Posts

There are certain obligations that a bankruptcy petitioner can’t shed in court. For example, barring “undue hardship,” your student loans will follow you. Forever. Student loans, however, have nothing on child support. Courts are pretty committed to enforcing domestic support obligations. And that commitment to extends to guardian ad litem fees. The case involved “prolonged and contentious proceedings” between two parents over the custody of their children, visitation arrangements and child support obligations....

Happy Loving Day! June 12th marks the 48th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Loving v. Virginia, which struck down race-based limitations on marriage rights. Loving remains a landmark civil rights case and Loving Day, now in its 13th year, has become the nation’s “biggest multiracial celebration,” according to Time magazine. Among lawyers, though, Loving has been getting renewed attention, and not just for its invalidation of state anti-miscegenation laws....

If you came down with bronchitis a few years ago, there was a fair chance that your doctor would prescribe Ketek, an antibiotic produced by the French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis. That was, until 2007, when the FDA banned the use of Ketek for sinusitis and bronchitis, finding that it was too risky for those diseases and giving it the strongest warning possible – a so-called “black box” warning – for certain permitted uses....

In 2010, German gambler Konstantin Zoggolis had taken out credit from the Wynn casino in Las Vegas to the tune of about $1.3 million. Wynn said it was time to pay up; Zoggolis couldn’t pay. I know you’re thinking: “Why would Zoggolis sue Wynn? These were his debts! Of course he should have to pay them!” But there’s more going on here. The Nevada Gaming Commission allows a gambling patron to “self limit his access to the issuance of credit....

The death of George Floyd and months of protests surrounding his and other police killings of Black Americans has sparked many important conversations of the myriad other ways that race discrimination rears its ugly head in our country. One of the most long-overdue discussions now taking place centers around a powerful tool that is probably the most responsible for denying wealth to countless Black families for decades: the racially restrictive housing covenant....

Vasquez v. Holder, No. 05-73714, concerned a petition for review of the BIA’s denial of petitioner’s application for an extreme hardship waiver of removal. The Ninth Circuit granted the petition, holding that an alien whose legal status as the spouse of a citizen is later terminated because the marriage was fraudulent is eligible for discretionary relief from removal. Singh v. Holder, No. 08-70434, involved a petition for review of the denial of petitioner’s asylum application....

Portion of a consent decree entered in a 1998 class action challenge to Tennessee’s managed care program under the Medicaid Act vacated John B. v. Goetz, 09-6145, concerned a challenge to the district court’s denial of defendants’ motion to vacate a consent decree entered in a 1998 class action challenge to Tennessee’s managed care program under the Medicaid Act claiming that the Tennessee officials charged with implementing TennCare failed to provide early and periodic screening, diagnosis, and treatment services in violation of the Medicaid Act....

In Pennsylvania, lawyers may lawfully store guns for clients. But is that really a good idea? What if the weapons have been used to commit crimes? What if a gun accidentally goes off? What if your fingerprints are all over them? Of course, lawmakers had a reason for the new law. They wanted to encourage lawbreakers to surrender their guns. But do attorneys really want to be caught holding a loaded bag?...

June is Pride Month, so every Monday this month FindLaw will be looking at the unique legal issues faced by LGBT members of our community – what the laws are currently, and what they may be in the near future. We’ll be rounding up our coverage of employment rights, services and accommodation discrimination, and looking at upcoming legislation and court decisions. This week? It’s family law. While the Supreme Court recognized same-sex couples’ right to marry almost four years ago, gay, lesbian, and transgender couples and parents are still struggling in some jurisdictions to achieve full legal recognition of their relationships, rights, and responsibilities....

Property Tax Challenge In Lowe v. Washoe Cty., No. 09-15759, an action by the putative representatives of a class of approximately 9,000 Incline Village and Crystal Bay, Nevada property owners, alleging that the valuation of their Nevada real property used to calculate their ad valorem property taxes for the 2008-09 taxable year violated both the Nevada Constitution and the Due Process Clause, the court affirmed the dismissal of the complaint where the Tax Injunction Act barred the action because: 1) as to individual taxpayers, Nevada’s administrative and judicial review process provided an effective and adequate means by which a dissatisfied taxpayer may contest his property valuation; 2) plaintiffs did not demonstrate that the state court remedy in this case was uncertain and therefore not “plain”; and 3) plaintiffs’ claims of bias did not impeach the adequacy of the state court remedy....

Denial of Motion to Vacate Judgment Against Police Officer Affirmed In Manzanares v. City of Albuquerque, No. 10-2011, an action against a city based on the alleged misconduct of a police officer, the court affirmed the district court’s denial of plaintiff’s Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(5) motion to vacate a judgment solely against the officer, stating that his claim was moot because any potential recovery against the city would necessarily be duplicative of the damage award against defendant-officer, where, if, as Lippoldt teaches, justice did not require allowing plaintiff to proceed with a claim of nominal damages against the City, then it was surely within the discretion of the district court not to vacate its prior judgment....

“The idea behind it is to educate citizens from the youngest to the oldest on traffic laws, bicycle laws, things like that.” That, from Tempe Police Department’s Detective Greg Bacon, all sounds well and good, until you find out that the “it” is stopping motorists and handing out free drink coupons at Circle K. Understandably, the local population was not thrilled at the prospect of being pulled over, absent any probable cause, and lectured by the cops in exchange for $0....

Are you looking for a legal job as a public defender? The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has just posted a vacancy for a Federal Public Defender in the Northern District of California. It seems that the incumbent FPD didn’t apply again for the position, so they are conducting interviews for the position. Here are some quick facts about the job: The salary for the Federal Public Defender job is currently authorized at $153,200....

Rocky Mtn. Christian Church v. Bd. of Cty. Cmm’rs. of Boulder, Colo., No. 09-1188, concerned an action by a church claiming that the City of Boulder’s denial of a special use application violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act’s (RLUIPA) substantial burden, equal terms, and unreasonable limitations provisions. The court of appeals affirmed the district court’s permanent injunction in favor of plaintiff, holding that 1) plaintiff presented ample evidence of similarities between its proposed project and another at trial; 2) the jury could reasonably choose to weigh evidence of the County’s land use regulation effectively excluding churches more heavily than the County’s record of approving special use applications; and 3) the injunction was consistent with the jury’s verdict on both the RLUIPA claims and damages....

Editor’s Note: This post was updated on February 11, 2020 to clarify the relationship between VAT and income tax. Most of us have been exposed to the term “VAT,” or Value-Added Tax, when we are vacationing abroad. During the customs declaration process, we’re told we can deduct VAT, but that requires a lot of math and saved receipts, and hey, did I mention we’re on vacation? Most of us don’t get involved with that process since few things dull the high of vacation more than taxes....

In a decision given to the parties on Sunday night, a federal judge in the D.C. Circuit has put President Trump’s plans to ban TikTok on hold. The wildly popular video-sharing app currently has around 100 million users in the United States. Trump Cites Security Concerns in TikTok Ban Some fear that the app’s parent company, ByteDance, would be required to turn over user data to the Chinese government if asked....

Sentence for producing, transporting, receiving, and possessing child pornography is vacated and remanded further sentencing proceedings where a restitution order pursuant to 18 U.S.C. sec. 2259 may include an amount for estimated future medical expenses, but the district court did not explain adequately its calculation of the restitution amount in the order. The district court’s judgment of conviction is affirmed in all other respects. Appellate InformationAppeal from the United States District Court for Northern District of New York....

The COVID-19 pandemic has put our lives on hold. If you’re like me, you can’t wait to do normal things again: See friends, go to live events, and start drinking heavily while axe throwing in New York. Unfortunately, after a recent federal decision out of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District, it appears that those tomahawks will have to stay in the closet for another few months, at least....

Public menace? Or valuable innovation? Cities continue to seek a common ground on e-scooters, the rentable solo vehicles that now swarm across many urban areas. On one hand, the dockless devices are a great transportation alternative; on the other, they’ve often proven to be a safety hazard. And in the interest of public safety, some cities are starting to take a tougher stand on scooters. From Evening Bans to Total Bans One of the latest cities to act is Atlanta, which has imposed a temporary ban on evening operation after four riders died this year....

The Tenth Circuit was recently all but forced to backpedal on a position it held in 2015 in which it held the Tax Injunction Act did not bar a sale-info-reporting suit in federal court. Now that the case is back down from SCOTUS, the Tenth Circuit has ruled that the suit had to go on and that, by the way, the rule did not violate the Commerce Clause. The court concluded that the reporting requirements imposed by Colorado did not imposed a discriminatory burden on out-of-state vendors when viewed in the totality of context of foreign retailers tax reporting obligations....