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Revocation of Supervised Release Affirmed In US v. Benton, No. 10-1718, following defendant’s conviction for firearm possession, the court affirmed the revocation of defendant’s supervised release where 1) the court did not clearly err in finding that the throwing stars found on defendant were dangerous weapons under Iowa’s concealed weapon statute; and 2) although the district court could have made specific reference to other factors relevant under 18 U.S.C. section 3553(a), the court was aware of the statute and adequately considered it in determining the appropriate sentence....

Appeal of a sentence imposed by the district court for defendant’s drug possession is dismissed where the district court did not nullify defendant’s plea agreement when it rejected the drug-quantity stipulations in the agreement and independently quantified the amount of drugs attributable to defendant based on information in the presentence report, and thus the appeal waiver in the plea agreement is enforceable. Read US v. Cole, No. 06-2547 Appellate InformationAppeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Hammond Division....

In an action alleging RICO violations in connection with defendants’ acquisition of a Polish telecommunications company, the dismissal of the action on forum non conveniens grounds is affirmed where the relevant evidence and witnesses were located in Poland and plaintiff was engaging in forum-shopping. Read Vivendi SA v. T-Mobile USA Inc., No. 08-35561 Appellate Information Argued and Submitted August 3, 2009 Filed November 2, 2009 Judges Opinion by Judge Bea...

In plaintiffs’ medical malpractice suit against their deceased son’s doctor and his clinic, district court’s dismissal and rejection of their Rule 59(e) motion and a motion for leave to file a new set of supplemental reports is reversed and remanded as the district court erred in concluding that whatever flaws existed in the expert reports that the plaintiffs submitted went to their admissibility, as opposed to their weight. Read Walsh v....

‘Tis the season for getting healthy – even when most workouts are now online classes or at-home workouts. Just because more fitness is happening at home doesn’t mean there still can’t be issues. Liability risks can happen in your local gym or while working out at home. Watch out for these common instances and schedule a free consultation with a local attorney if you aren’t sure how serious your situation is....

Thus far, the Supreme Court has granted cert. to only one case from the Second Circuit. Gelboim v. Bank of America is a civil action brought by several investors against several banks, arising out of the LIBOR scandal of a few years ago. LIBOR – the London Interbank Offered Rate – is an important interest rate in worldwide banking. It was discovered that several banks colluded to manipulate the interest rate, harming investors by giving them a lower interest rate on financial products than they would have had otherwise....

One year after cutting an $850 million check for water cleanup in Minnesota, manufacturing giant 3M is settling similar contamination claims in Alabama, though the final amount is unclear. The company announced the settlement with the West Morgan East Lawrence Water Authority regarding a drinking water contamination lawsuit near its plant in Decatur. 3M produced perfluorinated chemicals PFOA and PFOS at the Decatur facility for decades, and those chemicals were found in the water supply in amounts considered unhealthy by lowered federal standards....

Not that long ago, robocops were the fictional stuff of violent, futuristic movies. The first film, in 1987, involved a Detroit police officer killed in the line of duty and then transformed into a powerful cyborg called RoboCop, the bad guys’ worst nightmare. Two sequels, in 1990 and 1993, furthered the tale of the powerful robot who fights crime in a decaying city. Now, the idea of robots performing law-enforcement duties — including the potential for deadly force — is no longer fiction....

Duane Reade, Inc. v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., No. 07-4141, concerned an action seeking insurance proceeds based on the destruction of a drug store in the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the complaint on the grounds that 1) the district court’s application of res judicata was proper because plaintiff could have raised in its prior action the claims it raised here, but it did not; and 2) because the store had not yet been “actually replaced,” nor had the Recovery Period in the policy terminated following the actual replacement of the store, the Extended Recovery Period provision was inapplicable....

If your life has felt a little empty without an Affordable Care Act to discuss, this Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals opinion may help fill the void. Thursday, the Eighth Circuit ruled that a group of seven plaintiffs, including Missouri Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder, lacked standing to challenge various provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. According to the appellate court, the plaintiffs lacked standing. (And their claims were sooo last term....

The Eleventh Circuit recently clarified that discriminatory conduct by a municipality post-acquisition of a property can violate Fair Housing Act protections. The case arose when residents in LaGrange, Georgia, filed a civil complaint alleging that basic utility services have a discriminatory impact. The city, which is the sole provider of basic utilities, requires customers to first pay any debts owed to the city and provide photo identification to get services. Petitioners argued these policies discriminated against black and Hispanic residents, respectively....

Michael Cohen, a former executive of a multi-billion dollar hedge fund, made a bad loan and a worse decision afterwards. According to an indictment in New York, he conspired to commit investment adviser fraud and other crimes when the borrower couldn’t repay the loan. It was a personal loan that didn’t directly involve Och-Ziff Capital Management Group, which had already settled charges it bribed African officials for business. But for Cohen, a rising star in the company, it was a meteoric decline from the days when he made enough money to buy himself a 900-acre estate in London....

In a bankruptcy adversary proceeding in which the debtor sought to rescind the sale of his foreclosed home, bankruptcy court’s order rescinding the sale is affirmed where the buyer failed to notify the debtor of his rights under California’s Home Equity Sales Contract Act, and the parties’ settlement agreement did not affect this obligation. Read Hoffman v. Lloyd, No. 08-15814 Appellate Information Argued and Submitted May 15, 2009 Filed July 20, 2009...

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday that a teacher who made allegedly hostile comments about religion in the classroom has qualified immunity from a student’s Establishment Clause violation lawsuit. In the case, Chad Farnan, a former public high school student alleged that his history teacher, Dr. James Corbett, violated his rights under the Establishment Clause by making comments during an Advanced Placement European History class (AP Euro) that were hostile to religion in general, and to Christianity in particular....

Whether or not you agree with Kim Davis, you’ve got to give credit where credit’s due: she’s got perseverance. Kim Davis, the court clerk who found fame by refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, has lost another bid with the Sixth Circuit to delay issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Latest Loss With the Sixth Circuit In her latest appeal, Davis argued that Judge Bunning went beyond his authority in extending his order to include all couples that Davis denied instead of limiting the order to the original four parties that sued her....

Some of us suffered through law school with the hope of a designer-shoe-filled future serving as our light at the end of the tunnel. For us, the day Christian Louboutin sued Yves Saint Laurent for trademark infringement was the BEST. DAY. EVER. But the Second Circuit’s decision in the Louboutin-YSL red-soled shoe showdown left a void in our lives. So it’s with great joy that we announce that Monsieur Louboutin was kind enough to return to the Second Circuit for an encore performance involving a court order in the case....

Big news from Nebraska! The state legislature voted 30-19 to override the veto of Governor Pete Ricketts, thereby abolishing the death penalty in that state. Nebraska is the first conservative state in 40 years to abolish the death penalty, The New York Times reported, and the vote cut across party lines. Gov. Ricketts vetoed the measure, Legislative Bill 268, which would have replaced lethal injection with life without parole. The move to outlaw the death penalty came as Nebraska exhausted its supply of sodium thiopental, one of the three drugs used in the lethal injection mixture....

In plaintiff’s action against defendant claiming that it fraudulently claimed that a lamp designed to relieve pain and improve circulation was approved by the FDA for the treatment of a condition involving numbness and tingling in the extremities caused by diabetes and other diseases, judgment in favor of the defendant is affirmed as there is serious doubt whether the plaintiff ever had a good-faith basis for claiming damages in excess of $75,000, and by adding a federal claim after removal, plaintiff brought its suit within the federal-question jurisdiction of the district court and its state-law claims within the district court’s supplemental jurisdiction, which has no minimum amount in controversy requirement....

Four cases. Eleven consolidated appeals. A bunch of big-name healthcare administrators. What more could you want? Thursday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court ruling barring state budget cuts to Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, because the Secretary of Health and Human Services has exclusive authority to determine whether a state can cut Medicaid rates while continue to comply with the Medicaid rules, the Sacramento Bee reports....

In an appeal from a bankruptcy court’s order denying debtors’ objection to a claim by the IRS, the order is affirmed where: 1) the bankruptcy court’s finding that a notice of deficiency was mailed to debtors, based on a certified mail log stamped by the Postal Service and a partial copy of the notice, was not clearly erroneous; 2) debtors identified no affirmative misconduct on the part of the IRS warranting an estoppel; and 3) their argument that the certified mail log was inadmissible was waived....