2019 Sixth Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law
Opinions 501 - 1000 of 1146
Date: July 18, 2019
Docket Number: 18-6035
Justia Opinion Summary: The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) creates a cause of action for “borrower[s],” 12 U.S.C. 2605(f). Tara and Nathan Keen got a loan and took out a mortgage when they bought their house. Both of them signed…
Date: July 17, 2019
Docket Number: 18-4158
Justia Opinion Summary: Croce, the Chair of Human Cancer Genetics at Ohio State University (OSU), has published over 650 papers during his 45-year career; 12 were subject to corrections and two more were withdrawn with Croce’s consent. New York…
Date: July 16, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2189
Justia Opinion Summary: KCP, the plaintiff, had hoped to act as a middleman in a potential distribution deal for a novel cleaning product and targeted Henkel, a large consumer products company as a potential distributor. KCP and Henkel entered…
Date: July 15, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2371
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury determined that four Muslim Michigan inmates collectively suffered $900 ($150 for each Ramadan the prison officials disrupted) in damages when prison officials did not provide them with adequate meals during…
Date: July 12, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3345
Justia Opinion Summary: In operating his companies, Rankin failed to remit to the IRS employees’ withholding taxes and inaccurately reported his own earnings as royalties (26 U.S.C. 7202, 7206, 7212). Rankin interfered with and delayed IRS…
Date: July 11, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2071
Justia Opinion Summary: After four years of perpetual delays, Prime obtained a sixth trial date to vindicate its claims that Larson and her late husband had cheated it out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The scam involved fraudulent…
Date: July 11, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-5705, 18-5703
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Brumbach was arrested for pointing a gun at a man and was charged as a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). He pleaded guilty and agreed that because he had at least three previous convictions…
Date: July 11, 2019
Docket Number: 18-6128
Justia Opinion Summary: Knox-Bender suffered injuries from a car accident. She sought medical treatment at Methodist Healthcare. Methodist billed her $8,000 for the treatment. Payments to Methodist were made on Knox-Bender’s behalf by her…
Date: July 10, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1086
Justia Opinion Summary: The Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of federal habeas relief to petitioner, who argued that he was entitled to a resentencing hearing, essentially because the guidelines were considered mandatory at…
Date: July 10, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-2380, 18-2283
Justia Opinion Summary: Erickson is the only unionized crane rental company in western Michigan. In 2015, the Local insisted that only members of the Local, not the company’s other unions, perform crane-operator work. The Local threatened to…
Date: July 10, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3233
Justia Opinion Summary: The Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment to Columbia Gas on Landowners' state-law trespass and unjust enrichment claims involving underground storage of natural gas. In regard to the…
Date: July 10, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3408
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against Safelite for breach of contract and negligent misrepresentation arising from the company's alleged mismanagement of its deferred compensation plan for executive employees. The Sixth Circuit…
Date: July 10, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5042
Justia Opinion Summary: Lopez was charged with possessing a firearm as an alien “illegally or unlawfully in the United States,” 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(5)(A). The district court thought that section 922(g)(5)(A) as applied to Lopez was…
Date: July 10, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5894
Justia Opinion Summary: Brice, who had been purchasing heroin from defendant “[o]ff and on, for maybe a year and a half,” suffered from hypertension and a mild arrhythmia, tested positive for hepatitis C, and had been an opioid addict for…
Date: July 9, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1773
Justia Opinion Summary: Ragland pleaded guilty as a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(g). His PSR calculated Ragland’s base offense level as 22, based in part on Ragland’s prior conviction for unarmed robbery, a "crime of…
Date: July 9, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3606
Justia Opinion Summary: Pablo, born in 1985, speaks the Mam language and minimal Spanish. Pablo fled to the U.S. in 2001 after violent abuse by his stepfather. Pablo paid for legal representation but did not understand the proceedings. In 2009,…
Date: July 8, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3262
Justia Opinion Summary: Ohio Revised Code 4123.88 addresses how workers' compensation claimant information is handled and protected by the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation and contains the solicitation ban at issue: “No person shall…
Date: July 3, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-3308, 17-3289, 17-3290, 17-3309, 17-3297, 17-3299, 17-3302, 17-3304, 17-3306
Justia Opinion Summary: The Short North Posse gang of Columbus, Ohio (an affiliate of the national Crips gang) conducted brutal home-invasion style robberies and planned and executed the murder of rivals, high-value targets, and cooperating…
Date: July 3, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5978
Justia Opinion Summary: Sulik pleaded guilty to cyberstalking, 18 U.S.C. 2261A(2), after he sent threatening emails to a member of Congress. The threats followed the representative calling General John Kelly, then White House Chief of Staff, a…
Date: July 2, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1654, 18-1782
Justia Opinion Summary: The union accused the employer, which operates coal-fired power generation facilities in Ohio and Pennsylvania, of implementing terms and conditions of employment that were inconsistent with the employer’s final impasse…
Date: June 28, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-2039, 17-1993
Justia Opinion Summary: Berkshire has a long history of mental health issues. Berkshire was incarcerated, 2001-2014, for second-degree home invasion. He began to improve while he was in the Macomb Correctional Facility's Residential Treatment…
Date: June 28, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5913
Justia Opinion Summary: Louisiana-Pacific produces “engineered-wood” building siding—wood treated with zinc borate, a preservative that poisons termites; Hardie sells fiber-cement siding. To demonstrate the superiority of its fiber cement,…
Date: June 28, 2019
Docket Number: 18-6047
Justia Opinion Summary: Officers, attempting to serve a civil levy on Watson, knocked on the door of Watson’s presumed residence until Watson came outside. Watson said that the house belonged to his girlfriend, who was inside, and that he did…
Date: June 27, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5565
Justia Opinion Summary: Three women allege that Memphis failed to submit for testing the sexual assault kits (SAKs) prepared after their sexual assaults. They allege that Memphis possessed over 15,000 SAKS that it failed to submit for testing,…
Date: June 27, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5902
Justia Opinion Summary: Mayes was convicted as a felon in possession of a firearm. The district court sentenced him to 180 months’ imprisonment under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. 924 (e)(1) based on five previous convictions…
Date: June 21, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2081
Justia Opinion Summary: Dennis committed several drug offenses, leading to a mandatory life sentence in 1997. In 2017, President Obama commuted his sentence to 30 years. Dennis filed a 28 U.S.C. 2241 habeas petition, arguing that he should have…
Date: June 20, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-3860, 18-3839
Justia Opinion Summary: About 1,300 public entities sued manufacturers, distributors, and retailers of prescription opiate drugs to recover the costs of health problems caused by the opioid crisis. Plaintiffs subpoenaed the U.S. Drug…
Date: June 20, 2019
Docket Number: 18-4131
Justia Opinion Summary: Hickle began working for AMC in 2004, while in high school. In 2006, he was promoted to Operations Coordinator. In 2008, he joined the Ohio Army National Guard. Before leaving for training, Hickle interviewed for a…
Date: June 20, 2019
Docket Number: 18-6098
Justia Opinion Summary: Becker, a Missouri citizen, wanted to buy the St. Louis Ashley Power Plant. Through a Missouri corporation, SL, he secured financing from Power Investments, a Nevada corporation with one member, Miller, who lives and…
Date: June 18, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5301
Justia Opinion Summary: Senn testified that he saw Winkler and Jenkins in his yard. Jenkins dropped a gasoline jug and ran into the woods with Winkler. Senn told his wife, Sherri, to call the police and fired shots into the woods. Senn smelled…
Date: June 17, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1346
Justia Opinion Summary: Michigan prisons allow Wiccan inmates to worship as a group for eight major holidays (Sabbats). Wiccans celebrate other holidays (Esbats) 12-13 times a year. Wiccans are not permitted to congregate on Esbats and permits…
Date: June 11, 2019
Docket Number: 14-1572
Justia Opinion Summary: Investigating robberies in Michigan and Ohio in 2010-2012, the government obtained court orders under the Stored Communications Act (SCA) 18 U.S.C. 2703(d) to obtain Carpenter’s cell-site location information. Unlike…
Date: June 11, 2019
Docket Number: 17-3211
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, Williams pleaded guilty as a felon in possession of a firearm. He had prior Ohio convictions: attempted felonious assault, domestic violence, and assault on a peace officer, and was subject to a mandatory…
Date: June 11, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5830
Justia Opinion Summary: An average “dose” of methamphetamine weighs between one-tenth and one-quarter of a gram; there are 28.3 grams to an ounce. Potter confessed to selling 10 pounds. Potter, had been convicted of seven prior drug offenses.…
Date: June 10, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1194
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002, Ruska drove a 19-year-old woman down a two-track road in rural Michigan, stopped the car, and revealed he had a handgun. The woman asked him several times to take her home, but Ruska raped her three times. He…
Date: June 10, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1457
Justia Opinion Summary: Fazica was arrested for drunk driving and taken to the Bloomfield County Police Department, and then to Oakland County Jail, which was alerted that she was intoxicated, yelling, and spitting. A Cell Extraction Team met…
Date: June 10, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1896
Justia Opinion Summary: The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services collects blood samples from nearly every newborn baby in Michigan, to test for diseases. After testing, the samples are transferred to the Michigan Neonatal Biobank…
Date: June 10, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5661
Justia Opinion Summary: Fox used Amazon.com to order a hoverboard equipped with a battery pack. Although Fox claims she thought she was buying from Amazon, the hoverboard was owned and sold by a third-party that used Amazon marketplace, which…
Date: June 7, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-2020, 18-1106, 18-1137
Justia Opinion Summary: Anthony, his brother Christopher, their sister Sharon, and Sharon’s husband, Durand, sought tax refunds for 21 separate fictitious trusts that they created. They were successful in obtaining refund checks based upon many…
Date: June 7, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3725
Justia Opinion Summary: Federal officials received a tip from Canadian authorities that Lynde was trading child pornography online. An investigation uncovered that he had exchanged 62 images on the online application “Kik.” Executing a search…
Date: June 7, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5867
Justia Opinion Summary: From childhood on, Faulkner’s life was plagued by sexual misconduct. A stepbrother sexually abused Faulkner when he was nine years old. And Faulkner’s father was convicted and classified as a sex offender for filming…
Date: June 7, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5985
Justia Opinion Summary: After Booth started working at a Tennessee Nissan factory, he injured his neck and sought medical treatment. Booth’s physician recommended several work restrictions, including that he not reach above his head or flex his…
Date: June 6, 2019
Docket Number: 17-5772
Justia Opinion Summary: Havis pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He had a lengthy criminal record. The district court concluded that his 20-year-old state conviction for selling or delivering cocaine was a “controlled…
Date: June 4, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3750
Justia Opinion Summary: Doutt obtained child pornography online using a video conferencing application that was being monitored by the federal government. Charge with receipt of child pornography, Doutt agreed to undergo a polygraph…
Date: June 4, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5897
Justia Opinion Summary: Doe is HIV-positive and takes Genvoya to control his condition. Doe's BlueCross health insurance covers Genvoya. After February 2017, BlueCross required Doe to fill the HIV prescription through mail order or by picking…
Date: June 3, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-1827, 17-1801, 17-1802
Justia Opinion Summary: A class of 28,177 exotic dancers alleged that dance clubs violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage-and-hour laws by “intentionally misclassif[ying] class members as independent contractors, refus[ing] to pay…
Date: June 3, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1981
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, battalion chiefs in Battle Creek’s fire department, were responsible for many administrative tasks. While they did not have direct authority to make hiring and firing decisions, they conducted performance…
Date: June 3, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5099
Justia Opinion Summary: Myers entered Sullivan’s home without permission, pointed a gun, and demanded drugs. The two went outside to Sullivan's car, where Sullivan saw her neighbor, Baker, and attempted to whisper to call the police. Myers…
Date: May 31, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1799
Justia Opinion Summary: Based on a five-page-long search-warrant affidavit—which included evidence from a confidential informant and other sources, a controlled buy, direct police-officer surveillance, and Christian’s history of drug…
Date: May 30, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-6505, 17-6456
Justia Opinion Summary: An incumbent Kentucky state senator and an unsuccessful state candidate sued, alleging that Kentucky statutes violated their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. One (now defunct) campaign finance provision restricted…
Date: May 30, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1101
Justia Opinion Summary: Medicare pays for doctors’ home visits if a patient is homebound. Mobile Doctors offered physician services to homebound Medicare beneficiaries, hiring doctors who assigned their Medicare billing rights to the company.…
Date: May 29, 2019
Docket Number: 17-4264
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005-2006, Thompson was sued by employees and one business he hired to assist in locating a long-sunken ship and recovering its treasures. The district court entered a preliminary injunction instructing Thompson not…
Date: May 28, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1775, 18-1758
Justia Opinion Summary: In an intersection, Patterson’s SUV rammed the door of Green’s sedan. According to Green, she was briefly unconscious and, after coming to, was dazed and in intense pain. Southfield Officer Maya arrived and spoke with…
Date: May 28, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1884
Justia Opinion Summary: DEA agents waited along I-94, for a black Toyota Camry. The previous evening, agents had arranged for a confidential informant to purchase heroin from Soto, who agreed to drive the shipment from Chicago to Detroit.…
Date: May 28, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3390
Justia Opinion Summary: Fifth Third Bank’s “Early Access” program is a short-term lending option for certain customers who hold eligible checking accounts. Fifth Third deposited Early Access loans straight into borrowers’ accounts, then paid…
Date: May 28, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5330
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner robbed a restaurant of approximately $200-300. Attorney Walwyn represented petitioner. Days before trial, the state offered that petitioner plead guilty in exchange for a 20-year sentence. He allegedly…
Date: May 24, 2019
Docket Number: 17-3211
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, Williams pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He had prior convictions under Ohio law: attempted felonious assault, domestic violence, and assault on a peace officer, which subjected him…
Date: May 24, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5289
Justia Opinion Summary: Louisville police watched 2429 Elliott Avenue based on a tip that Shanklin was growing marijuana there. The tip came from a “reliable confident[i]al informant,” who stated that within the last 48 hours, he/she had seen…
Date: May 22, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-3145, 18-3031
Justia Opinion Summary: Davis’s co-defendant, Young, contacted 16-year-old S.S. on Facebook to ask if S.S. and her sister were trading sex for drugs. S.S. and her sister drove to meet Young, who said he had friends who would pay for sex. Davis…
Date: May 22, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5019
Justia Opinion Summary: The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 authorized the IRS to gather information about tax shelters, 26 U.S.C. 6707A. The IRS requires taxpayers and certain third parties to submit records pertaining to “reportable…
Date: May 21, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1219
Justia Opinion Summary: Wandahsega was convicted of abusive sexual contact, 18 U.S.C. 2244(a)(5), after Wandahsega’s then-six-year-old son, H.D.W., told his grandmother and others that Wandahsega had touched him inappropriately. Wandahsega and…
Date: May 21, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2219
Justia Opinion Summary: Schier represented Capital in a state court suit filed by Longhorn. Capital was hit with a $5-million judgment and landed in bankruptcy. Its Chapter 7 proceedings stayed the Longhorn litigation with post-trial motions…
Date: May 20, 2019
Docket Number: 18-6026
Justia Opinion Summary: Farris, a Tennessee judicial commissioner, issued a warrant for Norfleet’s arrest based on an affidavit from his probation officer saying that he had violated his probation. Norfleet went to jail for several months. A…
Date: May 17, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-2211, 17-2068
Justia Opinion Summary: Rotondo was the sole owner of Apex, which wholly owned four limited liability companies (Directional Entities). Apex and the Directional Entities provided services, such as human resources, to different clients. Rotondo…
Date: May 15, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1421
Justia Opinion Summary: Mager alleged that he was seriously and permanently injured when he slipped on oil while he was working as a trackman at WCL’s Marquette, Michigan railway yard. Mager filed suit under the Federal Employer’s Liability…
Date: May 15, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1534
Justia Opinion Summary: After Hawk died, his wife, Nancy, decided to sell the family business, Holiday Bowl and made a deal with MidCoast, which claimed an interest in acquiring companies with corporate tax liabilities that it could set off…
Date: May 15, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-5207, 18-5212
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury convicted Morales-Montanez and Acosta of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. The Sixth Circuit held that there was sufficient evidence to support the convictions, but…
Date: May 15, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5520
Justia Opinion Summary: The surface and mineral estates of “Tract 46” in Pike County, Kentucky have been severed for a century. Pike and Johnson own the surface estate as tenants in common. Pike also owns the entirety of the coal below and…
Date: May 14, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5647
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1966, Sebree Kentucky enacted an ordinance requiring CSX Transportation’s predecessor to obtain approval from the city before commencing any maintenance or construction project that would result in any change in grade…
Date: May 8, 2019
Docket Number: 16-8042
Justia Opinion Summary: A chapter 7 trustee sought a declaration that a refinanced mortgage only encumbered the interest of the person specifically defined within the body of the mortgage as a “Borrower/Mortgagor.” The mortgage instrument…
Date: May 8, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-2504, 18-1089
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs challenged Michigan’s practice of suspending drivers' licenses for unpaid court fees, as applied to indigent drivers, under 42 U.S.C. 1983. Plaintiffs argued that practice is irrational because license…
Date: May 8, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3738
Justia Opinion Summary: Muchow was employed as a machine operator, living in Bucyrus, Ohio. His only criminal history was a decades-old misdemeanor for driving under the influence. In 2017, FBI agents executed a search warrant at his home and…
Date: May 3, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1083
Justia Opinion Summary: During an investigation of Powell, a drug dealer, a cooperating defendant identified one of Powell's sources as Coleman. Officers observed Coleman’s automobiles, a Trailblazer and an Enclave, in connection with suspected…
Date: May 3, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5438
Justia Opinion Summary: A consumer paying by check usually provides identification such as a driver’s license. The merchant often takes the bank account number and the driver’s license number and sends them to companies like TeleCheck.…
Date: May 1, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3993
Justia Opinion Summary: Shepherd pleaded guilty under 18 U.S.C. 2252(a)(2), for possessing several thousand images of child pornography. Shepherd had unpaid bills and a vehicle worth about $200, placing his total net worth at negative $1,739.…
Date: May 1, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5991
Justia Opinion Summary: FedEx provides shipping discounts to high-volume customers. To obtain such a discount, Petlechkov lied to FedEx and claimed he was a vendor for a high-volume shipper. He used those discounted rates to offer shipping…
Date: April 29, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-5298, 18-5258
Justia Opinion Summary: Wyndham has four Tennessee resorts, where front-line sales employees sell ownership interests (timeshares) to people who do not own Wyndham timeshares. In-house sales employees sell upgraded timeshares to existing…
Date: April 29, 2019
Docket Number: 18-8042
Justia Opinion Summary: Three years before filing her bankruptcy petition, Lane sold her residence to the Deans. They subsequently discovered mold in the basement and filed a civil complaint against her. The state court submitted the dispute to…
Date: April 26, 2019
Docket Number: 17-5982
Justia Opinion Summary: Edmonds and Hall were together convicted in state court of beating and sodomizing a homeless man to death. After their joint state appeals were rejected, Hall brought a federal habeas action, 28 U.S.C. 2254, which was…
Date: April 25, 2019
Docket Number: 17-3863
Justia Opinion Summary: MCEP, an acute care, for-profit hospital owned by 60 physicians and one corporate shareholder, opened in 2006. By 2009, MCEP’s existence as a physician-owned enterprise ended when it sold an ownership interest to…
Date: April 25, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5708
Justia Opinion Summary: A Postal Inspector had probable cause to believe that a package being shipped from California contained drugs, obtained a search warrant, and examined its contents. It contained 1.5 pounds of crystal methamphetamine.…
Date: April 22, 2019
Docket Number: 17-2126
Justia Opinion Summary: Saginaw uses a common parking enforcement practice known as “chalking.” City parking enforcement officers use chalk to mark the tires of parked vehicles to track how long they have been parked. Parking enforcement…
Date: April 17, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5851
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2018, the Sixth Circuit reversed the district court’s order granting a preliminary injunction that had enjoined Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government from enforcing Ordinance 25-2017, which restricts the delivery…
Date: April 16, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1426
Justia Opinion Summary: In June 2016, Mateen entered the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando and opened fire, killing 49 people and injuring another 53. Victims and family members of deceased victims brought sought damages, not from Mateen, nor from…
Date: April 16, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1641
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was hired as an Assistant Principal at Grosse Pointe South High School in 2012. In 2014, Hamka became principal of GPSHS. Plaintiff had difficulties with changes instituted by Hamka and complained about Hamka’s…
Date: April 15, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-8013, 18-8010, 18-8018
Justia Opinion Summary: The Debtors filed a chapter 7 bankruptcy petition in 2008. Creditor CJV was granted derivative standing on behalf of the bankruptcy estate and sought a declaratory judgment that personal property located at the Debtors'…
Date: April 11, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-6167, 17-6239, 17-6240, 17-6314, 17-6315, 17-6351
Justia Opinion Summary: Ace, a licensed physician, and Lesa Chaney owned and operated Ace Clinique in Hazard, Kentucky. An anonymous caller told the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services that Ace pre-signed prescriptions. An…
Date: April 10, 2019
Docket Number: 16-1009
Justia Opinion Summary: On April 29, 2013, the government charged White with drug distribution and firearm crimes. On May 2, White was arrested. He made his initial appearance the next day and was released on bond. The parties filed a…
Date: April 10, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1143
Justia Opinion Summary: Chase sued to recover millions of dollars under a credit agreement "between Chase and entities owned and operated by [Winget]” and obtained an award of over $425 million. Winget’s personal trust was liable for the full…
Date: April 10, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1789
Justia Opinion Summary: Gold Forever, a music publishing company solely owned by Holland, has agreements with various artists entitling it to half of the royalties collected for the sale and performance of those artists’ work. Holland was a…
Date: April 9, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1405
Justia Opinion Summary: Jones, a Michigan citizen, began working in Equatorial Guinea around 2007. In 2011, he started IPX to provide telecommunication services in Equatorial Guinea. IPX is incorporated and has its principal place of business…
Date: April 8, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1541
Justia Opinion Summary: Burnette handles canned tart cherries. Burnette’s canned product has a shelf life of about one year. Many other cherry handlers freeze their cherries for longer shelf life. Because of the shelf-life disparity, Burnette…
Date: April 8, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3426
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, K.H., a Guatemalan citizen, then seven years old, was kidnapped, beaten, and raped by gang members. The Guatemalan police caught K.H.’s persecutors, who were tried, convicted, and sentenced. The government…
Date: April 5, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1763
Justia Opinion Summary: Timberline, a timber-harvesting company that operates solely in Michigan, uses logging and harvesting equipment and trucks that were purchased in Michigan but were manufactured outside of Michigan. The Secretary of Labor…
Date: April 5, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3520
Justia Opinion Summary: Cruz, a native of El Salvador, grew up in a neighborhood dominated by the 18th Street gang. A rival gang, MS-13, sought to recruit Cruz and his friends as “spies” to relay information about 18th Street activities. After…
Date: April 5, 2019
Docket Number: 18-8017
Justia Opinion Summary: The Debtors filed their bankruptcy petition in 2008. Grusin provided them legal advice before the filing and at the beginning of the bankruptcy case. Fullen filed the petition and represented them in the chapter 7 case.…
Date: April 4, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1933
Justia Opinion Summary: Police raided plaintiffs’ Lansing, Michigan homes, with search warrants for drugs. The searches were aggressive: officers knocked in doors with rams, used flashbangs and, allegedly left the homes in complete disarray.…
Date: April 4, 2019
Docket Number: 17-5490
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005, Lowe was convicted of possessing ammunition as a convicted felon. Lowe had previously been convicted of four Tennessee felonies: third-degree burglary, aggravated assault, a 1977 rape, and a 1985 rape. The two…
Date: April 4, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-6183, 17-6151
Justia Opinion Summary: Kentucky’s “Ultrasound Informed Consent Act,” KRS 311.727, directs a doctor, before performing an abortion, to perform an ultrasound; display the ultrasound images for the patient; and explain, in the doctor’s own words,…
Date: April 4, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5643
Justia Opinion Summary: In May 2017, Judge Benningfield issued an order offering a 30-day sentencing credit to White County, Tennessee inmates in exchange for submitting to sterilization. After public outcry, Judge Benningfield declared that…
Date: April 3, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5079
Justia Opinion Summary: Armstrong sold a confidential informant about three grams of heroin during three controlled buys. He pleaded guilty to distribution, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1). The district court sentenced him to 37 months in prison, based,…
Date: April 3, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-5549, 18-5623
Justia Opinion Summary: Over a decade ago, the Blasingames filed for bankruptcy, seeking to discharge $7.7 million in debt, claiming they made $900 per month and owned less than $6,000 worth of assets. Their creditor, Church,allegedly…
Date: March 28, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-3840, 17-3843
Justia Opinion Summary: n 1975, Jackson, Ajamu, and Bridgeman were convicted of murder, based largely on the purported eyewitness testimony of Vernon, who then was 13 years old. In 2014, Vernon recanted, disclosing that police officers had…
Date: March 28, 2019
Docket Number: 17-6512
Justia Opinion Summary: Roberts and seven co-conspirators stole millions of dollars’ worth of sensitive military equipment from an army base and sold it on eBay. Although Roberts testified that he did not knowingly traffick stolen goods, he was…
Date: March 27, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1276
Justia Opinion Summary: In February 2002, Daniel, his brother, Peter, McGlown, and Neal, traveling in a van, pulled up alongside a car and shot Newsom. They mistook Newsom for Bradley (the intended target). Newsom was in an automobile owned by…
Date: March 26, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1146
Justia Opinion Summary: Steele and 11 other suspected members of the Detroit Rollin 60s Crips street gang were charged with racketeering conspiracy (RICO), 18 U.S.C. 1962(d). All but one of the co-conspirators pleaded guilty. Although Steele…
Date: March 26, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5137
Date: March 26, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5465
Justia Opinion Summary: An informant contacted the FBI and explained that, during an internet chat, Oliver had requested contact information for someone who could facilitate a meeting between Oliver and a minor for the purposes of sexual…
Date: March 22, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5387
Justia Opinion Summary: Eason pleaded guilty as a felon in possession of a firearm. The statutory range for such a violation is zero to 10 years’ imprisonment but under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. 924(e)(1), a defendant…
Date: March 21, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1491
Justia Opinion Summary: Trucking, owned by Bourdow, his wife, and their sons, sold and transported dirt, stone, and sand throughout lower Michigan and engaged in construction site preparation and excavation. Trucking employed other members of…
Date: March 20, 2019
Docket Number: 17-2109
Justia Opinion Summary: The Commissioner of Social Security imposed an assessment of $51,410 and a civil monetary penalty of $75,000 on Valent after the Social Security Administration found that Valent failed to disclose that she had engaged in…
Date: March 19, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3302
Justia Opinion Summary: Asgari came to the U.S. for education, earning a doctorate in 1997. He returned to Iran and became a professor at Sharif University. His work involves transmission electron microscopy. Asgari traveled to the U.S. in…
Date: March 18, 2019
Docket Number: 17-3868
Justia Opinion Summary: Lee was a member of the Summit County Council. The FBI obtained wiretaps and investigated the relationship between Lee and Abdelqader, a store owner, after complaints that Abdelqader “was insisting on monthly cash…
Date: March 18, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1338, 18-1190
Justia Opinion Summary: Employees at Seoul Garden, an Ann Arbor, Michigan restaurant, customarily work lunch and dinner shifts six days a week. Before August 2016, when the restaurant got a time clock, employees did not record their hours. The…
Date: March 13, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2196
Justia Opinion Summary: Officer Minard pulled over Cruise-Gulyas for speeding. He wrote her a ticket for a lesser, non-moving violation. As she drove away, she made a vulgar gesture at Minard, who then stopped her again and changed the ticket…
Date: March 13, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3513
Justia Opinion Summary: Mendoza-Garcia, then 16, came to the U.S. from Guatemala in 2004. In 2011 removal proceedings, he sought asylum and withholding of removal, stating that he was afraid to return to Guatemala because his hometown had been…
Date: March 12, 2019
Docket Number: 16-4027
Justia Opinion Summary: Enacted in 2016, Ohio Revised Code 3701.034 requires the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) to ensure that all funds it receives through six non-abortion-related federal health programs are not used to contract with any…
Date: March 12, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-3902, 17-3896
Justia Opinion Summary: Jackson, Palmer, Taylor, Dillard, and Rembert were charged with multiple violations of 18 U.S.C. 2119(2), carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury, and 18 U.S.C. 924(c)(1)(A)(ii), using, carrying, or possessing a…
Date: March 11, 2019
Docket Number: 17-2024
Justia Opinion Summary: Chaney pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Because his criminal history included convictions for one “serious drug offense” and two “violent felon[ies],” Chaney was…
Date: March 11, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1958, 18-1995
Justia Opinion Summary: When AMP opened its Smithland, Kentucky power plant, the union petitioned to represent the plant’s operators. The NLRB certified a bargaining unit consisting of the full-time and regular part-time operators employed at…
Date: March 8, 2019
Docket Number: 18-6074
Justia Opinion Summary: Caldwell pleaded guilty to murder and an unrelated aggravated robbery in two separate cases in the same court on the same day. He initially filed an unsuccessful 28 U.S.C. 2254 habeas petition challenging his murder…
Date: March 7, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-4035, 18-4114
Justia Opinion Summary: Martirossian, a citizen of Armenia now living in China, refused to answer criminal charges, relating to money-laundering and conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. 1956, in the Southern District of Ohio. When his lawyers moved to…
Date: March 6, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1900
Justia Opinion Summary: Sampson is serving a life sentence in a Michigan prison. He sued Wayne County, state court officials, and private attorneys under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging they conspired to deprive him of trial transcripts, exhibits, and…
Date: March 5, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3194
Justia Opinion Summary: Oakes filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition in 2013, including Franklin, Ohio real property, valued at $160,000. PNC holds a mortgage lien on the property, which was filed in 2003. That mortgage lien was not executed in…
Date: March 4, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-6048, 17-6166, 17-6213, 17-6260, 17-6299, 17-6333
Justia Opinion Summary: Five federal prisoners filed habeas corpus petitions under 28 U.S.C. 2241, arguing that their respective sentences are too long under federal law. Each paid the $5 habeas filing fee in the district court and each lost…
Date: March 4, 2019
Docket Number: 18-8008
Justia Opinion Summary: After a settlement in his divorce proceeding, Debtor filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition. Debtor was subsequently confined to jail for failure to pay the court-approved settlement. Debtor filed an adversary complaint…
Date: March 1, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1727
Justia Opinion Summary: Bradley worked as the general contractor on Ingersoll’s project converting an old Michigan church into a charter school, Bay City Academy (BCA). Ingersoll had previously misappropriated state funding meant for a charter…
Date: March 1, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3369
Justia Opinion Summary: Economy Linen and Towel Service faced a shortfall of qualified truck drivers and subcontracted with another firm to provide the necessary drivers. The union filed a grievance on the ground that the new drivers earned a…
Date: February 28, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3515
Justia Opinion Summary: Santos-Santos, a citizen of Mexico, entered the U.S. without inspection in 1999. In 2000, he and his wife attempted to enter Canada but were denied admission and directed back to Port Huron, where they were questioned.…
Date: February 27, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-3170, 18-3220
Justia Opinion Summary: After a rally for then-presidential candidate Trump, the Chicago Tribune newspaper posted a photograph on Twitter of a woman at the rally, wearing a Trump T-shirt, and giving a Nazi salute. A Twitter user posted that…
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