FindLaw Opinion Summaries - Injury & Tort Law

Sell v. US Dep't. of Justice

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 8th Cir., Civil Procedure, Civil Rights, Criminal Law & Procedure, Health Law, Injury And Tort Law) In an action alleging that plaintiff was the victim of medical malpractice that occurred while he was in federal custody awaiting trial, dismissal of the action on statute of limitations grounds is affirmed where: 1) plaintiff's mental illness did not prevent him from discovering the alleged injury; and 2) the continuous treatment doctrine did not toll the statute.

Robinson v. US

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 9th Cir., Injury And Tort Law, Property Law & Real Estate) In an action against the U.S. for encroachment onto plaintiffs' easement, the dismissal of the action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under the Quiet Title Act is vacated where the district court needed to determine whether plaintiffs could assert jurisdiction under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

In re: Prempro Prods. Liab. Litig.

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 8th Cir., Drugs & Biotech, Health Law, Injury And Tort Law, Product Liability) In a product liability action against hormone therapy manufacturers, partial judgment for plaintiff and for defendants is affirmed in part where: 1) plaintiff's Arkansas law claims were not preempted because there was no evidence that the FDA would not have permitted the strengthening of the labels of the drugs at issue in a manner consistent with Arkansas law; 2) plaintiff's expert testimony on causation was properly admitted because the expert ruled out other possible causes of plaintiff's disease; 3) the district court's instruction on proximate cause was correct; and 4) judgment for defendants on punitive damages was correct because defendants did not act with recklessness or malice.

Groover v. Scottsdale Ins. Co.

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 5th Cir., Construction, Injury And Tort Law, Workers' Compensation) In a wrongful death action based on a construction accident, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where plaintiff's remedy was limited to workers' compensation under Louisiana law.

Lake Almanor Assoc., LLP. v. Huffman-Broadway Group, Inc.

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:00:02 PDT

(Cal. App., Construction, Contracts, Environmental Law, Injury And Tort Law) In plaintiff-developer's breach of contract and negligence case against a consultant hired by a county to prepare an environmental impact report (EIR), district court's sustaining of defendant's demurrer to plaintiff's complaint is affirmed as the balance of the factors militates against a conclusion that a consultant owes a duty of care to a project applicant in the timely completion of a draft EIR.

Guillemaro-Ginorio v. Contreras-Gomez

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 1st Cir., Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Government Contracts, Government Law, Injury And Tort Law, Insurance Law) In plaintiffs' case against the Office of the Insurance Commissioner of Puerto Rico and two consecutive Insurance Commissioners claiming that they were investigated and sanctioned for Insurance Code violations solely because of their political affiliations, district court's judgment in favor of the plaintiffs in the amount of $4.7 million and a permanent injunction is affirmed as all of defendants' grounds for relief are without merit.

Adair v. Lease Partners, Inc.

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 5th Cir., Civil Procedure, Contracts, Government Law, Injury And Tort Law) In an appeal from an order remanding the case to state court in an action in which the FDIC had been a party but was subsequently dismissed, the order is reversed where the district court had no authority to remand the case because 12 U.S.C. section 1819(b)(2) continued to provide original jurisdiction over all claims in the case, even after the FDIC's dismissal.

Villafranca v. US

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 5th Cir., Government Law, Injury And Tort Law) In a Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) action against the U.S. alleging that federal agents used excessive force against plaintiff, judgment for defendants is affirmed where: 1) because agents' actions were privileged under Texas law, those actions did not constitute an assault for which the U.S. would be liable under the FTCA; and 2) the district court's finding that the agents' alleged negligence was not the proximate cause of plaintiff's injuries was not clearly erroneous.

Kerns v. US

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 4th Cir., Civil Procedure, Government Law, Injury And Tort Law, Labor & Employment Law) In plaintiff's lawsuit against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act, alleging that the government's employee negligently caused an automobile accident killing her husband, dismissal of the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction is vacated and remanded as, when the scope-of-employment issue is determinative of both jurisdiction and the underlying merits of an FTCA claim, dismissal under Rule 12(b)(1) is inappropriate.

Guzman v. County of Monterey

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(Cal. App., Consumer Protection Law, Government Law, Health Law, Injury And Tort Law, Water Law) In plaintiffs' case against a county and the owner and operator of their mobile home park for fluoride contamination in the water, trial court's grant of county's demurrer to the third cause of action is vacated and reversed as California Code of Regulations section 64256(e) imposes upon the county the express mandatory duty to undertake a monthly review of all water quality monitoring data submitted to it in order to detect deviations from specific water quality standards. Furthermore, this duty was designed to protect water consumers like plaintiffs from the type of harm they claim to have suffered.

Becker v. Tidewater Inc.

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 5th Cir., Admiralty, Contracts, Injury And Tort Law) In an action based on injuries sustained by plaintiff on an oil rig owned by one defendant and operated by another defendant, the district court's judgment holding the operator 55% liable for plaintiff's injuries and the owner 45% liable is affirmed in part where: 1) the reciprocal indemnity agreement between defendants obligated the operator to indemnify the owner for plaintiff's injuries; and 2) the district court did not clearly err in determining that the owner was not the superseding cause of the incident. However, the judgment is reversed in part where: 1) the operator's negligence in failing to properly warn employees how to operate certain machinery on the boat should not have been characterized by the district court as time-charterer negligence; and 2) the parties' agreement only entitled the owner to attorney's fees incurred in defending the underlying tort action. (Superseding opinion)

Bouriez v. Carnegie Mellon Univ.

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 3d Cir., Evidence, Injury And Tort Law) In plaintiff's suit against defendant for fraudulent misrepresentation and negligence arising from his investment in their microwave technology, district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendant is vacated and remanded as the district court's proximate cause analysis was in error as plaintiff produced enough evidence to raise a genuine issue of material fact as to whether defendant's misrepresentations were a substantial factor in causing his failed investment.

Kaldenbach v. Mut. of Omaha Life Ins. Co.

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(Cal. App., Civil Procedure, Class Actions, Injury And Tort Law, Insurance Law) In plaintiff's consumer protection and fraud suit against defendant-insurance company concerning the sale of a so-called "vanishing premium" life insurance policy, denial of plaintiff's motion for certification of the action as a class action is affirmed as the court did not err in concluding that he had not demonstrated any of the requisites for class certification.

Kamelgard v. Macura

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 7th Cir., Civil Procedure, Injury And Tort Law, Professional Malpractice) In plaintiff-surgeon's case against defendant, another surgeon, for defamation, district court's dismissal of the case without prejudice is affirmed, but the judgment is modified to make the dismissal with prejudice, as the suit was time-barred.

Doyle v. Graske

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 8th Cir., Admiralty, Injury And Tort Law, Remedies) In an action based on injuries sustained by plaintiff while on defendant's boat, judgment for plaintiff is affirmed in part where: 1) substantial evidence supported the district court's conclusion that defendant breached a duty of reasonable care if plaintiff was seated on the bow cushion when the boat came on plane; and 2) the district court's finding that defendant's negligence was a proximate and substantial cause of plaintiff's injuries was not clearly erroneous. However, the judgment is reversed in part where federal admiralty law did not allow for recovery of loss of consortium damages in negligence matters occurring outside territorial waters.