ISCLAIMER: The following unofficial case summaries are prepared by the clerk's office
as a courtesy to the reader. They are not part of the opinion of the court.
133388P.pdf 03/02/2015 R.J. Zayed v. Associated Bank, N.A.
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 13-3388
U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - Minneapolis
[PUBLISHED] [Riley, Author, with Wollman and Bye, Circuit Judges]
Civil case - Fraud. In action by receiver against a bank used by the
creators of a Ponzi scheme in which the receiver alleged claims for aiding
and abetting fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, conversion and false
representations and omissions, the complaint sufficiently alleged the
actual knowledge aiding and abetting element and substantial assistance in
the Ponzi scheme, and the district court erred in dismissing the complaint
for failure to state a claim; remanded for further proceedings.
133411P.pdf 03/02/2015 North Central Rental & Leasing v. United States
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 13-3411
U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota - Fargo
[PUBLISHED] Smith, Author, with Murphy and Gruender, Circuit Judges]
Civil case - Federal Tax. The district court did not err in finding that
the financial transactions at issue were not entitled to nonrecognition
treatment under 26 U.S.C. Sec. 1031 and were structured to avoid the
purpose of Section 1031(f).
142016P.pdf 03/02/2015 The Midwestern Indemnity Co. v. Malissa Brooks
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 14-2016
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Kansas City
[PUBLISHED] [Riley, Author, with Colloton and Kelly, Circuit Judges]
Civil case - Insurance. The insurance policy in question clearly forbids
stacking of underinsured motorist coverage, and the district court did not
err in granting the insurer's motion for summary judgment.
Where the deft has a good-faith dispute as to the factual findings in a PSR, it is impermissible for the govt to therefore decline to move for an ":acceptance of responsibility" sentence reduction.
Deference to agency finding that a statute prohibits both litigation delays that actually delay the prosecution of the patent and those that merely intended to do so.
Pending suit in District Court bars jurisdiction over second claim in Court of Federal Claims, despite potential hardship of non-overlapping remedies.
Concurrence: Yep, but Tucker Act 10K cap on Takings compensation might under other circumstances present a legit claim to a second action in Federal Claims.
ACCA predicates --- Sentencing court did not need specific finding of fact in the record that the three gun-related occurrences happened on three separate days.
Imprudent for Federal Court to resolve disputed state question of pension law. Contracts Clause does not operate to give independent jurisdiction, as the deft is not the state, but the municipality. Takings claim not yet ripe.
Appeals court has jurisdiction, despite remaining differences on questions of fact.
Sufficient grounds for stop, but irregularities in the Terry stop sufficient to deny Qualified Immunity.
State statute is subjective test, not objective, and given that the officers acted under misinformation, but violence of arrest still presents a claim.
Resentencing after revocation of parole s according to the law in force during the initial sentencing. Subsequent changes in the classification of the offense do not automatically retroactively apply.
Liberty interest under New York law in exoneration from wrongful conviction. 14th Amendment can be basis of challenge to municipal actions that endanger the otherwise viable right.
No duty on the state to preserve the evidence, but there is an obligation to account for the evidence on hand. Newton v. City of New York
Free speech , police officer speaking matters of public concern.
Where duties do not include formulating, implementing, or providing feedback on policies, and a civilian channel of communication is used, the officer speaks as a private citizen, and the speech is protected.
Company's abandoned securities do not have to be accounted as Capital Losses. The relevant statute refers to derivative obligations and claims relating to the capital asset, not the actual ownership of the asset.
County panhandling prohibition makes sufficient showing to survive Summary Judgment, as government did not sufficiently establish narrow tailoring of law.
Appellate court has jurisdiction over appeal of remand to state court when the remand is not according to the statute. (1447)
Nonparties can enforce forum selection clause in contract, as the nonparties are affiliated with the signatory corporation, and the claims would not arise but for the base agreement.
Subsequent vacatur of on-point predicate conviction count doesn't bar the subsequent ACCA sentencing bump, as the statute merely requires that the offense be committed, not that the deft be convicted of it, and the other (non-vacated) counts can encompass the valid predicate offense.
No Ineffective Assistance as to that sort of stuff.
Despite the fact that PL didn't move to preserve claims against future infringement, suits alleging further infringement and unfair competition by same parties to earlier suit are not barred by res judicata.
While the SUNY system is an arm of the state, and therefore subject to 11th Amendment protections of Sovereign Immunity, the local community colleges that compose it are not sufficiently controlled and funded by the state to qualify for the immunity.
Judgment citing incorrect statute, later corrected didn't mean that deft was sentenced under wrong statute, as judge cited correct statute's mandatory minimum at sentencing.
Deft's attorney's concession in opening that deft committed a predicate offense is sufficient for proof of the predicate, given fact that deft didn't timely challenge.
Within-guidelines sentence not substantively unreasonable.
S1983 Qualified Immunity for police officers in Occupy arrests in NYC
Suit can be dismissed by grant of qualified immunity at 12(b)6 stage.
Police allowing protesters onto path offers an affirmative defense to disorderly conduct, doesn't cut against ability to arrest for same. Police had immunity.
S1983 Malicious Prosecution and Brady claims in Medical Malpractice case Appellate court has jurisdiction to review facts on interlocutory appeal. Withheld pathology report suggesting prior injury insufficient basis for malicious prosecution claim. No conviction means no Brady violation. Though deft did not raise this in Answer or Motion for Summary Judgment, pleading of general qualified immunity was sufficient to preserve. At the time, there was no clearly established Constitutional rule saying that a private hospital's investigation was subject to Brady disclosures. Tiscareno v. Frasier
Immigration: IJ had sufficient evidence to disbelieve petitioner's recantation of affiliation with organization that would have torpedoed asylum application.
Filed 08/27/13, No. 12-2736 SemCrude LP v. USDC for the District of Delaware
Fourth Circuit:
121537.P Town of Nags Head v. Matthew Toloczko (Diaz 08/27/2013) Published opinion after argument: Reversed and remanded Civil Private (EDNC Dever) ________________________ (Apparently takes the "Not Needing to Clear the Decks at Summer's End" Prize. MB) Fifth Circuit:
121720P.pdf08/30/2013 American River Transportation v. United States, Corp of Eng
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 12-1720
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri - St. Louis
[PUBLISHED] [Wollman, Author, with Riley, Chief Judge, and Melloy, Circuit
Judge]
Civil case - Admiralty. Because the United States chose to appear in the
limitation action to contest the complaint filed by American River
Transportation, it was required to show that it had the requisite standing
to do so; here, the government did not have statutory standing because it
failed to file a claim in accordance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
Supplemental Rule F(5), which creates statutory standing requirements for
challenging limitations actions; therefore, because the government was
without standing, the district court erred by entertaining the
government's motion to dismiss the limitation complaint, and the order
dismissing the complaint is reversed. Chief Judge Riley, dissenting.
123090P.pdf08/30/2013 ABF Freight System v. IBT
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 12-3090
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas - Ft. Smith
[PUBLISHED] [Benton, Author, with Riley, Chief Judge, and Bye, Circuit
Judges]
Civil case - Labor law. For the court's prior opinion in the matter, see
ABF Freight Systems, Inc. v. Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters, 645 F.3d 954 (8th
Cir. 2011). The district court did not err in denying ABF's request to
appoint a disinterested tribunal to hear its grievance as the rules of the
National Grievance Committee provide a solution for the conflict ABF
alleges precludes the Committee from hearing the grievance and any action
for modifying the rules on this question is an issue for the Committee;
the district court correctly determined that it could not rule directly on
ABF's claim that the National Master Freight Agreement had been violated
based on ABF's argument that the grievance resolution process was not
available or futile; nor did defendants waive the grievance procedure and
elect to pursue the matter in court as their initial motions to dismiss
did not substantially invoke the litigation machinery.
123161P.pdf08/30/2013 Cynthia Roers v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc.
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 12-3161
and No: 12-3252
U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - Minneapolis
[PUBLISHED] [Bye, Author, with Loken and Beam, Circuit Judges]
Civil case - Mortgages. The district court erred in granting the defendant
lender summary judgment on plaintiffs' claim for rescission of the three
mortgage agreements involving Cynthia Roers' nonmarital property as there
were genuine questions of fact as to whether there was a mutual mistake of
material fact concerning the property covered by the mortgages and whether
the mistake adversely affected the plaintiffs; the court did not err in
finding for defendants on plaintiffs' claims for negligent
misrepresentation and breach of fiduciary duty.
123565P.pdf08/30/2013 Cindy Adair v. ConAgra Foods
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 12-3565
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Kansas City
[PUBLISHED] [Colloton, Author, with Melloy and Shepherd, Circuit Judges]
Civil case - Fair Labor Standards Act. The time plaintiffs spent donning
and doffing uniforms was excluded by agreement from the hours for which
they are employed, and since that time is not a covered part of the
workday, it follows that time spent walking between the clothes-changing
station and the time clock is not a part of the workday and workweek for
which the employer is liable to pay overtime compensation.
[ August 29, 2013 ]121752P.pdf08/29/2013 Land O'Lakes, Inc. v. Employers Insurance Company
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 12-1752
U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - Minneapolis
[PUBLISHED] [Smith, Author, with Melloy and Benton, Circuit Judges]
Civil case - Insurance. District court did not err in concluding that a
letter the EPA sent the insured in 2011 informing it that the EPA
considered it a Potentially Responsible Party in connection with an
environmental cleanup constituted a suit for purposes of determining
whether the insured's breach of contract action against the insurer was
barred by the applicable statute of limitations; the insured's costs to
remediate the site fall within the "owned-property" exclusion in the
policy at issue.
136037P.pdf08/29/2013 Legendary Stone Arts, LLC v. Wendell Maness
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 13-6037
U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri - Kansas City
[PUBLISHED] [Saladino, Author, with Kressel and Shodeen, Bankruptcy
Judges]
Bankruptcy Appellate Panel. Legendary met its burden of showing that its
contacts with police and prosecutors were not an attempt to collect a debt
from the debtor in violation of the automatic stay; this shifted the
burden of proof to debtors to show that it was, and they failed to present
sufficient evidence to show that Legendary's intent in pursuing their
criminal prosecution was to collect a debt.
[ August 28, 2013 ]122984P.pdf08/28/2013 United States ex rel. Newell v. City of St. Paul
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 12-2984
and No: 12-3894
U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - Minneapolis
[PUBLISHED] [Loken, Author, with Bright and Bye, Circuit Judges]
Civil case - False Claims Act. In action alleging the City of St. Paul
obtained grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
by falsely certifying compliance with Section 3 of the Housing and Urban
Development Act of 1968, the district court did not err in dismissing the
action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction as plaintiff was not the
original source of fraud allegations whiche were based on publicly
disclosed information; district court did not abuse its discretion by
denying plaintiff's Rule 60(b) motion.
123250P.pdf08/28/2013 Ebony Jackman v. Fifth Judicial District
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 12-3250
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Des Moines
[PUBLISHED] [Beam, Author, with Murphy and Bye, Circuit Judges]
Civil case - Employment discrimination. Plaintiff did not establish a
prima facie case of sex and race discrimination because she cannot show,
as a matter of law, that she suffered an adverse employment action when
she did not suffer termination, a cut in pay or benefits or changed job
duties or responsibilities; on plaintiff's claim of hostile work
environment, the conduct plaintiff complained of did not affect a term,
condition or privilege of employment and was not so severe or pervasive as
to constitute actionable discrimination.
123436P.pdf08/28/2013 United States v. Gene Jirak
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 12-3436
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, Waterloo
[PUBLISHED] [Beam, Author, with Shepherd and Melloy, Circuit Judges]
Criminal case - Criminal law and sentencing. Evidence was sufficient to
support defendant's convictions for making a false claim, uttering a
forged treasury check, mail fraud and aggravated identity theft; even
assuming, without holding, that reliance on an expert tax preparer is a
valid defense to crimes charged under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 287, defendant was
not entitled to introduce such evidence because the advice he relied was
not from an expert tax preparer, attorney or accountant; district court
did not abuse its discretion in denying multiple pro se motions for
continuance; there was a discrepancy between the oral pronouncement
concerning family contact and the written special conditions of supervised
release contained in the judgment, and the matter is remanded so that the
district court can conform the written sentence to its oral pronouncement.
123734P.pdf08/28/2013 Charles Inechien v. Nichols Aluminum, LLC
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 12-3734
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Davenport
[PUBLISHED] Kelly, Author, with Riley, Chief Judge, and Melloy, Circuit
Judge]
Civil case - Labor Law. The Union had reasons to believe that arbitration
of an issue regarding scheduled rest breaks would not be successful, and
its decision not to pursue a grievance was not arbitrary or a breach of
its duty of fair representation; since summary judgment in favor of the
Union was properly granted, summary judgment in favor of the employer was
also proper.
[ August 27, 2013 ]122821P.pdf08/27/2013 United States v. James Miller
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 12-2821
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Davenport
[PUBLISHED] [Phillips, Author, with Loken and Gruender, Circuit Judges]
Criminal case - Criminal law. The district court did not err by not
conducting a third Faretta inquiry, as the district court had rigorously
complied with Faretta's requirements at the first two inquiries and
defendant's statements during closing argument did not show changed
circumstances necessitating another hearing; evidence was sufficient to
support defendant's convictions for making false claims against the United
States.
123080P.pdf08/27/2013 United States v. Donald Washburn
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 12-3080
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa - Cedar Rapids
[PUBLISHED] [Beam, Author, with Shepherd and Melloy, Circuit Judges]
Criminal case - Criminal law and sentencing. The district court did not
err under Rule 410 in admitting defendant's plea agreement stipulation of
facts as the plea agreement specifically stated the stipulation could be
admitted if defendant violated the plea agreement and this was a knowing
and voluntary waiver of his rights; nor did the court err under Rule 403,
as defendant failed to show how he was prejudiced by admission of the
stipulation and never requested any limiting instruction or made any
objection to the instructions relevant to this claim; no error in denying
defendant's motion to sever the financial counts from charges related to
making false statements to the Probation Office; defendant failed to
demonstrate that his trial counsel had a conflict of interest; court would
not consider the claim as an ineffective assistance of counsel claim as it
was not fully developed enough to permit review; district court did not
err in finding defendant voluntarily absented himself from court on the
day of closing arguments and did not err in continuing the trial without
him.
123468P.pdf08/27/2013 United States v. Violeta Hinojosa
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 12-3468
U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska - Omaha
[PUBLISHED] [Beam, Author, with Shepherd and Melloy, Circuit Judges]
Criminal case - Criminal law and sentencing. Evidence was sufficient to
support defendant's conviction for conspiracy to distribute
methamphetamine and distribution of the drug; district court did not err
in denying defendant safety-valve sentencing based on its finding
defendant did not provide complete and truthful information during her
post-verdict interviews with the government.
123415P.pdf09/03/2013 United States v. Jeremy Dionne Norvell
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 12-3415
U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - St. Paul
[PUBLISHED] [Bye, Author, with Loken and Bright, Circuit Judges]
Criminal case - Criminal case. Defendant was told that assignment to a
particular program was not guaranteed, and his alleged misunderstanding
about the program was not grounds for withdrawing his guilty plea; there
was a factual basis for the plea; no other factors justified withdrawal of
the plea, and the district court did not err in denying the motion to
withdraw the plea; claim of ineffective assistance of counsel was properly
denied. Judge Bright, dissenting on the ground that the fact that court
might reject defendant's assignment to the program was not fully explained
to him.
123886P.pdf09/03/2013 Thomas Horras v. American Capital Strategies
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 12-3886
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Des Moines
[PUBLISHED] [Gruender, Author, with Colloton and Benton, Circuit Judges]
Civil case - Contracts. District court did not err in finding that
plaintiff failed to plead sufficient facts to state a claim that defendant
breached its fiduciary duties as majority shareholder; nor did plaintiff
state a claim for breach of contract, and the district court did not err
in dismissing the action; the district court did not abuse its
considerable discretion by denying plaintiff's post-judgment motion for
leave to amend his complaint. Judge Colloton, concurring in the judgment
in part and dissenting in part.
Ninth Circuit:
