2017 Sixth Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law
Opinions 501 - 1000 of 1157
Date: July 19, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1522
Justia Opinion Summary: The Alger County, Michigan dispatch center received a report that Mitchell had assaulted “Kevin,” had been drinking, and was “swerving all over the road.” Officer Schlabach identified Mitchell’s car, followed it into a…
Date: July 19, 2017
Docket Number: 16-6285
Justia Opinion Summary: Perry conditionally pled guilty to conspiring to possess narcotics with intent to distribute. On appeal, Perry argued that the activities indicating drug sales that were observed over the seven weeks before the issuance…
Date: July 17, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2611
Justia Opinion Summary: Ataya pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. In his plea agreement, he relinquished any right to appeal his conviction or sentence “on any grounds.” Atatya nonetheless appealed. The…
Date: July 17, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3606
Justia Opinion Summary: The Unions represents the pilots of merged airlines Flight Options and Flexjet. Flight Options and its pilots have had a collective bargaining agreement since 2010, while Flexjet’s pilots are newly unionized and are not…
Date: July 17, 2017
Docket Number: 16-6598
Justia Opinion Summary: Crosby, a tenured professor at the University of Kentucky’s College of Public Health, brought suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 and state law, claiming that his removal as Department Chair amounted to a deprivation of his…
Date: July 14, 2017
Docket Number: 16-6603
Justia Opinion Summary: The Burkes filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition, listing their Chattanooga home as worth $108,000, with a $91,581 mortgage debt. Jahn, the appointed trustee, sought an eviction order, stating that he could not sell the…
Date: July 13, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-3732, 16-3360
Justia Opinion Summary: The Tennessee Republican Party, the Georgia Republican Party, and the New York Republican State Committee challenged the legality of 2016 amendments to rules proposed by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB)…
Date: July 13, 2017
Docket Number: 16-6668
Justia Opinion Summary: Albaadani came to the U.S. via Saudi Arabia at age 17. In 2015, an order of removal was issued against him because his former wife ceased to sponsor his request for citizenship. Albaadani wants to return to his…
Date: July 12, 2017
Docket Numbers: 08-3023, 15-3578
Justia Opinion Summary: Over the last 10 years, the Federal Communications Commission has established rules governing how local governments may regulate cable companies. In 2007, the FCC barred franchising authorities from imposing…
Date: July 12, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-3105, 16-3427, 16-3578
Justia Opinion Summary: Harold Persaud, M.D., a cardiologist in private practice, was charged with one count of health-care fraud, 18 U.S.C. 1347, 14 counts of making false statements relating to health-care matters, 18 U.S.C. 1035, and one…
Date: July 11, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3741
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, Besse, a pharmaceutical distributor, sent a one-page fax advertising the drug Prolia to 53,502 physicians. Only 40,343 of these faxes were successfully transmitted. Sandusky, a chiropractic clinic that employed…
Date: July 11, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3752
Justia Opinion Summary: After the 2008 financial crisis, many banks foreclosed on many properties used to secure the underlying loans. According to the City of Cincinnati, Wells Fargo adopted a policy of violating local and state property…
Date: July 10, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2503
Justia Opinion Summary: Schock was charged with four counts of sexually exploiting a child, 18 U.S.C. 2251, based on four incidents of Schock taking sexually explicit pictures of a six- to eight-year-old victim. The indictment did not identify…
Date: July 10, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4201
Justia Opinion Summary: T.F., a child, was abused and killed by his stepfather. In a complaint under 42 U.S.C. 1983, T.F.’s estate alleged that Arnold, the Interim Executive Director of the Mahoning County Children’s Services Board, received…
Date: July 10, 2017
Docket Number: 16-5587
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005, Sutton committed four armed bank robberies in quick succession in Kentucky and Ohio. He agreed to plead guilty to the Kentucky charges in the Southern District of Ohio. Sutton never formally entered a guilty…
Date: July 10, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-6105, 16-5979
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Williamson, an Army veteran and U.S. postal worker, began experiencing pain in his right foot. He usually worked a walking route, walking up to eight miles per day on the job. He was also doing other physical…
Date: July 5, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2480
Justia Opinion Summary: Eight-year-old KV accused her 17-year-old uncle, JAS, of vaginally raping her on tribal land. The FBI interviewed KV, who described the assault to an interviewer who had conducted more than 5,000 such interviews. JAS was…
Date: July 3, 2017
Docket Number: 16-8041
Justia Opinion Summary: The Isaacs executed a mortgage to GMAC encumbering their Kentucky property. It states: “The lien ... will attach on the date this Mortgage is recorded.” The Isaacses filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition in March 2004,…
Date: June 29, 2017
Docket Number: 15-4007
Justia Opinion Summary: Sene, a citizen of both Mauritania and Senegal, was charged in removal proceedings, alleging that she was admitted to the U.S. in 2000, without a valid entry or travel document. She sought asylum, withholding of removal,…
Date: June 29, 2017
Docket Number: 16-5145
Justia Opinion Summary: Parrino worked as a pharmacist for NRS. He was responsible for preparing medications, mainly inhalers. After leaving NRS, Parrino was contacted by the FDA and FBI, which were investigating reports that NRS was filling…
Date: June 28, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1691
Justia Opinion Summary: From 2011-2014, House ran a drug-trafficking operation that specialized in distributing oxycodone pills. The operation obtained the pills from a Michigan pain clinic’s patients and employed runners to transport the…
Date: June 28, 2017
Docket Number: 17-3076
Justia Opinion Summary: Ohio’s execution protocol allows for lethal injection using a three-drug combination of midazolam; either vecuronium bromide, pancuronium bromide, or rocuronium bromide, which are paralytics; and potassium chloride,…
Date: June 27, 2017
Docket Number: 14-6158
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Stitt tried to shove a loaded handgun into his girlfriend’s mouth while threatening to kill her. When a neighbor called the police, Stitt fled, then surrendered to authorities after a brief foot chase. …
Date: June 26, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4235
Justia Opinion Summary: Great Lakes Brewing sought to end its relationship with one of its distributors, Glazer’s., after it executed a corporate merger without seeking Great Lakes’ consent, as required by their contract. Glazer’s successor…
Date: June 22, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-1205, 16-1255
Justia Opinion Summary: Michigan Flyer provides public transportation services to the Detroit Metro area and provides services on behalf of the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority. In 2014, two disabled individuals sued the Wayne County…
Date: June 21, 2017
Docket Number: 14-6063
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs brought suit under the Fair Labor Standards Act against their employer, FTS, a cable-television business for which the plaintiffs work or worked as cable technicians. The district court certified the case as…
Date: June 21, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3791
Justia Opinion Summary: MISO, a nonprofit association of utilities, manages electrical transmission facilities for its members. Beginning in 2006, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved changes to MISO’s Tariff that enabled it…
Date: June 20, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-1695, 16-1697, 16-1698
Justia Opinion Summary: Reid founded Capitol, which owned commmunity banks, and served as its chairman and CEO. His daughter and her husband served as president and general counsel. Capitol accepted Federal Reserve oversight in 2009. In 2012,…
Date: June 20, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2478
Justia Opinion Summary: Two men robbed a store. The security video shows that one pointed a shotgun at the clerk. The gunman wore a black sweatshirt with a white skeleton pattern that zipped to form a skull hood. The gunman’s exposed hands…
Date: June 20, 2017
Docket Number: 16-8036
Justia Opinion Summary: The Debtor owned nonresidential real estate that FNB sold in a pre-petition foreclosure sale. Before Debtor's bankruptcy filing, FNB obtained a deficiency judgment and filed two judicial liens. During her chapter 7 case,…
Date: June 15, 2017
Docket Number: 16-5170
Justia Opinion Summary: An unidentified individual alleged that Doe had engaged in nonconsensual sexual activities with a female University of Kentucky student. After an investigation, a Hearing Panel found that Doe had violated the Code of…
Date: June 14, 2017
Docket Number: 16-6269
Justia Opinion Summary: Critical Access Hospitals are reimbursed by Medicare for the reasonable and necessary costs of providing services to Medicare patients. The Medicaid program requires states to provide additional (DSH) payments to…
Date: June 13, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3548
Justia Opinion Summary: Underwood’s step-granddaughter (Jane) told her mother that Underwood had sex with her in August 2014. According to Jane, she and her cousin (John) had gone on a work trip with Underwood in his semi-truck. Jane, John, and…
Date: June 12, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4172
Justia Opinion Summary: Raymond, injured in a slip-and-fall accident, received medical treatment at Mercy Health Anderson Hospital. Strunk, injured in a car accident, received medical treatment at Mercy Health Clermont Hospital. Both have…
Date: June 9, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2132
Justia Opinion Summary: Matovski, a UPS operations manager who has a disability, filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charge, claiming that UPS discriminated and retaliated against him in violation of the Americans with…
Date: June 9, 2017
Docket Number: 16-6244
Justia Opinion Summary: Monie was charged with conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine, 21 U.S.C. 846 (Count 1); possession with intent to distribute, aided by others, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and 18 U.S.C. 2 (Count 6); use of a firearm in…
Date: June 8, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3817
Justia Opinion Summary: Corey worked as a machine operator in Eaton’s Ohio factory. Corey has long suffered from cluster headaches— extremely painful attacks that strike several times per day for weeks on end. In 2014, Corey applied for…
Date: June 5, 2017
Docket Number: 16-6149
Justia Opinion Summary: A state court in Kent County, Michigan, issued an arrest warrant for Riley, having found probable cause to believe that he had committed armed robbery of a local store. Days later, Riley purchased a cell phone serviced…
Date: June 2, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2060
Justia Opinion Summary: LCS, a nondenominational Christian school in Livingston County, Michigan, sought to relocate after operating for several years in Pinckney, LCS entered into a lease agreement to operate its school on the property of…
Date: May 31, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1466
Justia Opinion Summary: Twenty-three Michigan landowners filed suit in the Western District of Michigan, seeking damages in excess of $10,000 for the claimed taking of their land for use as a public recreation trail, alleging: a declaratory…
Date: May 31, 2017
Docket Number: 16-5396
Justia Opinion Summary: Harkness was commissioned as a Navy Chaplain Corps officer in 1987, endorsed by a non-liturgical Christian church. Harkness left active duty in 1995 and took reserve status. In 2000, Harkness and other non-liturgical…
Date: May 30, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3325
Justia Opinion Summary: Baker pled guilty to participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy. Baker had a criminal history category of IV; the plea agreement stipulated that 100-200 grams of cocaine be attributed to Baker and that his total…
Date: May 30, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4004
Date: May 26, 2017
Docket Number: 15-6395
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, Defendant was arrested on an outstanding warrant. Pursuant to a search incident to arrest, police found on Defendant’s person 17 rounds of ammunition. Defendant pleaded guilty as a felon in possession of…
Date: May 26, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1385
Justia Opinion Summary: The National Labor Relations Board sought enforcement of its Order finding that AEI violated the National Labor Relations Act by barring employees from pursuing class-action litigation or collective arbitration of…
Date: May 26, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3317
Justia Opinion Summary: Anita drove her son, Omar, to Lowe’s, to pick up his last paycheck. When the assistant manager approached, Omar “started talking a lot of gibberish” and eventually began throwing paint cans. Officers, responding to a 911…
Date: May 24, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-1434, 16-1654
Justia Opinion Summary: Ridgeway was employed as a Stryker sales representative from 2001-2013. Stryker’s faxed employment offer stated Ridgeway’s employment was contingent on his signing and returning an offer letter, a form non-compete…
Date: May 23, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3130
Justia Opinion Summary: Andrews was charged with conspiring to possess cocaine with intent to distribute, 21 U.S.C. 841(b)(1)(A) and 846; conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and threats of physical violence, 18 U.S.C. 1951; aiding…
Date: May 18, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3270
Justia Opinion Summary: Sixth Circuit upholds BIA interpretation of "previously filed" application for adjustment of status. In 2001, Sofokli, a citizen of Albania, entered the U.S. under a visitor visa. Four months after it expired, his…
Date: May 18, 2017
Docket Number: 16-5164
Justia Opinion Summary: Statute is not unconstitutionally vague for providing a stiffer penalty for receipt than for possession of child pornography A Kentucky Detective used Nordic Mule, a law enforcement software package, to search for IP…
Date: May 15, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2396
Justia Opinion Summary: Owners, having relied on an external audit, did not “willfully” fail to pay trust fund taxes. Four investors bought Eagle Trim, which produced automobile interior-trim parts. Byrne (president) and Kus (CEO) were…
Date: May 15, 2017
Docket Number: 16-6291
Justia Opinion Summary: Sixth Circuit upholds allowing jury questions in online extortion case. Using the pseudonym “Dr. Evil,” an extortionist demanded $1 million in Bitcoin in exchange for an encryption key to Mitt Romney’s unreleased tax…
Date: May 11, 2017
Docket Number: 16-5103
Justia Opinion Summary: Reporting regulatory violations “up the chain” to supervisory governmental employees can constitute speech on a matter of public concern, for purposes of First Amendment retaliation claim. Mayhew, a long-time employee of…
Date: May 10, 2017
Docket Number: 16-5244
Justia Opinion Summary: Member of Naval Reserve, terminated by private employer, established a prima facie case under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). Savage worked as an aviation mechanic for FedEx,…
Date: May 3, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1830
Justia Opinion Summary: Sixth Circuit finds little likelihood of confusion between the trademarks “OrderLink” and “UPS OrderLink.” Progressive, located in Michigan, provides logistical services to online businesses. Under the trademark …
Date: May 2, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1812
Justia Opinion Summary: Debtor-landlord did not retain sufficient rights in rents assigned to lender for those rents to be included in landlord's bankruptcy estate. Town Center owns a 53-unit Shelby Township residential complex; its…
Date: May 2, 2017
Docket Number: 16-6412
Justia Opinion Summary: Damages-only action under 42 U.S.C. 1983 against county clerk who had refused to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple is not moot. The Sixth Circuit reversed dismissal of such a case, noting: the Supreme Court’s…
Date: April 28, 2017
Docket Number: 16-6166
Justia Opinion Summary: The Sixth Circuit affirmed the Bankruptcy Court’s order in Conco’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy, interpreting Conco’s Confirmed Plan to prohibit the sale of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)-held Conco stock (Equity…
Date: April 26, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4127
Justia Opinion Summary: Griffin pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the government by submitting false income tax refund claims to obtain refund anticipation checks. Griffin agreed, in writing, that the maximum penalty was up to 10 years’…
Date: April 25, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1200
Justia Opinion Summary: After the city began using the Flint River as its water source in 2014, residents complained that the water was discolored and foul-smelling. There were reports of skin rashes, hair loss, and vomiting after drinking and…
Date: April 21, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1550
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014-2015, Schmückle, a German citizen living in Germany, served as MAG Group’s CEO and managing director of MAG Germany. In 2015, MAG Holdings and MAG US sued (in Michigan) for breach of fiduciary duty, professional…
Date: April 20, 2017
Docket Number: 06-2224
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, the Sixth Circuit held that the retired employees of Meritor and Meritor’s predecessors had a vested right to lifetime healthcare benefits. A petition for rehearing was held in abeyance for eight years while…
Date: April 20, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2285
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, Medicare-eligible retirees from Kelsey-Hayes' Detroit automotive plant, retired before the plant’s 2001 closing and were members of a UAW bargaining unit. The final (1998) collective bargaining agreement…
Date: April 20, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2382
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, CNH employees who retired between 1994 and 2004, filed suit in 2004, seeking a declaration that they were entitled to lifetime healthcare benefits without paying premiums, based on collective-bargaining…
Date: April 20, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4026
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellees brought a collection action against Lyshe and served Lyshe with discovery requests. They did not send a separate electronic copy, but instructed Lyshe to contact them if he wanted an electronic copy. Requests…
Date: April 20, 2017
Docket Number: 16-5614
Justia Opinion Summary: After taking time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), 29 U.S.C. 2601, for mental-health problems, which are a disability covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. 12112, Marshall was…
Date: April 19, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3375
Justia Opinion Summary: Thomas’s apartment door opened to a breezeway that led to a parking lot. When two men broke through Destin’s door. Destin called 911 from his bedroom and spoke quietly to avoid drawing the burglars’ attention. The men…
Date: April 17, 2017
Docket Number: 16-8019
Justia Opinion Summary: In his 2010 Chapter 7 petition, the debtor listed a claim against Simms based on an injury while under Simms’ employ, but did not claim an exemption on Schedule C. In 2011, a complaint was filed against Simms; in 2012,…
Date: April 14, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2238
Justia Opinion Summary: Myers, born in 1958, has used 105 other names, 11 other dates of birth, and 11 other social security numbers to devote his life to stealing. His criminal record began at age 12, when he was charged with shoplifting. He…
Date: April 14, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3496
Justia Opinion Summary: Nearly 20 years after defendants built, sold, and leased back a Rockport Indiana coal-burning power plant, they committed, in a consent decree resolving lawsuits involving alleged Clean Air Act violations at their other…
Date: April 12, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1832
Justia Opinion Summary: Phillips worked at the MGM Detroit casino from 1999-2015. Beginning in 2001, she belonged to Local 7777, a UAW International affiliate. In 2002, she became the Local’s chairperson. Phillips, an African-American,…
Date: April 11, 2017
Docket Number: 16-6480
Date: April 10, 2017
Docket Number: 16-5552
Justia Opinion Summary: Memphis animal-control officer Lynch investigated a third complaint of animal cruelty at Moore's house. Moore did not come to the door. Moore’s neighbor, Hillis, told Lynch that Moore had threatened her and that she…
Date: April 7, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3449
Justia Opinion Summary: The economic health of Cliffs, a publicly-traded iron-ore and coal-mining company, depends on Chinese economic growth. In 2011, Chinese construction projects drove iron-ore prices to all-time highs. Cliffs financed the…
Date: April 6, 2017
Docket Number: 17-3076
Justia Opinion Summary: Ohio’s execution protocol allows for lethal injection using a three-drug combination of midazolam; either vecuronium bromide, pancuronium bromide, or rocuronium bromide, which are paralytics; and potassium chloride,…
Date: April 4, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1818
Justia Opinion Summary: Hill suffered a diabetic emergency. Paramedics, including Streeter, found Hill very disoriented and combative. Streeter tested Hill’s blood-sugar level, which was extremely low at 38. As blood sugar falls, a person…
Date: April 4, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2239
Justia Opinion Summary: Convicted as a felon in possession of a firearm, Harris was sentenced to 300 months’ imprisonment under the Armed Career Criminal Act’s residual clause. After the Supreme Court invalidated the residual clause, Harris…
Date: April 3, 2017
Docket Numbers: 15-4112, 15-4113, 15-4183
Justia Opinion Summary: Akron police stopped Patterson for a traffic violation. They noticed an open container of alcohol and found a pistol in the driver’s door. Patterson stated that he had bought the gun on “the street.” Police learned…
Date: March 31, 2017
Docket Number: 15-5746
Justia Opinion Summary: Based on evidence that someone was downloading child pornography, agents executed a search warrant for a Halls, Tennessee home. Agents spoke to the homeowner, his wife, and their 21-year-old, live-in son, Lindell. During…
Date: March 31, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1185
Justia Opinion Summary: While implementing changes required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, Michigan experienced a systemic computer problem that erroneously assigned thousands of non-citizens, who may have been…
Date: March 31, 2017
Docket Number: 16-5533
Justia Opinion Summary: Online retailers (Amazon) operate a Shepherdsville, Kentucky warehouse fulfillment center, where hourly workers fill orders, track merchandise, and process returns. Plaintiffs regularly worked at least 40 hours a week. …
Date: March 30, 2017
Docket Number: 15-4192
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002, King pled guilty in Ohio under three indictments, asserting that King and others had robbed and kidnapped Lundberg, robbed and kidnapped Mariano, and committed aggravated robbery against five victims, all “on or…
Date: March 30, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3822
Justia Opinion Summary: Employers are signatories to collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) with the Operating Engineers Union, providing that “the Employer shall employ Operating Engineers for the erection, operation, assembly and…
Date: March 27, 2017
Docket Number: 15-1671
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Norwood-Charlier invited Lively and Bryon to his Kalamazoo, Michigan home. The men met in online chatrooms: Lively lived in California, and Quackenbush in Nevada. Norwood-Charlier lived with his father’s…
Date: March 27, 2017
Docket Number: 16-5949
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1998, Breeden was found dead in the Kentucky River. King was a suspect because of her sporadic relationship with Breeden, because she had bullet holes inside her home, and because, after Breeden’s disappearance, King…
Date: March 24, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1381
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose from an FBI investigation into plaintiff and his involvement in attacks made by an ethnic Albanian group against facilities in Montenegro. Plaintiff filed suit under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA),…
Date: March 24, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-5158, 16-5149, 16-5150, 16-5151, 16-5152, 16-5153, 16-5154, 16-5155, 16-5156, 16-5157
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, municipal corporations operate the local “emergency communications” or “911” programs in their respective counties, alleged that the telephone company, to reduce costs, offer lower prices, and obtain more…
Date: March 23, 2017
Docket Number: 11-5707
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1997, Louisville police discovered the bodies of a male victim with nine stab wounds and a pregnant female victim, dead as a result of manual strangulation and stabbed after her death. Wheeler, ultimately convicted of…
Date: March 23, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-3053, 16-3052
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Mosley's Wickliffe, Ohio Motel needed a tenant for its lounge. Miller's nightclub in neighboring Willoughby had drawn the ire of law enforcement. The two executed a lease; Miller applied for permits. Miller…
Date: March 23, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3265
Justia Opinion Summary: Linkletter signed an online petition supporting a Cincinnati women’s shelter after she had accepted a position with W&S. W&S rescinded the employment agreement because she signed the petition while the company was…
Date: March 21, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3083
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2001, returning from visiting his ailing father, Lopez, a citizen of Guatemala, crossed the Rio Grande into Texas. The border patrol arrested Lopez. Lopez lied about his name and nationality. Thinking that Lopez was a…
Date: March 20, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1967
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, Brown filed a voluntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition, disclosing her ownership of a residence in Ypsilanti, Michigan, valued at $170,000 and subject to $219,000 in secured mortgage claims held by two separate…
Date: March 16, 2017
Docket Number: 15-4339
Justia Opinion Summary: ECM BioFilms manufactures an additive that it claims accelerates the rate at which plastic biodegrades. In 2013, the Federal Trade Commission filed an administrative complaint, claiming that several of ECM’s…
Date: March 16, 2017
Docket Number: 16-5452
Justia Opinion Summary: Morrison pleaded guilty as a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(g), waiving his right to appeal “any sentence . . . within the applicable guideline range, or lower, whatever that guideline range might be.”…
Date: March 15, 2017
Docket Number: 15-5629
Justia Opinion Summary: Two victims were killed in 1999. Phillips was arrested. The primary witness was Phillips’ stepdaughter, a neighbor of the victim. She testified that she heard the confrontation, followed by shooting, and that Phillips…
Date: March 15, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1412
Justia Opinion Summary: Mattox, a Michigan inmate, repeatedly complained of pain in his chest, neck, shoulders, and arms, and shortness of breath and dizziness. After visits to an emergency room, outside cardiologists recommended that Mattox…
Date: March 14, 2017
Docket Number: 16-5942
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs were Cumberland University employees, participating in its 403(b) defined contribution pension plan. In 2009, the University adopted a five percent matching contribution. In 2014, the University amended the…
Date: March 10, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1690
Justia Opinion Summary: Quarles pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(g), without a plea agreement. At his original sentencing, the district court held that Quarles’s conviction for third-degree home invasion…
Date: March 9, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1019
Justia Opinion Summary: Simmerman began working at Shoreline Federal Credit Union in 1987 and became manager in 2006. She began embezzling money, by complex manipulation of ledgers, in 1998 and was discovered in 2014. She pled guilty to…
Date: March 9, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1988
Justia Opinion Summary: Between 2012 and 2014, three University of Michigan students (plaintiffs) rented rooms from Alawi, which collected $2550 in security deposits from the three. When they moved out, they received their security deposits…
Date: March 9, 2017
Docket Number: 16-5524
Justia Opinion Summary: AT&T applied for a permit from the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Planning Commission to build a 125-foot cell-phone tower. Neighboring residents opposed the application, arguing that the tower would spoil the view from…
Date: March 9, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-8025, 16-8027
Justia Opinion Summary: Stubbs filed a pro se Chapter 7 petition before she filed her 2014 tax returns. The Trustee completed the creditors’ meeting in February 2015, instructing Stubbs to send him a copy of her tax returns when filed and to…
Date: March 8, 2017
Docket Number: 16-5700
Justia Opinion Summary: Sizemore drove his car through Great Smoky Mountains National Park with three passengers: Mathes, Clapper, and Trent. All four had been drinking alcohol. At 1:35 a.m., Sizemore crashed the vehicle, killing Trent, and…
Date: March 3, 2017
Docket Number: 16-6254
Justia Opinion Summary: The Internal Revenue Service classified Ballard, a securities broker, as a non-filer in 2008 and investigated. Ballard lied about his income, hid money in family members’ bank accounts, and filed then dismissed several…
Date: March 2, 2017
Docket Number: 15-4360
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was in the getaway car during a store robbery and saw Caldwell give a firearm to Tripp, who robbed the cashier at gunpoint. Weeks later, Caldwell remained in the car while defendant and Williams brandished…
Date: March 2, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3355
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, Kinzel, then CEO of Cedar Fair, borrowed $8,000,000 from Merrill Lynch to finance his exercise of the company’s stock options and to pay estimated taxes that would be due immediately upon exercise. Kinzel…
Date: March 1, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1982
Justia Opinion Summary: The developer sought rezoning for a Rockford condominium project. Objectors filed a protest, triggering the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act's special approval procedure, which requires a super majority vote by the city…
Date: February 24, 2017
Docket Number: 15-5399
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1997, Day, a Memphis armored truck driver, was shot on the job. The shooter took the cash and left in a getaway car. Day died two years later, of complications from his injuries. Authorities identified Thomas as…
Date: February 24, 2017
Docket Number: 15-6200
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1997, a Memphis armored truck driver was shot while working; he died two years later, as a result. The shooter took the cash and left in a getaway car. Authorities identified Thomas as the shooter and Bond as the…
Date: February 23, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-5717, 16-5719
Justia Opinion Summary: Bratt filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, proposing to pay overdue taxes to Nashville, which held a $5,136 over-secured lien on Bratt’s real property. Under 11 U.S.C. 511(a), the interest rate for tax claims should “enable…
Date: February 22, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2437
Justia Opinion Summary: Witzke is currently serving four sentences in the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) for using forged financial instruments. In May 2013, the Parole Board released Witzke on parole for a 15-month term. A year…
Date: February 22, 2017
Docket Number: 15-6410
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, Norcold manufactured the refrigerator and it was installed into a recreational vehicle (RV). The refrigerator had a three-year express limited warranty. In 2010, Norcold issued a recall, informing owners that…
Date: February 21, 2017
Docket Number: 15-6142
Date: February 21, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3445
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, who purchased EveryWare securities in 2013-2014, alleged a “pump and dump” scheme by EveryWare’s principal shareholders and officers to inflate the price of EveryWare shares and then sell their EveryWare…
Date: February 17, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2445
Justia Opinion Summary: Before his jury trial on charges of murder, Watkins submitted four times to psychiatric evaluation. Though the first evaluator found him incompetent, subsequent evaluators found him competent and criminally responsible…
Date: February 17, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2599
Justia Opinion Summary: After receiving notices of federal tax lien and of intent to levy, the taxpayers requested that the IRS hold a Collection Due Process hearing. The IRS took five months to process the request. At the hearing, the…
Date: February 17, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3093
Justia Opinion Summary: Ohio sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, alleging that the federal government illegally collected certain monies from the state in order to supplement the Affordable Care Act’s Transitional Reinsurance…
Date: February 16, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1712
Justia Opinion Summary: Tax attorneys advised the family to use a “domestic international sales corporation” (DISC) to transfer money from their family-owned company to Roth Individual Retirement Accounts. DISCs incentivize companies to export…
Date: February 15, 2017
Docket Number: 15-1869
Justia Opinion Summary: The Jackson County Michigan Board of Commissioners begins its monthly meetings with a Christian prayer. Bormuth, a non-Christian county resident, attended meetings because he was concerned about environmental issues.…
Date: February 15, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3374
Justia Opinion Summary: Moore was convicted in 1994 of kidnapping, robbery, and murder. The Ohio Supreme Court affirmed. The Ohio Court of Appeals affirmed denial of post-conviction relief. The Ohio Supreme Court denied review. Moore…
Date: February 15, 2017
Docket Number: 15-6060
Justia Opinion Summary: Turner robbed four Memphis-area businesses at gunpoint in October 2007 and was arrested by officers working with a joint federal-state anticrime task force. He was charged with aggravated robbery under Tennessee law and…
Date: February 15, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3305
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005, B&W entered into a contract to design and construct a Selective Catalyst Reduction (SCR) system to control emissions at KCP&L’s coal-burning Kansas power station. B&W purchased catalyst modules for the SCR from…
Date: February 15, 2017
Docket Number: 16-5908
Justia Opinion Summary: White County parents formed the Association for Accurate Standards in Education (AASE) to oppose another group advocating for removal of a social studies textbook that includes discussion of Islam. Eight part-time…
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