Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Federal Circuit -- SUPERIOR INDUSTRIES, LLC. V. THOR GLOBAL ENTERPRISES LTD.

Although the claims in the second suit were germane to the issues in the first suit, no issue preclusion under 8th Circuit law, as the second set of claims arose out of a different nucleus of operative facts. 

Claim met the lower threshold for patent pleading.

SUPERIOR INDUSTRIES, LLC. V. THOR GLOBAL ENTERPRISES LTD.

Federal Circuit -- REVISION MILITARY, INC. V. BALBOA MANUFACTURING CO.


Appropriate standard for patent injunctions is not 'clear likelihood of success' but that success is 'more likely than not.'

Prior art should have been used to inform the ordinary observer test.

REVISION MILITARY, INC. V. BALBOA MANUFACTURING CO.

DC Circuit -- Erie Brush & Manufacturing Corp. v. NLRB

A suggestion to mediate a claim doesn't per se break an impasse.

No substantial evidence for Board finding of impasse.




Erie Brush & Manufacturing Corp. v. NLRB

DC Circuit -- Northern Natural Gas Company v. FERC

Commission decision not to allow market rates upheld under Chevron.

Retroactive (to contracts currently awaiting completion of performance) application upheld, as petitioner didn't demonstrate actual reliance.


Northern Natural Gas Company v. FERC

Eleventh Circuit -- Roger Chavez v. Mercantil Commercebank, N.A.


Risk of loss on fraudulent money transfer did not pass to the customer, despite the statutory safe-harbor, as the agreed-upon procedures were insufficient. 

Roger Chavez v. Mercantil Commercebank, N.A.

Tenth Circuit -- Brown v. ScriptPro, LLC

Trial court did not err in granting summary judgment on FMLA unfair dismissal claim, as no rational factfinder could have found that the firing was for reasons other than the (legit) ones claimed.

Same for retribution claim.

No FLSA overtime violation when employee doesn't keep records in manner required by the company.

Brown v. ScriptPro, LLC

Tenth Circuit -- Buchheit v. Green

Petitioners claims barred by sovereign immunity.

No affirmative obligation on the courts to screen IFP petitions for merit. 

(Not moot, as capable of repetition etc, etc.)

Buchheit v. Green

Ninth Circuit -- USA V. KENIA MUNGUIA

Trial court erred in giving jury instruction that the meth statute scienter requirement was objective.  Statute is subjective, consideration must be given to limits of deft.

Concurrence: Speculative claims along these lines checked by FRE 403.


USA V. KENIA MUNGUIA

Ninth Circuit -- RICKY WAHCHUMWAH V. USA

No 4A violation in use of buttonhole A/V recorder by undercover agent.  Surveillance wasn't long enough to trigger Jones analysis.

Offering to sell eagle tail feathers is a lesser included offense within actually selling -- Blockberger requires that both offenses have an element exclusive to them.

Photos of birds not unduly prejudicial.

No Confrontation Clause issue in not allowing deft to confront tipper - the allegations weren't in for the truth of the matter asserted, they were just cited to prove legitimacy of the investigation.


RICKY WAHCHUMWAH V. USA

Ninth Circuit -- RICHARD STOKLEY V. CHARLES RYAN

Dissent from denial of death penalty en banc --  Potential Eddings errors (any possible mitigation is relevant to the sentencing phase, not just those mitigating factors with a causal nexus to the crime.)


RICHARD STOKLEY V. CHARLES RYAN

[Thou shalt not kill - MB]

Seventh Circuit -- Ping Zheng v. Eric H. Holder, Jr.

Subsequent bearing of two coldren doesn't justify reopening of immigration case, as it is a change in personal circumstances, not those in the foreign country -- despite claims of forced sterilization of those who exceed one child per household.


Ping Zheng v. Eric H. Holder, Jr.

Sixth Circuit -- In re: Charles Kassicieh


 Fees owed to a guadian ad litem are a 'domestic support obligations' and therefore non-dischargeable debt.

 In re: Charles Kassicieh

Third Circuit -- Gen Lin v. Attorney General USA

No error in BIA not reopening immigration claim -- no provenance for the newly discovered documents means that there was no prima facie case; also valid procedural bar to reconsideration

Gen Lin v. Attorney General USA

Second Circuit -- Kachalsky et al. v. Cty. of Westchester et al.

New York 'proper cause' requirement to carry handgun doesn't offend 2A, 14A.

Gist of McDonald is guns at home -- carrying is a different calculus.

Quasi-strict scrutiny.

 

Kachalsky et al. v. Cty. of Westchester et al.

First Circuit -- Manganella v. Evanston Insurance Company

Arbitration judgment bars claims in a later court action under collateral estoppel, as the legal question is similar to the company policy question decided. 

For issue preclusion to bind, the issues aren't limited to those necessary to the disposition of the first case case, but to the actual, enunciated holding of the first case.


Manganella v. Evanston Insurance Company

First Circuit -- US v. Medina-Villegas

Trial court sufficiently explained the reasons for the sentence.

Life without possibility of release not substantively unreasonable when within guidelines ranges.

Law of the case bars deft from raising waived double jeopardy claim.

US v. Medina-Villegas

First Circuit -- US v. Roszkowski

Trial court did not abuse discretion in barring CI from testifying to prove entrapment -- deft had to meet an 'entry level burden' of production.

 Discharge of weapon during arrest isn't an unrelated bad act for purposes of FRE when charge is weapons possession - part & parcel.

Deft talking about hollowpoint bullets durong taped phone call not a a bad act, just part of the narrative of the crime.

Federal gun possession statutes not rendered unconstitutional by Sibelius under insufficient-commerce-for-the-commerce-clause theory.

 US v. Roszkowski
Compiled by D.E. Frydrychowski, who is, not incidentally, not giving you legal advice.

Category tags above are sporadically maintained Do not rely. Do not rely. Do not rely.

Author's SSRN page here.