Tag: personal torts

December 12-14, 2023, opinions

December 15, 2023

Designated for publication Duncan, J. (Higginbotham, Higginson, Duncan), criminal, guilt plea Affirming conviction of attempted interference with commerce by robbery, finding sufficient evidence in the record to support the defendant’s guilty plea. Haynes, J. (Clement, Haynes, Oldham), ERISA Affirming dismissal of ERISA claim against insurance company hired by plan’s sponsor, administrator, and fiduciary to maintain … More December 12-14, 2023, opinions

December 5, 2023, opinions

December 6, 2023

Designated for publication Higginbotham, J. (Higginbotham, Smith, Elrod), Smith, J., dissenting; criminal, sentencing, Armed Career Criminal Act, habeas corpus On defendant’s § 2255 motion, vacating sentence on conviction of possession of a firearm by a felon, and remanding for resentencing without the ACCA enhancement. On a 2011 charge for possession of a firearm by a … More December 5, 2023, opinions

November 16, 2023, opinions

November 20, 2023

Designated for publication Duncan, J. (Jones, Stewart, Duncan), personal tort Affirming dismissal of claims by plaintiffs who suffer from chronic Lyme disease against peer-reviewed medical journal arising from article published regarding new proposed treatment of Lyme disease; plaintiffs alleged that the article cast doubt on how to treat chronic Lyme disease and even whether the … More November 16, 2023, opinions

November 15, 2023, opinions

November 16, 2023

Designated for publication per curiam (Southwick, Engelhardt, Wilson), criminal, sentencing Affirming convictions for transferring a firearm to a prohibited person and for making false statements while purchasing a firearm, as well as the 60-month sentence imposed on her resulting from these convictions and incorporating an upward variance based on the defendant’s knowledge of the danger … More November 15, 2023, opinions

November 2, 2023, opinions

November 3, 2023

Designated for publication Elrod, J. (Stewart, Elrod, Graves), qualified immunity, expert testimony, First Amendment Affirming in part and reversing in part qualified immunity dismissal of plaintiff’s claims arising from arrest for making a false report of a hostage situation. The Court first held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding the … More November 2, 2023, opinions

October 20, 2023, opinions

October 23, 2023

Designated for publication Southwick, J. (Richman, Southwick, Oldham), toxic tort, recusal Affirming district court judge’s denial of motion to disqualify himself from cases arising from Deepwater Horizon spill. The Court held that the district court judge’s former partnership in a law firm that represented a former defendant in the claims that had been found not … More October 20, 2023, opinions

October 18, 2023, opinions

October 19, 2023

Designated for publication Clement, J. (Clement, Elrod, Willett), criminal, Confrontation Clause, hearsay Affirming conviction for conspiracy to transport illegal aliens, but vacating conviction for transporting illegal aliens, and remanding for resentencing. The Court held that the form admitted into evidence to show the nationality of the people being transported was hearsay and admitted in violation … More October 18, 2023, opinions

October 5, 2023, opinions

October 6, 2023

Designated for publication Oldham, J. (Willett, Engelhardt, Oldham), insurance, diversity jurisdiction Remanding appeal of summary judgment in favor of insurer regarding coverage for Covid-related shutdown of music festival, for purposes of determining the existence of diversity jurisdiction where the record did not adequately document the citizenship of LLC parties to the litigation. The Court noted … More October 5, 2023, opinions

October 2-3, 2023, opinions

October 4, 2023

Designated for publication Richman, C.J. (Richman, Wiener, Willett), criminal, Anti-Kickback Statute, sufficiency of evidence, Travel Act, Speedy Trial Act, Bruton violation, Court Reporter’s Act, jury instructions, prosecutorial conduct, sentencing, restitution The Court upheld the sufficiency of evidence to support the Anti-Kickback Statute convictions of six co-defendants, holding that the government need not prove defendants had … More October 2-3, 2023, opinions

September 15, 2023, opinions

September 18, 2023

Designated for publication Oldham, J. (Dennis, Engelhardt, Oldham), Title VII, employment discrimination Reversing summary judgment dismissal of employee’s discrimination claims after he was fired for his refusal to cut his hair and beard in violation of his religious vow, in light of Groff v. DeJoy, 143 S. Ct. 2279 (2023). The Court held that the … More September 15, 2023, opinions