In an action by a Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee to avoid the pre-petition transfer of a mortgage from debtor to a bank, summary judgment for plaintiff is affirmed where: 1) because defendant-bank was already a creditor of the debtor when it received the mortgage from the debtor, the mortgage was transferred “to or for the benefit of a creditor”; and 2) the transfer of the mortgage diminished the bankruptcy estate....
For people who don’t like to fly — which is many of us — learning that there is someone trained to save lives onboard a flight can be reassuring. But if you are the one who is professionally trained as a doctor, nurse, EMT, or something similar, you may wonder if you have a legal responsibility to administer help in the case of an emergency. And if you do try to help, can your actions be held against you in case of an unfavorable outcome?...
We’re nearing the end of the year: a time for reflection, a time for planning and resolutions. Part of our process is to look back and see what you liked, measured by blog traffic. And for 2014, that included juicy justice gossip, a Scalia screw-up, and a few posts about cases that were working their way through the docket. Here’s the big list: 10. SCOTUS End of Term: 5 Most Interesting Cases Left on the Docket With only a few weeks left in the term, we previewed the five most interesting cases that had yet to be decided....
As an employer, you should know by now that you can’t make hiring decisions based on race. After all, you’re not racist, so why would you? But what if your customers or clients are? Can you refuse to hire black employees because clients refuse to work with them? Can you keep Hispanic employees in back-of-house positions because customers refuse to be served by them? The short answer is still no. Here’s the long answer:...
Eng v. Cummings, McClorey, Davis & Acho, No. 09-2426, concerned a declaratory judgment action against a law firm seeking a judgment that plaintiff firm need not share a portion of the attorney’s fees awarded to plaintiff in a personal injury action. The court of appeals affirmed summary judgment for plaintiff on the ground that, even assuming there was a fee-splitting agreement between the parties, this agreement did not comply with Mo....
Grandparents can request visitation rights, so they can also be ordered to pay child support. Typically, the responsibility to pay child support falls on the parents of the child, not the parents’ parents. After all, the grandparents didn’t decide to have a grandchild. However, there are some exceptions where grandparents can be ordered to take up the slack and pay (grand)child support. In some cases, grandparents can also be sued for not following a court order to pay child support....
Debeatham v. Holder, No. 09-0205, concerned a petition for review of the denial of petitioner’s motion to reopen his removal proceedings. The court of appeals denied the petition on the ground that petitioner failed to comply with the requirements of In re Lozada, 19 I. & N. Dec. 637, 639 (B.I.A. 1988), in asserting one of counsel’s alleged errors and failed to show prejudice arising from the remaining alleged errors....
Green Pty. of Conn. v. Garfield, No. 09-0599, involved a First Amendment challenge to Connecticut’s Campaign Finance Reform Act (CFRA). The court of appeals affirmed summary judgment for defendants in part, holding that the CFRA comported with the First Amendment insofar as it bans contributions by state contractors, “prospective” state contractors, the “principals” of contractors and prospective state contractors, and the spouses and dependent children of those individuals. However, the court reversed in part on the ground that the CFRA violated the First Amendment insofar as it banned contributions by lobbyists and their families and insofar as it prohibits contractors, lobbyists, and their families from soliciting contributions on behalf of candidates....
In an interpleader action by a bank seeking to determine the ownership of an IRA account held by decedent, summary judgment for the named beneficiaries of the IRA is affirmed where: 1) the surviving spouse protections in ERISA did not apply to the IRA even though some of the funds originated from an ERISA-protected pension plan, and 2) the Internal Revenue Code also did not impose automatic surviving spouse rights on IRAs similar to those protections afforded under ERISA....
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty Tuesday on all charges relating to George Floyd’s death, including murder. But while this chapter of the legal process is over, this likely isn’t the last we’ve heard from the former cop’s defense. Chauvin’s defense team moved for a mistrial Monday before jury deliberations started. They argued that recent publicity relating to the case threatened the neutrality of the jury process. Judge Peter Cahill dismissed the defense’s motion – but indicated that a member of Congress might have handed them a gift they could use on appeal....
Contrary to popular opinion, liberal and conservative justices see cases the same way sometimes. In Digital Realty Trust v. Somers, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously threw out a whistleblower case against a company that allegedly violated securities laws. It wasn’t about workers’ rights v. big business; it was about the plain meaning of the law. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the acknowledged left-end of the panel, said whistleblowers must inform the Securities and Exchange Commission before suing under the Dodd-Frank Act....
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week on whether or not the holders of coal rights had a right to natural gas from the mine as well. The case involves a mine in Sebastian County, Arkansas. A deed from the 1960s conveyed surface and coal rights for the mine, which were eventually acquired by Sebastian Mining in 2010. In a different deed, executed before the deed eventually acquired by Sebastian Mining, a document conveyed interest in oil, gas and other mineral rights, with the exception of coal rights to several parties....
Williams v. Astrue, No. 09-1471, involved a claimant’s request for attorneys’ fees in connection with her application for disability benefits following a district court’s conclusion that the ALJ’s findings with respect to the claimant’s ability to perform her past relevant work were not supported by substantial evidence. The Equal Access to Justice Act, provides that a prevailing party in a litigation against the government shall receive fees and other expenses incurred unless the court finds that the government’s position was substantially justified or than special circumstances make an award unjust....
It was Gay Marriage Day in the Eighth Circuit last Tuesday. No, there wasn’t any extra same-sex nuptials, parades, or celebrations. Rather, the circuit court took Tuesday to formally strike down the same-sex marriage bans, following the Supreme Court’s ruling nine weeks ago. As a result of this decision, the same-sex marriage bans in South Dakota, Arkansas, and Nebraska are just about finito. Of course, that doesn’t mean the controversial issue is entirely settled....
When the late Justice Antonin Scalia was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1986, the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed him. In contrast two decades later, nearly two dozen Senators – voting along party lines – opposed the nomination of Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. A pattern of partisan opposition emerged as Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan came before the lawmakers for consideration. “My hope – and I hope I will live to see it in this lifetime – is that our Congress will get over this nonsense,” said Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg....
More Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) cases? Say it ain’t so, SCOTUS. Alas, a criminal with a white supremacist career, and a lot of arms, just made his way to the High Court, along with another criminal case, which involves the police finding bliss (and a permissible search) in ignorance. And then there is the small matter of World War III, or at least the over-hyped case involving a conflict of power between Congress and the Executive, Israel and Palestine, Jerusalem, and the label on a citizen’s passport – no big deal, right?...
We wrote last week about the small handful of lawyers who have had the most success as litigators before the Supreme Court, literally getting the Justices to adopt their words as the Court’s own. Those ten attorneys stand out among even the most elite of Supreme Court practitioners, dominating an already small cadre of 66 lawyers who control Supreme Court litigation. Of course, their expertise – and success – doesn’t come cheaply....
In a copyright infringement action, summary judgment for plaintiff is reversed and remanded for summary judgment in favor of defendant where plaintiff and her bandmate qualified as co-authors of the song in question, as they intended to be joint authors of the song at the time the work was created and they both contributed independently copyrightable material. Read Janky v. Lake County Convention and Visitors Bureau, No. 07-2350 Appellate InformationAppeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Hammond Division....
TikTok has long been a magnet for young daredevils. The Milk Crate Challenge enticed people to climb tall stacks of crates; the Blackout Challenge lured participants to hold their breath until they black out. These challenges resulted in several injuries and deaths. The latest troubling TikTok challenge, however, poses a different kind of risk for participants: the risk of engaging in blatantly criminal activity. It is called the “Kia Challenge.” The challenge encourages people to film themselves breaking into Kia and Hyundai cars with key-based ignition systems by smashing the rear window, starting the engines with a simple USB cord, and taking the cars for a joy ride....
If you – or one of your clients – want to carry a concealed handgun in public, you’ll need a good reason and a little bit of luck. This week, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a New York law requiring concealed-handgun license applicants to show a special need for self-protection in order to carry handguns, The Associated Press reports. The plaintiffs in this case all want to carry handguns outside their homes for self-defense....
