FindLaw Opinion Summaries - Civil Procedure

North Carolina v. EPA

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:00:02 PDT

(U.S. D.C. Cir., Administrative Law, Civil Procedure, Environmental Law) North Carolina's petition for review of a final rule of the EPA removing the northern part of the State of Georgia from EPA's regulations under its national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for ozone measured during a one-hour period, the petition is dismissed where reinstating Georgia under that standard would not lower Georgia's emissions and thus North Carolina failed to meet the redressability requirement for Article III standing.

Ford v. Minteq Shapes & Serv., Inc.

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 7th Cir., Civil Procedure, Civil Rights, Evidence, Labor & Employment Law, Manufacturing) In plaintiff's Title VII case against his employer claiming racial harassment, wage discrimination, and retaliation, summary judgment for employer is affirmed where: 1) there is no genuine issues of fact with respect to the existence of racial harassment; 2) plaintiff failed to satisfy the fourth element regarding disparate wage treatment because he adduced no evidence that higher paid workers were similarly situated; and 3) plaintiff failed to present evidence that he suffered an adverse employment action because he engaged in an activity protected by Title VII.

Kaneff v. Delaware Title Loans, Inc.

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 3d Cir., Asset Forfeiture, Civil Procedure, Class Actions, Commercial Law, Consumer Products, Consumer Protection Law, Contracts, Debt Collection, Dispute Resolution & Arbitration, Government Law) In plaintiff's putative class action lawsuit against defendant-lender including a request for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction seeking the return of her car which defendant repossessed for refusing to pay the balance of a $500 loan at an annual interest rate of 300% to be paid within one month, grant of defendant's motion to compel arbitration and later dismissal of the case is affirmed as the arbitration clause in the parties' contract was valid and plaintiff's agreement to arbitrate would, with one possible and severable exception, not be considered unconscionable under Pennsylvania law.

Vaqueria Tres Monjitas, Inc. v. Irizarry

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 1st Cir., Administrative Law, Agriculture, Civil Procedure, Commercial Law, Constitutional Law, Food & Beverages, Government Law, Manufacturing) In plaintiffs' suit against Puerto Rico's Milk Industry Regulation Administration, claiming that the Administration's regulatory scheme governing milk prices violates the Due Process, Equal Protection, Takings, and dormant Commerce Clauses, grant of a preliminary injunction enjoining the regulatory scheme is affirmed where: 1) the district court properly declined defendants' invitation to abstain from entertaining the action; 2) the Eleventh Amendment does not bar the form of relief granted by the district court in its preliminary injunction; 3) the district court did not abuse its discretion in rejecting defendants' unclean hands defense; 4) the district court did not abuse its discretion in failing to dismiss the action on the basis of laches; 5) the district court did not abuse its discretion in rejecting defendants' estoppel defense; and 6) district court did not abuse its discretion in granting plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction.

Sherwood v. Marquette Transp. Co., LLC

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 7th Cir., Admiralty, Civil Procedure, Contracts, Dispute Resolution & Arbitration, Government Law, Injury And Tort Law, Labor & Employment Law) In plaintiff's suit against his employer under the Jones Act and general maritime law for injuries he suffered while working as a deckhand, defendant-employer's appeal of a district court's denial of its motion to stay the suit in favor of arbitration is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction under 9 U.S.C. section 16(a)(1)(A) as: 1) section 16 is part of the Federal Arbitration Act, and as such, under the language of section 1, does not apply to any employment contract involving a seaman; and 2) section also is inapplicable, and defendant's motion for a stay did not rely on it.

Borden v. Allstate Ins. Co.

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 5th Cir., Civil Procedure, Contracts, Insurance Law) In an action seeking insurance proceeds related to Hurricane Katrina, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed in part where plaintiff's claims against defendant-insurance agent were barred by Louisiana's one year statute of limitations for actions against insurance agents. However, the order is vacated in part where the district court overlooked plaintiff's affidavit averring the timeliness of his notice of the claim to defendant.

Bader v. Anderson

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:00:02 PDT

(Cal. App., Civil Procedure, Corp. Governance, Corporation & Enterprise Law, Securities Law) In plaintiff's shareholder derivative suit against Apple, Inc., and its directors and officers challenging a cash performance bonus plan for non-directors that was approved by Apple shareholders after the dissemination of a proxy statement that plaintiff claimed was misleading, dismissal of plaintiff's complaint is affirmed where: 1) plaintiff lacked standing to assert derivative claims on behalf of Apple because of her failure to make a presuit demand on the board and her failure to allege that the making of such a demand would have been futile; and 2) the claims plaintiff purported to assert in the complaint as direct claims on behalf of herself and all similarly situated shareholders are not maintainable because the gravamen of those claims is corporate in nature and may therefore be asserted only by the corporation.

Howell v. Hamilton Meats & Provisions, Inc.

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:00:02 PDT

(Cal. App., Civil Procedure, Injury And Tort Law, Insurance Law, Remedies) In an action arising from injuries plaintiff sustained in a vehicle accident caused by the negligent driving of defendant's employee, grant of defendant's motion to reduce by $130,286.90 a jury's special verdict award for plaintiff's past injury-related medical related expenses to $59,691.73 is reversed and remanded where in a personal injury case in which the plaintiff has private health care insurance, the negotiated rate differential is a benefit within the meaning of the collateral source rule, and thus the plaintiff may recover the amount of the differential as part her recovery of economic damages for the past medical expenses she incurred for care and treatment of her injuries.

Jameson v. Desta

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:00:02 PDT

(Cal. App., Civil Procedure, Criminal Law & Procedure, Health Law, Injury And Tort Law, Professional Malpractice) In plaintiff's medical malpractice suit against defendant-doctor who treated plaintiff while he was incarcerated at a correctional facility, dismissal of the suit is reversed as the trial court erred in dismissing the action on the ground that plaintiff failed to appear telephonically at a case management conference and a at a subsequent hearing on an order to show case, as the record clearly indicates that plaintiff notified the trial court on numerous occasions that prison personnel were not allowing him to communicate telephonically with the court, yet the record does not indicate that the trial court made any inquiry into plaintiff's contentions.

In re Pharm. Indus. Average Wholesale Price Litig.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 1st Cir., Civil Procedure, Class Actions, Consumer Products, Consumer Protection Law, Drugs & Biotech, False Advertising) Approval of a settlement in a class action lawsuit involving claims that AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals published artificially inflated prescription drug prices is affirmed where: 1) district court did not abuse its discretion by finding the settlement provision creating a cy pres fund was fair, adequate, and reasonable; 2) plaintiff's objection to class counsel allegedly negotiating attorneys' fees with the settlement is waived; 3) district court satisfied the requirements of Rule 23(c)(1)(B); and 4) plaintiff's argument that the district court did not properly certify class counsel under Rule 23(g) is waived.

Mitchell v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. D.C. Cir., Civil Procedure, Civil Rights, Criminal Law & Procedure) In a prisoner's application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP) on appeal, the application is denied where, although plaintiff had only two "strikes" under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) and thus the PLRA did not automatically bar him from proceeding IFP, the court denied the application as a discretionary matter because of plaintiff's pattern of abusive litigation in the past and his failure to qualify for IFP status under the imminent danger exception.

Severo v. Comm'r of Int'l Rev.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 9th Cir., Administrative Law, Bankruptcy Law, Civil Procedure, Tax Law) In taxpayers' appeal of a tax court decision granting summary judgment for the IRS and permitting it to proceed with its collection action relating to petitioners' 1990 tax liability, the order is affirmed where the statute of limitations regarding collection was tolled during the pendency of petitioners' bankruptcy proceedings.

Levine v. Vilsack

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 9th Cir., Administrative Law, Agriculture, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Environmental Law) In an action challenging the USDA's enunciation of its position in the Federal Register that there was no specific federal humane handling and slaughter statute for poultry, plaintiffs' appeal is remanded with instructions to dismiss the matter where plaintiffs could not satisfy the redressability requirement for Article III standing because the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act contained no statutory enforcement mechanism.

Hukic v. Aurora Loan Serv.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 7th Cir., Civil Procedure, Commercial Law, Contracts, Injury And Tort Law) In plaintiff's suit against defendants claiming breach of contract, tortious interference, and violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, arising from a six-figure mortgage he obtained at an interest rate of 10.65% where he was to make monthly payments as well as taxes, insurance premiums and other charges and fees, summary judgment in defendants' favor and dismissal of plaintiff's claims for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress is affirmed because plaintiff did not comply with the terms of his agreement that required him to submit proof of payment.

Narricot Indus., LP v. NLRB

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 4th Cir., Administrative Law, Civil Procedure, Labor & Employment Law) Petitioner's request for review of a decision of the NLRB (Board), arising from allegations of various unfair labor practice charges, is denied where: 1) the Board decision was properly issued by a two-member quorum pursuant to 29 U.S.C. section 153(b); and 2) the Board's decision is enforceable on the merits.