Court: US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Docket: 20–15009
Opinion Date: April 6, 2021
Judge: Carlos T. Bea
Areas of Law: Personal Injury, Products Liability
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Intuitive Surgical, the designer and manufacturer of the da Vinci surgical robot, in a product liability action brought by the plaintiff and her husband, holding that the action was time-barred under California’s two-year statute of limitations under California Code of Civil Procedure 335.1. The panel concluded that the two-year California-not three-year Connecticut-statute of limitations applies to the plaintiff’s claim…
Court: US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Docket: 20–50200
Opinion Date: April 6, 2021
Judge: Don R. Willett
Areas of Law: Government & Administrative Law, Military Law, Personal Injury
In 2015, a soldier stationed at Fort Hood fatally shot his neighbors, his wife, and himself. The victims’ families filed suit under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) and the district court entered final judgment in favor of the United States, dismissing the case with prejudice. The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal, concluding that the district court did not commit a clear error in finding that the harm to the victims was not foreseeable to the Army. The court explained that, under Texas law, a plaintiff must show both foreseeability and cause in fact to establish proximate causation.
Continue reading here: https://freewaylaw.com/kristensen-v-united-states/
Originally published at https://freewaylaw.com on May 9, 2021.
Court: US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Docket: 19–863
Opinion Date: April 7, 2021
Judge: Amalya Lyle Kearse
Areas of Law: Banking, Government & Administrative Law, International Law, Personal Injury
The Second Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of the operative amended complaints in two actions seeking to hold the defendant bank liable under the Antiterrorism Act of 1990 (ATA), for providing banking services to a charitable organization with alleged ties to Hamas, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) alleged to have committed a series of terrorist attacks in Israel in 2001–2004. The actions also seek to deny…
Court: US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
Docket: 19–1776
Opinion Date: March 31, 2021
Judge: Katzmann
Areas of Law: Drugs & Biotech, Personal Injury
The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of CVS Pharmacy, Inc. and dismissing this complaint involving a pharmacist’s dispensation of a prescription that triggered the pharmacy’s internal warning system, holding that the district court did not err. Plaintiff brought this action alleging that he sustained permanent ocular damages as a result of a medication dispensed by CVS.
Continue reading here: https://freewaylaw.com/carrozza-v-cvs-pharmacy-inc/
Originally published at https://freewaylaw.com on May 7, 2021.
Court: California Courts of Appeal
Docket: E073950(Fourth Appellate District)
Opinion Date: April 6, 2021
Judge: Miller
Areas of Law: Class Action, Consumer Law, Landlord — Tenant
In a fifth amended class action complaint, plaintiffs Kelly Peviani, Judy Rudolph, and Zachary Rudolph, on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated, sued defendants Arbors at California Oaks Property Owner, LLC and JRK Residential Group, Inc. Plaintiffs alleged “Defendants advertise with colorful brochures and promising language that the Property is a safe, habitable, and luxurious place to live, with numerous amenities including a playground, cabanas and lounges, tennis and basketball courts, a rock-climbing…
Court: Alaska Supreme Court
Docket: S-17157
Opinion Date: April 2, 2021
Judge: Peter J. Maassen
Areas of Law: Class Action, Constitutional Law, Labor & Employment Law
Members of the plaintiff class were former Alaska State employees. When they enrolled in the State employee retirement system, a statute provided that if they left eligible employment, withdrew their contributions to the system, and later returned to eligible employment, they could repay their withdrawn contributions, be reinstated to their original benefits level, and have their credited service time restored. The statute was later repealed.
Continue reading here: https://freewaylaw.com/metcalfe-v-alaska/
Originally published at https://freewaylaw.com on May 5, 2021.
Court: US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Docket: 19–56514
Opinion Date: April 6, 2021
Judge: Patrick J. Bumatay
Areas of Law: Class Action
The Ninth Circuit vacated the district court’s order certifying three classes in a multi-district antitrust case alleging a price-fixing conspiracy by StarKist and Tri-Union, producers of packaged tuna. Producers challenged the district court’s determination that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3)’s “predominance” requirement was satisfied by expert statistical evidence finding classwide impact based on averaging assumptions and pooled transaction data. Although the panel has not previously addressed the proper burden of proof at the class certification stage, the panel held that a district court must find by a preponderance of the evidence that the plaintiff has established predominance under Rule 23(b)(3).
Continue reading here: https://freewaylaw.com/olean-wholesale-grocery-cooperative-inc-v-bumble-bee-foods/
Originally published at https://freewaylaw.com on May 4, 2021.
Court: US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Docket: 19–2233
Opinion Date: April 13, 2021
Judge: Niemeyer
Areas of Law: Antitrust & Trade Regulation, Class Action, Drugs & Biotech
Plaintiffs filed an antitrust class action against Actelion, alleging that Actelion extended its patent monopoly for its branded drug Tracleer — a drug to treat pulmonary artery hypertension — beyond the patent’s expiration date. Plaintiffs claimed that Actelion did so “through illegitimate means” with the intent of precluding competition from generic drug manufacturers and charging supracompetitive prices for Tracleer, in violation of federal and state antitrust laws. Plaintiffs further claimed…
Court: Supreme Court of Virginia
Docket: 200335
Opinion Date: April 15, 2021
Judge: LeRoy F. Millette, Jr.
Areas of Law: Personal Injury
The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court awarding compensatory and punitive damages arising from Appellants’ intentional statutory torts of racial harassment and stalking, holding that the evidence was sufficient to support the award. William Ellis, a black man, worked for John Powell, a white man, and his company, Northern Virginia Kitchen, Bath & Basement, Inc. (NVKBB) as an independent contractor. A dispute arose when Ellis worked at the home of a certain homeowner, referred to as Ms. C. NVKBB filed a complaint against Ms. C and Ellis, alleging, inter alia, defamation.
Continue reading here: https://freewaylaw.com/northern-virginia-kitchen-bath-basement-v-ellis/
Originally published at https://freewaylaw.com on May 2, 2021.
Court: Supreme Court of Ohio
Citation: 2021-Ohio-1241
Opinion Date: April 14, 2021
Judge: Per Curiam
Areas of Law: Personal Injury
The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals denying Appellant’s complaint about a writ of mandamus to compel the Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office to bring felonious assault charges against Ronald Collins and Courtney Lykans for injuries that Appellant’s infant daughter sustained while she was in their care, holding that the court of appeals did not abuse its discretion. After Appellant’s daughter sustained life-threatening injuries Lykans and Collins were indicted on third-degree felony counts of child endangering. Lykans pled no contest to the charge, and Collins pled no contest to an amended fourth-degree felony charge of attempting child endangering.
Continue reading here: https://freewaylaw.com/state-ex-rel-whittaker-v-lucas-county-prosecutors-office/
Originally published at https://freewaylaw.com on May 1, 2021.
