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An unemployed job hunter can proceed with his lawsuit against Spokeo claiming violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Ninth Circuit ruled. For those of you unfamiliar Spokeo: It’s a creepily comprehensive data aggregating website with the slogan, “not your grandmother’s phonebook.” According to Forbes, it’s also notoriously inaccurate. Go ahead, check yourself out – just don’t be surprised if you see yourself listed as the only child of a distant cousin whom you haven’t seen in years....

Today, it’s not uncommon for kids to get a mobile phone or other electronic devices at a young age. And almost all of them (including you) bring their “smart" phones or devices to school. With so many kids involved in extracurricular activities after school, and parents carpooling and using apps like Lyft and Uber to transport their children here and there, this makes sense. And we also all too often see stories on the news about violence in high schools, and how kids in trouble are able to reach the police and their parents....

First Amendment Case Involving Student In DeFabio v. E. Hampton Union Free Sch. Dist., No. 09-4407, a case involving a student’s assertion of a First Amendment right to return to school and make a statement disavowing a racial slur attributed to him, wherein plaintiff alleged violations of a student’s rights to freedom of speech, freedom of association, due process and equal protection under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, as well as related state law claims, the court affirmed summary judgment for defendants where the school officials alleged to have violated the student’s rights were entitled to qualified immunity from such claims where the record demonstrated a significant probability that the student would be assaulted were he permitted to return to school and deliver his message....

Got bad precedent? Differentiate it. Did a question certified to a state court come out not in your favor? Try to spin it. But remember, there are limits to legal interpretation. If you’re not careful, you might soon find yourself simply denying reality. This is exactly what happened to FedEx, according to the Seventh Circuit. For nine years, FedEx had classified its drivers as independent contractors, not employees, leading to litigation throughout the country....

The government is entitled to a little latitude when asserting the untimeliness of an appeal, according to a recent Third Circuit decision. Abdul Kariem Muhammud pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon pursuant to a written plea agreement in which he waived his right to appeal or collaterally attack the judgment of conviction....

It’s hard to understand how a hospital worker would not believe in vaccinations. But to each his own, and apparently it wasn’t a problem for Paul Fallon when he went to work for Mercy Catholic Medical Center. When Fallon refused to be vaccinated for the flu, however, that was another issue. The hospital fired him, he sued, and a trial judge dismissed. That would have been the end of the story, but then he appealed to the U....

It happens every day. People get arrested on criminal charges by law enforcement and put in jail. Sometimes it’s only an overnight stay or one that lasts a few days. But sometimes it’s for something more serious, and people end up behind bars for months or years. Connections with friends and family members weaken, and one day those friends and family may wonder what happened to the person they knew in the correctional system....

The Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed a lower federal district court’s ruling that Maurice Vaughn (former pro baseball “Mo” Vaughn) must be held accountable for fees and penalties arising out of his accountant’s breach of fiduciary duties to him. Does good faith selection of a financial manager shield you from the consequent fees and penalties assessed against you by the IRS? Surprise! No, you’re still hosed. Cheating and Embezzling Maurice “Mo” Vaughn hired a financial company and its owners to manage his finances sometime in 2004....

A 20-year-old immigrant who pleaded guilty to statutory rape of his 16-year-old girlfriend cannot be deported under federal law for sexual abuse of a minor, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled. In a unanimous ruling in Esquivel-Quintana v. Sessions, the High Court said that the age of consent for statutory rape is younger than 16 under federal law. The defendant was convicted under California law, which criminalizes consensual sex between an adult and anyone who is under 18....

Immigrants housed in civil detention facilities will have greater access to bond hearings and potential release thanks to a Ninth Circuit ruling yesterday. Currently, thousands of immigrants are held in detention facilities for extended periods of time, awaiting rulings on their immigration status. Those detainees will now have a greater chance of gaining release on bond while they wait for their case to be settled, thanks to the Ninth Circuit....

Although more unemployment relief is desperately needed by millions across the country, and a second stimulus check package has yet to be approved, President Trump’s announcement of a new unemployment extension might not be all that plausible. $400 of Hypothetical Relief House Democrats previously passed the HEROES Act, which would have provided an additional $600 a week in unemployment benefits for the rest of 2020. But Republicans in Congress had their own idea: the HEALS Act, which would provide an additional $200 a week through September until a partial wage-replacement program would kick in in October....

Motorola makes phones. It makes nearly all of those phones in Asia. It buys its components from Asian suppliers. So, for all you 1Ls out there, here is the question: can a U.S. company sue on behalf of its Asian subsidiaries over price fixing that occurred in commerce that was exclusively carried out in Asia? It is, after all, a U.S. parent company. But the subsidiary companies are Asian and the suppliers are Asian....

A nursing home patient’s agreement to arbitrate “any and all disputes” against the facility doesn’t prevent his estate from bringing a wrongful death suit after he died in the home’s care, the Sixth Circuit ruled last Friday. The court rejected arguments that the Federal Arbitration Act gave the nursing home the right to compel arbitration, finding that the FAA did not change Kentucky state law on wrongful death suits. Charlie Nichols was admitted to the Kenwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Richmond, Kentucky in 2011....

A class action suit against ersatz-Chinese food chain P.F. Chang’s is allowed to proceed, said the Seventh Circuit, because two separate plaintiffs had alleged “enough” to meet the Twombly standards of standing in this breach of data case. The circuit’s ruling upholds the 2014 finding that a breach and increased risk of identity theft is “injury” enough for justiciability. P.F. Chang’s was one of the many businesses that was afflicted in recent years by the 2014-2015 data hack attacks....

For us Supreme Court geeks, the summer recess is a pretty difficult time. After the flurry of important decision in June, addressing same-sex marriage, voting rights, and DNA cataloging of arrestees, we were left in SCOTUS silence for three months. Now, even with the rest of the government on shutdown, the nation’s most important court is set to resume official business on Monday. In their honor, we’ll be covering everything SCOTUS across nearly all of our Legal Professionals blogs....

In Singh v. Napolitano, No. 07-16988, the court affirmed the denial of petitioner’s habeas petition, holding that the Attorney General’s decision in Compean II, which affirmed the Ninth Circuit’s language in Lata and Dearinger, did not create “new duties” for petitioner with respect to his habeas petition. Spencer v. World Vision, Inc., No. 08-35532, concerned an action alleging discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by employees of a religious organization....

District court’s dismissal of plaintiff-trust accounts beneficiary’s class action against bank and its holding company on state-law claims of breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract is affirmed as the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act of 1998 bars plaintiff’s claims. Read Segal v. Fifth Third Bank, N.A., No. 08-3576 Appellate Information Argued:June 11, 2009 Decided and Filed: September 17, 2009 Judges Opinion by Judge Sutton Counsel For Appellant: David A....

Assisted suicide is mostly illegal in the U.S., but momentum for greater legalization appears to be growing. So, however, are concerns. Euthanasia, the act of deliberately ending a person’s life to relieve suffering, is illegal in every state under general homicide laws. However, assisted suicide, suicides committed with the assistance of a physician, is legal in 10 states with several legislatures currently considering legalization. By one measure, the timeline for legal assisted suicide in the U....

Can religious institutions fire employees who carry out some religious instruction even if it would otherwise violate federal antidiscrimination laws? Can employers refuse to provide contraceptive coverage to employees if they have religious or moral objections? The Supreme Court answered yes to both questions in two important First Amendment cases decided on July 8. The two cases continue a line of decisions promoting independence for religious organizations and beliefs under the First Amendment....

Action Alleging Retaliatory Termination In Thomas v. iStar Fin., Inc., No. 07-5327, an action claiming that plaintiff’s termination was in retaliation for complaints he had made about his supervisor’s alleged misconduct, the court affirmed partial judgment for plaintiff where 1) plaintiff had no mechanism by which to challenge the district court’s constitutional analysis related to punitive damages; 2) no reasonable jury could have found the “occasional and isolated” events plaintiff complained of were severe or pervasive enough to create an abusive work environment; and 3) defendants could not point to anywhere in the record where they objected to the district court submitting the issue of back-pay damages to the jury....