Thursday, September 22, 2011

Ninth Circuit -- MARIAM MARONYAN V. TOYOTA MOTOR SALES, U.S.A., IN

Warranty Act requirement of ADR not a jurisdictional bar.

Dissent:  Absent exhaustion of FTC claims on warranty mechanism, plaintiff must pursue claim through company's mechanism.

MARIAM MARONYAN V. TOYOTA MOTOR SALES, U.S.A., IN

Ninth Circuit -- USA V. ROBERT BAKER

 Collection of DNA inappropriate probation condition.

USA V. ROBERT BAKER

Ninth Circuit -- USA V. CRISTOPHER IBARRA-PINO

No error in exclusion of evidence and instruction on duress where deft had reasonable opportunity to notify authorities.

Concurrence in J (K) - Hearsay, anyways.

USA V. CRISTOPHER IBARRA-PINO

Ninth Circuit -- ANDREA SHERMAN V. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMIS

Exception to bankruptcy discharge ban for securities violation only applies where debtor committed the violation.

Dissent - Not supported by text of statute.


ANDREA SHERMAN V. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Eighth Circuit -- Ellis Barber v. C1 Truck Driver Training LLC

Title VII suit TKO'd by non-pretextual employer justifications.

Ellis Barber v. C1 Truck Driver Training LLC

Eighth Circuit -- United States v. Jamie Smith

 Gun + meth in the house = sentencing bump.

District Court did not err in entering money judgment in lieu of unrecoverable forfeit funds.

United States v. Jamie Smith

Eighth Circuit -- Cornelius Bennett v. Nucor Corporation

Title VII/S 1981 dismissal upheld.

The District Court did not employ a per se rule in admitting evidence of discrimination against nonparties.

Nonparty affidavits of discrimination against third parties not hearsay.

No error in denial of class of all african-american employees.

No error in summary judgement on S1981 & Title VII disparate impact claims.

Cornelius Bennett v. Nucor Corporation

Seventh Circuit -- Blanca Gomez v. St. Vincent Health

Errata.

Blanca Gomez v. St. Vincent Health

Seventh Circuit -- USA v. Donald Kubeczko

Error in court lengthening sentence so that prisoner can receive treatment.

Determinations on fitness for release should generally be made shortly before release.


USA v. Donald Kubeczko

Seventh Circuit -- Meanith Huon v. Johnson & Bell,

District Court's stay under abstention was error - the roughly similar state court proceding does not relieve the federal court of the responsibility for jurisdiction.

(Law firm associate claiming performance evaluations were intentional infliction of emotional distress.)

Meanith Huon v. Johnson & Bell,

Seventh Circuit -- USA v. Matthew Scott

Challenge to sentencing bump for defrauding 50+ TKO'd by PSR stipulation that deft defrauded 50+ people.

Note - open question as to whether more than 50 lost money on the deal.

Not substantively unreasonable.


USA v. Matthew Scott

Seventh Circuit -- Joseph O'Leary v. Accretive Health

Title VII and S1981 retaliation claims TKO'd on summary judgment, as none of the behaviour observed and reported by the former employee were violations of the Acts.

Performance claims not pretextual.

Joseph O'Leary v. Accretive Health

Seventh Circuit -- Efrain Morales v. Yolande Johnson

No relief on ineffective assistance claim.

No proof proscs used perjured testimony.

Efrain Morales v. Yolande Johnson

Seventh Circuit -- Dakota, Minnesota & v. Wisconsin Dakota, Minnesota & v. Wisconsin

Trade usage of moniker of company to denote its manufacturing plant not sufficiently established.


No trespass, as plaintiff didn't have exclusive right to the rail spur.


Dakota, Minnesota & v. Wisconsin

Seventh Circuit -- Susie Weitzenkamp v. Unum Life

Self-reported illness policy limitation does not apply to fibromyalgia, as it is independently ascertainable.

Lien on SSA proceeds kosher, as it's indirect.

Cross-appeal was illicitly seeking additional grounds of favorable judgment.


Benefits reinstated.


Susie Weitzenkamp v. Unum Life

Sixth Circuit -- Richard Cole v. Commissioner of Social Security

Denial of benefits not supported by substantial evidence where views of treating physician are not accorded proper weight.


 Richard Cole v. Commissioner of Social Security

Sixth Circuit -- Lala Smith v. Wyeth, Inc.

State law failure-to-warn pharma claims preempted under Pliva.

Name-brand pharma manufacturers not liable for faults of derivative generics.


Lala Smith v. Wyeth, Inc. 
 Alice Wilson v. Pliva, Inc.  
 Dennis Morris v. Wyeth, Inc.

Sixth Circuit -- USA v. Donnell Young

No 6A/statutory speedy trial violation.  Eleven years from indictment to judgement.

3.5 month voir dire was not attempt to short-circuit statutory clock.

USA v. Donnell Young

Third Circuit -- In Re: Lemington Home

Given red flags, old-age home's directors not shielded under business judgement rule.

Whether board members benefited personally is a matter for trial - determines whether the adverse interest exception to in pari delicto applies.

In Re: Lemington Home

Third Circuit -- Shireesha Reddy Cheruku v. Atty Gen USA

Skidmore-ish deference to BIA finding that staute bars grant of lawful permanent residency.

BIA not estopped by prior representations.

Shireesha Reddy Cheruku v. Atty Gen USA

First Circuit -- Zimmermann v. Epstein Becker and Green, P.C.

Constructive trust cannot claw back payments made to attorneys, et al., prior to beginning of trust.

Statutory claims cannot reach those monies either, given current form of pending class action..

Zimmermann v. Epstein Becker and Green, P.C. 
Zimmermann v. BDO Seidman, LLP 

First Circuit -- Portugues-Santana v. Rekomdiv International, Inc.

Jury finding of dolo upheld.

The standard of proof for dolo is vague.

Dolo.

Remand to determine if damages should be offset by other payments.


Portugues-Santana v. Rekomdiv International, Inc.

First Circuit -- Velazquez-Ortiz v. Vilsack

Title VII discrimination claim not properly exhausted.

Rejection for promotion 8 months after filing suit insufficient proof of retaliation, as no proof that supervisors knew of claim.

No reasonable factfinder would buy the ADEA claim.

Velazquez-Ortiz v. Vilsack

First Circuit -- US v. Hersom

Statute making it a crime to burn a building whose owners receive federal assistance applies during the entire pendency of the loan, no matter that the final disbursement had been made.

 US v. Hersom

Second Circuit -- UBS Fin. Servs. Inc. v. West Virginia Univ. Hosps., Inc.

Issuer of securities is a customer under FINRA rules given ancillary elements of transaction, arbitration required.

Validity of forum selection clause a matter for arbitration.

Dissent - FINRA rules might not bind beyond the immediate transaction; injunction barring arbitraiton pending resolution of claim justified.


UBS Fin. Servs. Inc. v. West Virginia Univ. Hosps., Inc.

Second Circuit-- United States v. al Kassar

Statute barring conspiracy to kill Americans applies extraterritorially.

Jurisdictional nexus defined by aims of conspiracy.

Entrapment and unproved element challenges rejected.

No outrageous conduct in extended sting operation.

No error in denying pretrial hearing on jurisdictional defenses, as no material facts at issue.

No constitutional or legal error in barring classified evidence of prior good acts.

Conspiracy to acquire SAM's is a crime, since the statute uses the word conspiracy.

Authorization by undercover agents doesn't mean that the arms deal was approved by the US.

Both elements of statutory scienter were in the instructions, though not divided into two parts.

Evidence sufficient unto the conviction.


United States v. al Kassar

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Second Circuit -- Amnesty Int’l USA et al. v. Clapper et al.

83 Page denial of en banc, including controlling opinion.

Holding of earlier decision was basically that group had standing for facial challenge to congressional surveillance act because of fear of surveillance and costs incurred in avoiding the possibility.


Amnesty Int’l USA et al. v. Clapper et al.
Compiled by D.E. Frydrychowski, who is, not incidentally, not giving you legal advice.

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