Florida Lawyer News Services | Robbins Equitas

(Florida attorney) Wasserman v. Rodacker

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(U.S. D.C. Cir., Civil Procedure, Civil Rights, Government Law, Injury And Tort Law) In an action alleging false imprisonment by a police officer, summary judgment for Defendant is affirmed, where the U.S. properly substituted itself for Defendant officer under 28 U.S.C. section 2679(d)(1).

Tooley v. Napolitano

(U.S. D.C. Cir., Civil Procedure, Civil Rights) In a civil rights action alleging illegal wiretapping, summary judgment for Defendants is reversed and remanded, where the complaint, although implausible, contained a short and plain statement of the grounds for relief.

Mendez-Matos v. Municipality of Guaynabo

(U.S. 1st Cir., Civil Procedure, Remedies) In an action involving monetary damages, award of compensatory and punitive damages is affirmed where: 1) defendant failed to show the award of compensatory damages to co-plaintiffs was grossly excessive, inordinate, shocking to the conscience of the court, or so high that it would be a denial of justice to permit it to stand; and 2) co-plaintiff Mendez-Ayala met the threshold requirement for punitive damages by showing the defendant discriminated in the face of a perceived risk that its actions would violate federal law. The reduction of co-plaintiff Mendez-Ayala’s punitive damages is affirmed as grossly excessive under the BMW standard and in violation of due process limits.

Barham v. Salazar

(U.S. D.C. Cir., Civil Procedure, Civil Rights) In a civil rights action alleging the mass arrest of demonstrators, Defendant’s appeal of the denial of his motion to dismiss based on qualified immunity is dismissed, where the motion was based on disputed facts.

Ericksson v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec.

(U.S. 2d Cir., Administrative Law, Attorney’s Fees, Civil Procedure, Government Benefits) District Court’s denial of plaintiff’s attorney’s fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act following agency award of disability benefits is reversed and remanded with instructions to award the fees. The defendant failed to prove the opposition to the benefits was substantially justified and had a reasonable basis in law and fact, and therefore the denial of fees was outside the district court’s discretion.

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(Tampa divorce lawyer) Lebron v. Sanders

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(U.S. 2d Cir., Civil Procedure, Criminal Law & Procedure, Habeas Corpus) In a habeus petition action, plaintiff’s motion for an extension of time to file motions to proceed in forma pauperis and for a certificate of appealability is granted where: 1) pro se plaintiff cannot access, without cost, from prison some of the federal case law that form a part of the substantive basis of the district court’s dismissal of his habeus petition; and 2) the court is concerned about the impact on the appearance of justice when pro se litigants may not have financial access to case authorities that form the basis of a court’s decision, thereby hampering the opportunities to understand and assert their legal rights. New local rules of the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York also oblige counsel to provide pro se litigants with copies of unreported decisions or decisions reported exclusively on computerized databases that are cited in their submissions to court.

Homa v. Amer. Express Co.

(U.S. 3d Cir., Civil Procedure, Class Actions) In a class action, district court’s dismissal of plaintiffs’ complaint with prejudice in favor of individual arbitration is reversed where: 1) the Federal Arbitration Act does not preclude the circuit court from applying state law unconscionability principles to void a class-arbitration waiver; and 2) under New Jersey choice of law principles, if the claims at issue are of such a low value as effectively to preclude relief if decided individually then the application of Utah law to the class-arbitration waiver is invalid and the waiver is unconscionable.

Ericksson v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec.

(U.S. 2d Cir., Administrative Law, Attorney’s Fees, Civil Procedure, Government Benefits) District Court’s denial of plaintiff’s attorney’s fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act following agency award of disability benefits is reversed and remanded with instructions to award the fees. The defendant failed to prove the opposition to the benefits was substantially justified and had a reasonable basis in law and fact, and therefore the denial of fees was outside the district court’s discretion.

Wasserman v. Rodacker

(U.S. D.C. Cir., Civil Procedure, Civil Rights, Government Law, Injury And Tort Law) In an action alleging false imprisonment by a police officer, summary judgment for Defendant is affirmed, where the U.S. properly substituted itself for Defendant officer under 28 U.S.C. section 2679(d)(1).

Blanks v. Seyfarth Shaw

(Cal. App., Civil Procedure, Contracts, Ethics & Professional Responsibility, Injury And Tort Law, Labor & Employment Law, Professional Malpractice) In a legal malpractice action brought by Billy Blanks, the developer of the “Tae Bo” fitness routine, a judgment in favor of plaintiff-Blanks is reversed and remanded where the trial court prejudicially erred in refusing to instruct that the original agreement between plaintiff and his former counsel was subject to the doctrine of severability, and erred by addressing a subject not presented in a motion in limine. The court of appeals further rules that: 1) plaintiffs seeking affirmative relief under the Talent Agency Act must bring their cases to the Labor Commissioner within the Act’s one-year statute of limitations and cannot rely on the longer statute contained in the Unfair Competition Law; 2) the discovery rule cannot extend the Act’s statute of limitations in this case; and 3) the issue of “judgmental immunity” must be addressed on remand.

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(Estate attorney tampa) United Nat’l Ins. Co. v. Spectrum Worldwide, Inc.

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(U.S. 9th Cir., Contracts, Insurance Law, Intellectual Property, Media Law, Remedies, Trademark) In a suit by an insurance company for reimbursement of its settlement contribution in a trademark infringement action, summary judgment for plaintiff is affirmed where: 1) a “first publication” exclusion found in the excess insurance policy applied to infringement claims; 2) defendant was judicially estopped from claiming that it first published infringing material after it purchased the policy; and 3) the district court did not abuse its discretion in finding two defendants jointly and severally liable for repayment of plaintiff’s contribution.

Philip Morris USA, Inc. v. King Mountain Tobacco Co., Inc.

(U.S. 9th Cir., Civil Procedure, Cyberspace Law, Indian Law, Intellectual Property, Trademark) In a suit alleging trademark violations against a tribal corporation for cigarette packages, the district court’s grant of a stay while the tribal court determined its jurisdiction is reversed where the tribal court does not have colorable jurisdiction over plaintiff-nonmember’s federal and state claims for trademark infringement on the Internet and beyond the reservation.

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(Aviation accident attorney) Text of H.R. 831

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A full text of Rep. James Oberstar’s controversial new bill is available from the Government Publications Office here.

Virgin America: Like Deja Vu All Over Again
The last time negotiators from the United States and European Union were busy trying to finalize a far-reaching aviation agreement, Sir Richard Branson’s brainchild Virgin America was looking down the barrel of intense scrutiny concerning its ownership structure. Now, with…

Recent Articles of Note
In light of the recent slowdown in web-log postings over the last week due to pending commitments, readers may wish to spend some time perusing some recent scholarly contributions to the debate surrounding foreign ownership of U.S. airlines and the…

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