multiple claims of error involving notice and scope of policy coverage.
[11/18] Gagliano v. Reliance Standard Life Ins. Co.
Judgment in favor of plaintiff-insuree is affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded where: 1) defendant-insurance company violated Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA); however 2) the proper remedy was to remand the case to the plan administrator for a full and fair review.
[11/17] Native Am. Distrib. v. Seneca-Cayuga Tobacco Co.
In an breach of contract action between a distributor and an enterprise of a tribe, dismissal of plaintiffs' claims is affirmed where: 1) the tribal enterprise has not waived its immunity; 2) the enterprise was not equitably estopped from asserting its immunity due to the misrepresentations of its managers; 3) the district court did not have subject-matter jurisdiction; and 4) the plaintiffs failed to allege a viable civil conspiracy claim against the individual defendants in their individual capacities.
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Class Actions
[11/14] H&R Block, Inc. v. Am. Int'l Specialty Lines Ins. Co.
Class actions filed against nationwide tax preparer H&R Block asserting a variety of statutory and common law claims arising out of H&R's Refund Anticipation Loan (RAL) program are excluded from "prior acts" coverage under professional liability "claims made" insurance policies because other class actions asserting similar claims were filed prior to the policy periods.
[11/07] In Re: Series 7 Broker Qualification Exam Scoring Litig.
In a class action asserting breach of contract, negligence, and negligent misrepresentation by the administrator of the broker qualification exam arising out of erroneous reporting of applicants' scores, dismissal of claims is affirmed where common law causes of action cannot be alleged against a Self-Regulatory Organization for the negligent performance of its duties under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
[11/07] Marrs v. Motorola, Inc.
In an ERISA class action, plaintiff-appellant's motion for leave to correct his notice of appeal to clarify that he was appealing in both his individual and representative capacities is denied where, under Fed. R. App. P. 3(c), failure to indicate that a class representative is appealing in his representative capacity stripped the court of jurisdiction to hear the arguments of the class.
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Constitutional Law
[11/18] IMS Health Inc. and Verispan, LLC v. Ayotte, New Hampshire Attorney Gen.
A district court's finding that a state law, which prohibits certain transfers of physicians' prescribing histories for use in detailing, unconstitutionally abridged free speech, is reversed and the injunction against enforcement of the Prescription Information Law is vacated where: 1) regulated data transfers did not embody restrictions on protected speech under the First Amendment; 2) the state law regulated conduct, not speech; and 3) even if the Prescription Information Law amounted to a regulation of protected speech, it passed constitutional muster.
[11/18] US v. Figueroa
Conviction for unlawfully possessing a firearm is affirmed where: 1) although the trial court violated defendant's right under the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment when it prohibited defense counsel from cross-examining a government witness about his swastika tattoos despite the fact that the defendant was a member of a minority group; however 2) the error was harmless because it "did not contribute to the verdict obtained."
[11/17] Am. Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico v. Santillanes
Grant of declaratory and injunctive relief from a city amendment requiring voters in municipal elections to present photo identification at polling locations is reversed where a photo identification law is a valid method of preventing voter fraud.
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Environmental Law
[11/18] Romoland Sch. Dist. v. Inland Empire Energy Ctr., LLC
In a suit against an electric utility and an air-quality-management district under the Clean Air Act, seeking to halt the construction of a power plant, denial of a preliminary injunction and dismissal with prejudice of all claims are affirmed where: 1) plaintiffs' voluntary dismissal of some claims presented the appellate court with a final order over which it had jurisdiction; and 2) the district court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over plaintiffs' claims.
[11/13] Black Warrior Riverkeeper, Inc. v. Cherokee Mining, LLC
In a suit by plaintiff-environmental non-profit organization against defendant owner and operator of two coal mines, denial of defendant's motion to dismiss is affirmed where: 1) in accordance with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, all of the limitations against a citizen suit as provided for in section 1319(g)(6)(A), were lifted so long as the notice and filing requirements were met; and 2) because plaintiff gave its notice of intent to sue defendant prior to Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) commencement of its administrative enforcement action and plaintiff filed suit in federal court within 120 days of its notice as required, the bar against plaintiff's citizen suit was inapplicable; and 3) the district court did not err in denying defendant's motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
[11/12] Winter v. Natural Res. Defense Council, Inc.
In an action brought by environmental groups claiming that the Navy's use of a particular type of sonar during training exercises in the waters off southern California causes serious injuries to marine mammals, a preliminary injunction against the Navy is vacated to the extent requested where: 1) although the Court does not discount plaintiffs' ecological, scientific, and recreational interests in marine mammals, such interests are plainly outweighed by the Navy's need to conduct realistic training exercises to ensure that it is able to neutralize the threat posed by enemy submarines; and 2) consequently, the district court abused its discretion in imposing the restrictions at issue on the Navy.
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Government Benefits
[11/14] Feemster v. BSA Ltd. P'ship
In an action alleging that defendant-landlord unlawfully refused to accept Section 8 vouchers as payment for rent, summary judgment for tenants in part is affirmed, and for landlord in part is reversed, where: 1) federal housing law prevented landlord from unilaterally declaring that the units in question were no longer being offered for rental housing, but instead required that landlord meet the requirements of local law for making such a determination; and 2) the uncontested fact that landlord refused payment via voucher, while insisting it would accept cash, made out a facial violation of the District of Columbia Human Rights Act.
[11/12] US v. Kaufman
In a criminal matter involving defendants who had directed severely mentally ill residents of their treatment center to perform sexually explicit acts and farm labor in the nude, allegedly as psychotherapy, their convictions for forced labor and involuntary servitude are affirmed where: 1) even if the trial court plainly erred in ordering defendants to avoid eye contact with former residents who testified against them at trial, they failed to establish that the error affected their substantial rights; 2) there was no plain error in instructing the jury on the meaning of "labor" and "services" under statutes of conviction; and 3) the evidence was sufficient to support the convictions for involuntary servitude. However, on cross-appeal, defendant-wife's sentence is remanded for resentencing where it was procedurally unreasonable because: 1) the evidence supported applying certain enhancements, and the district court failed to make findings sufficient to justify its refusal to apply them; and 2) an obstruction of justice enhancement was supported by the record as well.
[11/12] US v. Kaufman
In a criminal matter involving defendants who had directed severely mentally ill residents of their treatment center to perform sexually explicit acts and farm labor in the nude, allegedly as psychotherapy, their convictions for forced labor and involuntary servitude are affirmed where: 1) even if the trial court plainly erred in ordering defendants to avoid eye contact with former residents who testified against them at trial, they failed to establish that the error affected their substantial rights; 2) there was no plain error in instructing the jury on the meaning of "labor" and "services" under statutes of conviction; and 3) the evidence was sufficient to support the convictions for involuntary servitude. However, on cross-appeal, defendant-wife's sentence is remanded for resentencing where it was procedurally unreasonable because: 1) the evidence supported applying certain enhancements, and the district court failed to make findings sufficient to justify its refusal to apply them; and 2) an obstruction of justice enhancement was supported by the record as well.
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