Posts

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) defines a “debt” as a consumer’s obligation to pay money arising out of a transaction in which the money, property, insurance, or services are primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. The Sixth Circuit’s take on this definition? FDCPA debt, condo fees. Same difference. Here’s how this came to pass. In 1992, Camille Haddad purchased a condominium as his primary residence, and became obligated to pay fees to the condominium association....

Dobbs vs. Jackson Health Organization Roe v. Wade: A summary Allow women to get an abortion with no restrictions in the first three months of the pregnancy In the second trimester, some government regulation would be allowed In the third trimester, the unborn child’s life outweighs the right to privacy of the mother. Thus, a state can restrict or ban abortions unless the abortion is necessary to save her life. Would Overturning Roe v....

Jeffrey Knutson excelled as the General Manager of a Home Service food delivery depot. Home Service provides frozen foods to customers’ homes or workplaces. He continued being great at his job, even though he suffered a penetrating eye injury in March 2008. Nine months later, he lost his Medical Examiner’s Certificate (MEC) and by extension, his Department of Transportation (DOT) qualification. Home Service gave him 30 days to either obtain a MEC or to find a non-DOT-qualified position at the company....

Conviction for possession of child pornography is affirmed where: 1) the district court did not err in denying defendant’s motion to suppress as the evidence as a whole established probable cause to believe that child pornography would be found in defendant’s home; and 2) the court did not err in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal as the evidence was sufficient to support defendant’s conviction. Read US v. McArthur, No....

Defendant’s conviction for attempting to acquire and export Leupold Mark 4 CQ/T riflescopes to Indonesia without a license, under 22 U.S.C. section 2778, is reversed where the evidence was insufficient to show, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Defendant knew that the scopes required export licenses. Read the full decision in US v. Pulungan, No. 08-3000. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. No. 07-CR-144-BBC–Barbara B....

We here at FindLaw are not political wonks. Still, we thought it might be beneficial to take a look at the laws that are on the ballot, both literally and figuratively, in the upcoming midterm elections. Below are the laws and ballot initiatives on a few important matters voters say they are most concerned about. The focus here is on potential laws, not economics or foreign policy, so there is no mention of some prominent voter concerns such as inflation or the war in Ukraine....

For employers, dealing with company secrets going public or getting sold to competitors can be real nightmare. Apart from the obvious risks of financial losses associated with the loss of company information, the potential for public relations fallout is real, and can hit from a few different angles. To protect against this, employers need to have policies aimed at preventing the loss of private company information, and also need to make sure that those policies aren’t enforced against legitimate whistleblowers, or other employees who may actually be engaging in legally protected activity....

Most of us don’t expect to get sued. So getting served with a complaint or other legal process documents can be a surprise. And once you read the complaint, your first thought is probably that the whole thing is baseless and doesn’t even merit a response. That can be a mistake. As frivolous as a lawsuit may appear, not responding to one can have serious consequences. So, if you’ve been procrastinating on contacting a lawyer or filing a response to a lawsuit, you may want to do that ASAP....

In US v. DeJesus-Concepcion, No. 09-1673, the court of appeals affirmed defendant’s sentence for an unstated offense on the ground that the district court did not misapply section 4A1.2(c)(1) of the Sentencing Guidelines because unauthorized use of a vehicle in New York was an offense “similar to” the listed offense of “[c]areless or reckless driving” under section 4A1.2(c)(1). Highland Cap. Mgmt. LP v. Schneider, No. 08-4630, concerned an action for breach of contract alleging that defendants’ agent made an oral agreement to sell certain notes to plaintiffs at a significant discount, but reneged on that agreement....

We didn’t think the battle for same-sex marriage could get any more odd than what transpired in Oregon: nobody but an openly gay judge argued in favor of that state’s ban, at least until that same judge ruled against it a short time later, after noting that he had no plans to get married. This might be close. In Boulder, Colorado, County Clerk Hillary Hall decided to start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, even though that state’s ban still stands....

As winter tightens its icy grip, the prospect of having your heat turned off can be frightening. But if you can’t pay your heat or electric bills, at some point that’s precisely what utilities can do. Fortunately for those most in need, however, most states have laws that prohibit these companies from pulling the plug. But these are not blanket protections. Typically, states limit this relief to the elderly, the disabled, and low-income people....

Under federal laws, employers are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of religion, race, natural origin, age (over 40), or disability. It’s unclear whether gender identity and sexual orientation are also federally protected classes, although one or both may be protected under state laws. If an employee is fired, and they feel that it was based on discrimination, they may have a lawsuit for wrongful termination. But, what about getting fired for gaining weight?...

Challenge to Resolution Denouncing Catholic Church In Catholic League for Religious & Civil Rights v. San Francisco, No. 06-17328, an action by Catholics and a Catholic advocacy group against San Francisco on account of an official resolution denouncing their church and doctrines of their religion, the court affirmed the dismissal of the action where 1) adherents to a religion have standing to challenge an official condemnation by their government of their religious views, and official urging by their government that their local religious representative defy their church; but 2) the district court correctly dismissed the plaintiffs’ lawsuit because duly-elected government officials had the right to speak out in their official capacities on matters of secular concern to their constituents....

Peterson v. Cal., No. 09-15633, involved an action claiming that California Proposition 115 (Prop. 115), the Crime Victims Justice Reform Act, violated plaintiff’s constitutional rights under the Fourth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments. The court of appeals affirmed judgment on the pleadings for defendant, holding that 1) Prop. 115 did not deprive plaintiff of his Sixth Amendment right to confront the witnesses against him at a preliminary hearing; and 2) the preliminary hearing was not required to include the right of confrontation in order to satisfy the requirements of due process....

Overall, very few cases – criminal or civil – go to trial. Generally, both sides want to avoid the time, expense, and risk of a full-blown trial and resolve their differences through some mutual agreement. In the criminal context, this is usually a plea bargain, whereby prosecutors offer lesser charges and penalties in exchange for a guilty or no-contest plea. But when it comes to federal criminal charges, new data from Pew Research reveals some shocking stats: Just two percent of people charged in federal court take their case to trial, and of those who do, only 17 percent are acquitted....

US v. Stadtmauer, 09-1575, concerned a challenge to a conviction of defendant for conspiracy to defraud the United States and for willfully aiding in the filing of materially false or fraudulent tax returns. In affirming the conviction, the court held that the Supreme Court’s decision in Cheek v. US does not prohibit a willful blindness instruction that applies to a defendant’s knowledge of relevant tax law. Also, any error in admitting a witness’s testimony was harmless and thus does not require reversal....

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals is tired of bad police judgment. The Chicago-based appellate court recently denied cops qualified immunity in two cases. We told you about the first case, involving the arrest and release of a bipolar woman last week. Now we’re going to discuss the second case, which involved cops using rubber bullets to subdue a drunk driver. Plaintiff Tamara Phillips contends that Waukesha, Wis. police officers used excessive force in arresting her after she disregarded their orders to exit her car; the cops shot her four times in the leg with an SL6 baton launcher....

Higher education is expensive, and the cost keeps rising. A growing number of people have started warning of an education bubble to rival the mortgage bubble. But there’s a difference between and home loans and student loans: Generally, student loans aren’t dischargeable in bankruptcy. The exception to this rule is undue hardship, which takes on a Potter Stewart quality in bankruptcy proceedings: It’s not clearly defined, but a judge knows it when she sees it....

But, as the Court wrote: “In requiring what amounts to a showing of significant injury in order to state an excessive force claim, the Fourth Circuit has strayed from the clear holding of this Court in Hudson. . . . Reversing the Court of Appeals, this Court rejected the notion that ‘significant injury’ is a threshold requirement for stating an excessive force claim.” The Court reversed, holding that the district court’s approach (based on its determination that plaintiff’s injuries were “de minimis”) was at odds with precedent directing it to decide excessive force claims based on the nature of the force, rather than the extent of the injury....

Wisconsin is known as America’s Dairyland. So it seems strange that a dairy company is having such a hard time selling butter there. Minerva Dairy, an Ohio company which produces Amish butter, has sued the state over its butter-grader law. In Minerva Dairy, Inc. v. Brancel, the dairy says the law is unfair to “artisanal butter.” Unless you are a Wisconsinite, you may need to look that up. Better Butter For those who want to understand butter better, the New York Times gave a brief history of its evolution in America....