2014 Eighth Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law
Opinions 501 - 1000 of 1252
Date: August 4, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2673
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against Mid-Continent, alleging that Mid-Continent breached the insurance contract by denying coverage to plaintiff in an underlying lawsuit arising from a subcontractor's faulty workmanship during…
Date: August 1, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2706
Justia Opinion Summary: Grandoe filed suit against Gander Mountain after Gander Mountain reneged on its oral commitment to purchase $3.05 million worth of winter gloves from Grandoe. After the jury awarded judgment in favor of Grandoe, Gander…
Date: August 1, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3479
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction of five counts of subscribing to false tax returns and one count of endeavoring to obstruct the administration of the internal revenue laws. The court concluded that a rational jury…
Date: July 31, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1978
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, appealed the district court's denial of his petition for habeas relief. Assuming without deciding that Cuyler v. Sullivan applied to…
Date: July 31, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2054
Justia Opinion Summary: Debtor filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and his former business associate, David Heide, challenged certain debts debtor owed to Heide as nondischargeable. The court reversed the BAP and reinstated the bankruptcy court's…
Date: July 31, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2234
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the denial of his application for disability insurance benefits and supplemental security income (SSI) benefits. The court concluded that the ALJ did not err in concluding that plaintiff did not have a…
Date: July 31, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2480
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the denial of his motion to suppress after pleading guilty to distributing and possessing with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and to aiding and abetting that offense. A state trooper…
Date: July 31, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2739
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of Minnesota's Family Child Care Providers Representation Act, Minn. Stat. 179A.06 and 179A.52. Plaintiffs, operators of child-care businesses in their homes, argued that the…
Date: July 31, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2903
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Encompass in this insurance coverage dispute. Plaintiff's home was damaged from a broken drain pipe in the basement shower stall and she…
Date: July 30, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3005
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff and her kids filed a wrongful death action in state court against R.J. Reynolds and others after her husband died from throat cancer. Defendants removed to federal court, arguing that both of the…
Date: July 30, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3572
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. The court concluded that the Government did not breach the plea agreement by introducing additional evidence to establish…
Date: July 29, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2285
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant conditionally plead guilty to possessing marijuana with intent to distribute and appealed the denial of his motion to suppress evidence found during a warrant search of his apartment. The court concluded that…
Date: July 29, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3285
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native of Mexico, petitioned for review of the BIA's denial of his motion to reopen and challenged the BIA's refusal to open his case sua sponte. The court concluded that it had no jurisdiction to review…
Date: July 28, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1871
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Thomas and Martha Duban filed suit against Waverly, alleging negligence arising out of Martha's injuries she sustained when she was stepped on by a horse at the Waverly draft horse auction. At issue was…
Date: July 28, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1933
Justia Opinion Summary: Nyffeler, a residential construction company, petitioned for review of an adverse agency decision by the Review Commission. The court concluded that the petition was untimely and the district court never had authority to…
Date: July 28, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2128
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the district court's dismissal of his case, arguing that his allegations of fact sufficiently stated a claim for, inter alia, breach of contract. Plaintiff's claim arose from a mortgage modification…
Date: July 28, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2399
Justia Opinion Summary: The state appealed the district court's grant of habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. 2254 to petitioner, who was convicted of murder. The court concluded that counsel's failure to move for a mistrial after the trial…
Date: July 28, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2601
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of Honduras, petitioned for review of the BIA's decision affirming the IJ's pretermission of his application for cancellation of removal under section 240A(b) of the Immigration and…
Date: July 28, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2650
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction and sentence for two heroin-related offenses. The court concluded that the district court did not err in granting the government's motion in limine over his Federal Rule of Evidence…
Date: July 28, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2742
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, the father and minor children of the deceased Samuel De Boise, filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 against police officers and the police department, as well as a claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act…
Date: July 28, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2832
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner appealed the BIA's affirmance of the IJ's denial of petitioner's requests for asylum, cancellation of removal, special cancellation of removal, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention…
Date: July 28, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2896
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed her convictions stemming from a robbery of a mini mart. The court concluded that the district court did not err in instructing the jury on her affirmative defense of coercion or duress where she…
Date: July 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2168
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, convicted of murdering his adopted special needs son, appealed the district court's denial of post-conviction relief based on his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel under Strickland v. Washington.…
Date: July 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2390
Justia Opinion Summary: The United States appealed the district court's suppression of statements and evidence gathered during the search of defendant's home and car. Defendant was charged with two counts of receipt and one count of possession…
Date: July 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2585
Justia Opinion Summary: Fastpath, an Iowa corporation, filed suit against Arbela, a California services and software corporation, for breach of a mutual confidentiality agreement. The court concluded that the district court correctly determined…
Date: July 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3057
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction of disaster fraud and making a false statement. Defendant had submitted an online application for disaster assistance for a residence in Joplin, Missouri that he had never lived at or…
Date: July 24, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1981
Justia Opinion Summary: After a fatal accident, plaintiffs filed suit against the tractor-trailer driver, the truck driver's employer (Fresh Start), the company that leased the tractor, the husband and wife who owned Fresh Start, and the…
Date: July 24, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2231
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, CEO of Roxio, Inc., filed suit against Best Buy and Napster for breach of contract. The contract dispute arose out of Best Buy's refusal to pay plaintiff a performance award under an Award Agreement. The…
Date: July 23, 2014
Docket Numbers: 12-3526, 13-1245
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against Mellon, seeking to represent a class of Arkansas homeowners facing non-judicial foreclosures by Mellon. After plaintiff subsequently appealed the district court's denial of plaintiff's motion…
Date: July 23, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3918
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, both individually and as the administrator of Bradley Gladden's estate, filed suit against officers and the police chief, alleging that the officers violated Bradley's rights under 42 U.S.C. 1983 and the…
Date: July 23, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2613
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit against the EPA seeking to impose emission-control technology on NSP's Sherco power plant. NSP moved to intervene but the district court denied the motion. The court concluded that NSP has…
Date: July 22, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3107
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, falsely accused of rape and jailed for seventeen days, filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 against the County and police officers. Plaintiff alleged that the officers failed to account for certain evidence…
Date: July 21, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2559
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against Sun Life, alleging that Sun Life improperly denied him long-term disability benefits under a disability plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 29 U.S.C.…
Date: July 21, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3807
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his sentence after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. The court concluded that defendant was not entitled to a justification defense and the district court did not clearly err…
Date: July 18, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1027
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his convictions stemming from his involvement in a Ponzi scheme known as the "British Lending Program" (BLP). The court concluded that the government satisfied the particularity requirement for the…
Date: July 18, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2074
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Williams and Porter filed suit against law enforcement officers, alleging claims arising from a traffic stop. The court concluded reasonable suspicion that Williams was operating a vehicle while intoxicated…
Date: July 18, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3689
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his sentence after pleading guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The court affirmed defendant's conviction as an armed career criminal where the district court did not err…
Date: July 17, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1766
Justia Opinion Summary: BVS filed suit against CDW over a dispute regarding BVS's contract with CDW for a computer storage area network (SAN). The court agreed with the district court's finding that BVS's original purchase order constituted an…
Date: July 17, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2313
Justia Opinion Summary: Starr Indemnity filed suit seeking a determination of their rights and obligations under Continental Cement's insurance policies after the Mark Twain, a cement barge owned by Continental Cement, sank in the Mississippi…
Date: July 17, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2337
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the denial of his motion to dismiss after pleading guilty to distributing child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2252A(a)(2)(A) and 2256(8)(C). Defendant transmitted an image to his…
Date: July 17, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2521
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit to collect fringe benefits owed to union employee benefit funds by a plumbing company under 29 U.S.C. 1145. The court concluded that O'Laughlin did not unequivocally express an intent to terminate…
Date: July 17, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2589
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his sentence after pleading guilty to one count of extortion. The court concluded that the district court did not clearly err in considering defendant's pre-July 16 conduct to be relevant conduct for…
Date: July 17, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3287
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against her former employer, CSG, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq., alleging claims of gender discrimination and retaliation. The court concluded that, assuming…
Date: July 17, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3487
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against Cory Snethen, the Jaycees, and Carico Farms (collectively, "defendants") and others, alleging common law negligence claims and wrongful death actions after her husband died from a motorcycle…
Date: July 17, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3543
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm and being a felon in possession of ammunition, both in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). The court concluded that it was undisputed that…
Date: July 16, 2014
Docket Numbers: 12-3982, 12-3983
Justia Opinion Summary: Baum filed suit against Twin City, its insurer, over a dispute regarding coverage of an IRS investigation. Reviewing the choice of law question in light of sections 188 and 187 of the Restatement (Second) of Conflict of…
Date: July 16, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1457
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit to recover losses sustained after a fire damaged their home. On appeal, plaintiffs challenged the district court's grant of summary judgment to Allstate. Plaintiffs claimed that the jury…
Date: July 16, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2291
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm as a previously convicted felon and subsequently appealed the district court's denial of his motion to suppress the firearm. The court concluded that the…
Date: July 16, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2407
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging that deputies used excessive force that resulted in Jimmy Farris' death. The court concluded that the district court did not clearly abuse its discretion in weighing…
Date: July 16, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2564
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his sentence and an order of restitution after pleading guilty to tampering with evidence. The court enforced defendant's waiver of his right to appeal the reasonableness of his custodial sentence. The…
Date: July 16, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3095
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging, inter alia, excessive use of force by officers and a failure to train or supervise by the county jail administrator. The court concluded that it has appellate…
Date: July 16, 2014
Docket Number: 14-2677
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent, in his official capacity as superintendent of the Potosi Correctional Center, moved to vacate the district court's order staying the execution of petitioner. The court concluded that the district court abused…
Date: July 15, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3000
Justia Opinion Summary: MHFS filed suit against the County, the Commission, and others for interfering with its business operations at the Baxter County Airport. The court concluded that the district court did not err in dismissing MHFS's…
Date: July 15, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1455
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed her conviction for knowingly trafficking in contraband cigarettes in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2342(a). The court concluded that the government failed to prove a knowing violation of section 2342(a);…
Date: July 15, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1650
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against defendant, alleging claims related to her candidacy as a legal writing instructor at the Iowa College of Law. On appeal, plaintiff challenged the district court's denial of her motion for a…
Date: July 15, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1905
Justia Opinion Summary: After the company it hired to compile research on the greeting cards market, Monitor, transmitted confidential market research it had prepared for Hallmark to a private equity firm, Clipper, Hallmark filed suit against…
Date: July 15, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2045
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against Midland, contending that the plain language of an annuity contract dictates that the term is zero or that, at minimum, Midland's proffered term is unreasonable. Completely absent from the…
Date: July 15, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2507
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit against police officers under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging false arrest and retaliation. The court concluded that plaintiffs failed to preserve the issue of whether the district court erred when it…
Date: July 15, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2889
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against the officer who restrained him while executing a search warrant. Even assuming without deciding that the officer recklessly disregarded the misleading effect that omitting the facts at issue…
Date: July 15, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2986
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction and sentence for possession of cocaine base with intent to distribute. The court concluded that the evidence was sufficient to convict defendant; the district court adequately considered…
Date: July 15, 2014
Docket Number: 14-2667
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent, in his official capacity as superintendent of the Potosi Correctional Center, moved to vacate the district court's order staying the execution of petitioner. Petitioner filed a "second-in-time federal habeas…
Date: July 14, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1643
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a national and citizen of Kenya, sought review of the BIA's dismissal of her appeal from an IJ's order concluding that she was removable and denying her petition for adjustment of status. Petitioner argued…
Date: July 14, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2523
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the district court's imposition of a revocation sentence based on her numerous prior violations. The court held that as a statutory and procedural matter, a revocation sentence may not be based on…
Date: July 14, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2756
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 against his parole officer, alleging that the officer falsely reported that plaintiff failed to report to see him as required by the terms of plaintiff's parole. The court…
Date: July 14, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3021
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the revocation of his supervised release after he beat up his girlfriend. The district court concluded that defendant committed three violations of Iowa law: false imprisonment, domestic abuse assault,…
Date: July 14, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3090
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his revocation of supervised release and sentence after pleading guilty to larceny in Indian country. Defendant was resentenced to a term of fifteen months' imprisonment for the original larceny…
Date: July 14, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3184
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his sentence after pleading guilty to distributing five grams or more of methamphetamine. The court concluded that the sentence was reasonable where the district court had wide latitude to consider the…
Date: July 14, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3193
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, convicted of first-degree felony murder, challenged the district court's dismissal of her 28 U.S.C. 2254 petition for habeas corpus relief. The court concluded that, when the state post-conviction was no…
Date: July 11, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3515
Justia Opinion Summary: Amana seeks reversal of the district court's grant of summary judgment to Excel where the district court concluded that Amana failed to establish that Excel breached a duty of care to Amana in a design-certification…
Date: July 11, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3679
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against a semi-truck driver and his company for injuries plaintiff sustained in a traffic accident. The jury returned a verdict assigning no fault to either party and plaintiff appealed. The court…
Date: July 11, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1881
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed a class action suit alleging that CUT violated the Missouri Uniform Code (Mo UCC) and Missouri Merchandising Practices Act (MMPA) by participating in a subprime motor vehicle lending program administered…
Date: July 11, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2352
Justia Opinion Summary: United Fire sought a declaratory judgment that an insurance policy it issued to Rose did not provide coverage to Wayne Rockett, a supervisory level employee of Rose. The court affirmed the district court's grant of…
Date: July 11, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2488
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sought coverage from Farm Bureau for flood damage to her home but failed to submit the one-page proof of loss form required by the federal standard flood insurance policy. The court concluded that plaintiff's…
Date: July 11, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2490
Justia Opinion Summary: After the denial of his flood insurance claim, plaintiff filed suit against Farm Bureau alleging a state bad faith claim and federal breach of contract. The court held that the district court committed reversible legal…
Date: July 11, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2776
Justia Opinion Summary: After two boys drowned at a pool party sponsored by the FCA, the boys' survivors filed suit against the FCA in state court, alleging negligence and loss of consortium. The FCA then filed this declaratory judgment and…
Date: July 11, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3077
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his sentence after pleading guilty to receipt of child pornography. The court concluded that the district court properly applied the cross reference to U.S.S.G. 2G2.1 and its related sentencing…
Date: July 11, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3327
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a sign electrician, was injured when he fell through the canopy of a storefront. Plaintiff filed suit against the owner of the shopping center and others. The court concluded that the district court did not…
Date: July 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1159
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for conspiracy to distribute cocaine base, three counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base; and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The court…
Date: July 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1918
Justia Opinion Summary: After enXco did not obtain a permit by a date certain, thus failing to satisfy a condition precedent to a contract concerning the construction of a wind-energy project, NSP terminated the contract. enXco filed suit…
Date: July 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2160
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against her former employer, Novo, and former superivisor at Novo, alleging that Novo terminated her in violation of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), 29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq. The court concluded…
Date: July 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2398
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for smuggling firearms out of the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 554. The court found that the district court did not abuse its discretion in submitting a jury instruction on…
Date: July 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3796
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant walked away from a prison camp at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) and a federal magistrate judge issued a warrant for his arrest. Defendant pled guilty to one count of escape of a prisoner in custody…
Date: July 9, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2315
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction and sentence for assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. The court concluded that there was sufficient evidence to show that defendant used a…
Date: July 9, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2543
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against his former employer, Medtronic, alleging that the company improperly denied his claim for benefits under a long-term disability plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act…
Date: July 8, 2014
Docket Numbers: 12-4019, 13-1327
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Gutierrez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and Defendant Perez-Sanchez was convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute and five counts of distribution or possession…
Date: July 8, 2014
Docket Numbers: 12-4048, 13-1133
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against his former employer, Annett, alleging that the company acted in bad faith when it failed to provide medical care and refused to pay him healing-period benefits. Annett counter-claimed for…
Date: July 8, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1723
Justia Opinion Summary: Windstream filed suit against defendant and other retirees who challenged company authority to modify retiree benefits unilaterally. The court concluded that there was no evidence indicating that Windstream was required…
Date: July 8, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1945
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his sentence after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. In this case, the oral pronouncement was sufficiently ambiguous that the court was…
Date: July 8, 2014
Docket Number: 14-6003
Justia Opinion Summary: Debtor served as the trustee of a consolidated case (NWFX). As a result of debtor's fraud, the NWFX court entered judgment against debtor in favor of the bankruptcy estate for $199,979.26 plus interest. After debtor…
Date: July 7, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3691
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his sentence after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography. The court concluded that the district court did not err in applying a five-level upward adjustment for distribution in expectation…
Date: July 3, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1640
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, trustee for the heirs and next of kin of Erik Kirk Kolski, filed suit against the City and police officers, alleging that defendants violated Kolski's constitutional rights when the officers used deadly force…
Date: July 3, 2014
Docket Number: 14-1120
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his sentence for revocation of supervised release. In this instance, the district court's earlier statement about counting on getting 36 months' incarceration for future violations did not display a…
Date: July 2, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1203
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, convicted of first-degree felony murder and attempted first-degree premeditated murder, appealed the district court's denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. 2254. The court rejected…
Date: July 2, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2188
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his sentence after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide support to terrorists. The court concluded that the district court did not err in applying the terrorism enhancement under…
Date: July 2, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2988
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, serving a 144-month sentence for conspiring to distribute at least five grams of cocaine base, appealed the denial of his motion for sentence reduction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(2). The court affirmed,…
Date: July 1, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2320
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction and sentence for conspiracy to manufacture 1,000 or more marijuana plants. The court concluded that the evidence was sufficient to support the jury's conclusion that defendant knowingly…
Date: July 1, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3670
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a policeman until his arrest, appealed his sentence after pleading guilty to attempting to aid and abet the possession with intent to distribute approximately 1000 pounds of marijuana. The court concluded that…
Date: June 30, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1720
Justia Opinion Summary: The EEOC filed suit against Audrain, alleging that Audrain violated federal civil rights statutes by refusing to consider David Lunceford to a vacant operating room nurse position on the basis of his sex. The district…
Date: June 30, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1764
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against her employer, the Postal Service, alleging that the Postal Service violated her rights under the Family Medical Leave Act, 29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq., after she was terminated for absenteeism.…
Date: June 30, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2247
Justia Opinion Summary: Eckert Wordell appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment to FJM, which compelled the parties to submit to an arbitrator the threshold issue of whether FJM may use an arbitration provision in a contract it…
Date: June 30, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3175
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his sentence after pleading guilty to being found in the United States after committing a felony and being deported. The court joined its sister circuits and held that a district court performing a…
Date: June 27, 2014
Docket Numbers: 12-3433, 13-1396
Justia Opinion Summary: FFCC filed suit against Lonza, alleging breach of contract and promissory estoppel claims. The court concluded that the district court properly granted summary judgment to Lonza on the contract claim because the parties…
Date: June 27, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1165
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit alleging that, during his incarceration as a pretrial detainee, he received constitutionally deficient medical care and that medical officials used excessive force against him while responding to his…
Date: June 27, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1902
Justia Opinion Summary: Claimant appealed the the magistrate judge's order directing forfeiture of $48,100 seized pursuant to a traffic stop. Claimant contended that the evidence did not support the magistrate judge's conclusion that the…
Date: June 27, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2728
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for violating 18 U.S.C. 39A(a), which imposes criminal liability on anyone who "knowingly aims the beam of a laser pointer at an aircraft in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the…
Date: June 27, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2759
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a qui tam suit under the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. 3729-3733, alleging that KCP&L fraudulently induced the GSA to install an all-electric heating-and-cooling system at the Richard Bolling Federal…
Date: June 26, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3249
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a 42 U.S.C. 1983 suit against the County and the sheriff after he was terminated as deputy sheriff. The court concluded, under the Pickering/Connick balancing test, that at least some of plaintiff's…
Date: June 26, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3780
Justia Opinion Summary: Nationwide hired Ames in 2008. Timely work was central to her position. Ames had a baby in May, 2009 and took eight weeks of maternity leave. In October 2009, Ames discovered that she was again pregnant. Her doctor…
Date: June 26, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1943
Justia Opinion Summary: Polar Tank discharged a maintenance technician for failing to safely complete repair of an overhead crane. The Union grieved the discharge and the grievance was submitted to arbitration. The arbitrator partially upheld…
Date: June 26, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2332
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff and her husband brought a products liability action against the Little Giant Ladder's manufacturer after she suffered injuries while using the ladder. The district court excluded plaintiff's expert testimony…
Date: June 26, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2967
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his sentence after pleading guilty to drug offenses pursuant to a written plea agreement. The court concluded that, given defendant's criminal history, the district court did not abuse its discretion…
Date: June 26, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3219
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his 18-month sentence imposed after he violated his conditions of supervised release. A district court may rely on a defendant's actual conduct rather than the offense to which he pled guilty in…
Date: June 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2356
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for assault with a dangerous weapon and domestic assault by an habitual offender. Defendant argued that the district court abused its discretion in admitting statements from the victim…
Date: June 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2533
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the district court's denial of her application for supplemental security income benefits (SSI) based on her mental impairment. The court concluded that the record was not fully developed as to…
Date: June 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2763
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs appealed from the district court's denial of their motion to remand and its dismissal on the merits of their claims against Wells Fargo and Kozeny. The court concluded that, because plaintiffs did not allege…
Date: June 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2984
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the denial of his application for disability insurance benefits (SSI) based on his post traumatic stress disorder, arthritis, headaches, hearing problems, back and knee problems, and acid reflux. The…
Date: June 23, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1379
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner appealed the district court's denial of his 28 U.S.C. 2255 motion to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence based on his trial counsel's ineffectiveness. The court concluded that counsel's performance was…
Date: June 23, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1542
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The court concluded that the district court properly applied a two-level…
Date: June 20, 2014
Docket Numbers: 13-1251, 13-1480
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1993, a class of plaintiffs represented by Reggie White settled a lawsuit with the NFL by signing an extensive collective bargaining agreement (the SSA), that governed labor relations between the NFL and its players.…
Date: June 19, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2260
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was convicted of a class B misdemeanor under N.D. Cent. Code 36-11-01 for the offense of livestock running at large after three of his horses were discovered roaming freely in his neighbor's fields. On appeal,…
Date: June 19, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1687
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his sentence for use of interstate facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire. The court concluded that the district court did not err in applying U.S.S.G. 2E1.4(a)(2) to cross reference to…
Date: June 17, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1878
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the district court's grant of Allstate's motion for summary judgment and denial of defendant's motion for summary judgment, concluding that defendant's son-in-law was not an insured person under an…
Date: June 13, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1274
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the district court's denial of his 28 U.S.C. 2255 petition. Defendant pled guilty to a drug offense and argued on appeal that he was denied his Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel.…
Date: June 13, 2014
Docket Numbers: 13-1843, 13-1906
Justia Opinion Summary: This dispute arose between H&S, the lessor of drilling equipment, and Graham, the lessee, over the lease of drilling equipment for the construction of an underground water shaft. The court reversed the jury's verdict and…
Date: June 12, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2578
Justia Opinion Summary: The government filed a forfeiture complaint regarding the Mask of Ka-Nefer-Nefer, an Egyptian mummy cartonnage discovered in 1952 by an archaeologist working for the Egyptian government and registered as government…
Date: June 12, 2014
Docket Numbers: 13-1751, 13-1966
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, employees of OMLP, filed a negligence suit alleging that American Greetings' failure to properly label its electrical system and warn plaintiffs of the unique nature of its transformers caused Plaintiff…
Date: June 12, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3028
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The district court imposed a sentence of 120 months of imprisonment after applying the first-degree murder cross-reference from U.S.S.G. 2A1.1…
Date: June 11, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3776
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against a public transit officer and Metropolitan Council under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging that the officer violated plaintiff's constitutional rights when the officer arrested plaintiff at a downtown…
Date: June 11, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3870
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a native of Afghanistan, filed suit seeking to compel officials to decide immediately his pending application for adjustment of status. The court affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment in…
Date: June 11, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1585
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his sentence after pleading guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm as a previously convicted felon. The court concluded that defendant's prior sexual-abuse convictions qualified as violent felonies…
Date: June 11, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1879
Justia Opinion Summary: Choice filed suit against BancorpSouth for lost funds and BancorpSouth counterclaimed for attorney's fees. The court concluded that the loss of funds from Choice's account falls on Choice because there was no genuine…
Date: June 11, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2455
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his sentence after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. The court concluded that the district court did not err in applying a two-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. 3C1.1 for…
Date: June 10, 2014
Docket Numbers: 12-3809, 12-3974, 13-1129
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Conway, Robinson, and Randolph appealed their conviction for various drug and weapons offenses. The court concluded that the evidence was sufficient to convict defendants of the offenses; the district court…
Date: June 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2595
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his revocation of supervised release, arguing that the district court violated his due process right to confront witnesses when it admitted hearsay evidence - a police report - at the revocation…
Date: June 9, 2014
Docket Numbers: 12-2838, 12-3496
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his sentence for conspiracy to distribute more than fifty grams of cocaine base and his concurrent sentence for managing a home for the purpose of distributing cocaine base. There was sufficient…
Date: June 9, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1556
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against his employer, alleging race discrimination and retaliation. The court concluded that plaintiff was unable to show a prima facie case of discrimination because he failed to show circumstances…
Date: June 6, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3207
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against her employer, CBE, under 42 U.S.C. 1981, alleging claims of race discrimination, hostile work environment, retaliation, and constructive discharge. The district court granted summary judgment…
Date: June 6, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1157
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, as trustee for the next of kin of her deceased son, filed suit against five police officers and the city, alleging violations of the son's (1) Fourth Amendment right to be secure against unreasonable seizure,…
Date: June 6, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1207
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction and sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The court concluded that the evidence was sufficient to convict defendant where a recorded interview supported the imminently…
Date: June 6, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1264
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner appealed the district court's denial of her 28 U.S.C. 2255 motion, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. Because petitioner failed to show prejudice, the court declined to address whether her attorney's…
Date: June 6, 2014
Docket Numbers: 13-1685, 13-2681
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, guardian ad litem for minor H.T.P., appealed the district court's adverse grant of summary judgment in this products liability case. Plaintiff alleged that Enfamil, an infant formula, was defective or…
Date: June 6, 2014
Docket Numbers: 13-1834, 13-1874
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Martinus and Maurice appealed their sentences after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The court concluded that Martinus's eighty-five month sentence was substantively reasonable where the…
Date: June 6, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2178
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of El Salvador, petitioned for review of a decision of the BIA dismissing his appeal from the IJ's order of removal. Petitioner admitted that the tampering with evidence conviction…
Date: June 6, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2733
Justia Opinion Summary: Swift County filed suit against Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHFA, alleging that the federal agencies violated state law by failing to pay taxes on the transfers of deeds to real property. The court affirmed the district…
Date: June 5, 2014
Docket Numbers: 12-3724, 12-3858
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit against Sam's club, alleging that Sam's Club willfully violated a provision of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), 15 U.S.C. 1681c(g)(1), which prohibits accepting credit or debit…
Date: June 5, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1530
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the district court's dismissal of his second amended complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. Because Missouri's public policy required American Century not to…
Date: June 5, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1689
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed his conviction and sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The court agreed with the district court that the initial seizure of defendant in a strip mall parking lot was based on…
Date: June 5, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2210
Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed from the district court's order granting petitioner's petition for habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. 2254. Petitioner raised a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel under Strickland v.…
Date: June 5, 2014
Docket Number: 14-6005
Justia Opinion Summary: Pettry Claimants appealed the bankruptcy court's order denying a motion for reconsideration of a November 8, 2013 order sustaining debtor's seventeenth omnibus objection to claims. The bankruptcy appellate panel affirmed…
Date: June 4, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3863
Justia Opinion Summary: After plaintiff's daughter was born with permanent nerve damage in her right shoulder and arm, plaintiff filed suit against the physician who performed the delivery of plaintiff's daughter. The court concluded that the…
Date: June 3, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2158
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a Kenyan citizen, sought review of the BIA's order upholding the IJ's denial of her motion for a continuance and her request for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture…
Date: June 2, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2020
Justia Opinion Summary: Arnold filed suit against Gander in Missouri state court alleging breach of a commercial lease. Gander initiated removal to federal court three times but the district court remanded to the state court. On appeal, Gander…
Date: June 2, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2800
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the district court's order affirming the ALJ's determination that he was not entitled to disability benefits or supplemental security income. The court concluded that the ALJ's determination that…
Date: June 2, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3247
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. On appeal, defendant argued that the six-and-a-half-year delay between indictment and arrest violated the Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial. The…
Date: May 30, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2800
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal is a companion to Baker v. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. The appeal concerns action the district court took while purporting to exercise jurisdiction over that dispute, namely, disqualifying plaintiffs'…
Date: May 30, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3224
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was convicted of distribution of heroin resulting in the death of another in violation of 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C), and was sentenced to life in prison. On appeal, petitioner challenged the…
Date: May 30, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3308
Justia Opinion Summary: This dispute arose from the lease of a commercial building from CRG to Smucker. The lease provided that, after its initial term, it would automatically renew unless Smucker provided written notice of its intent to…
Date: May 30, 2014
Docket Numbers: 13-1072, 13-1108, 13-1410, 13-1618, 13-1619
Justia Opinion Summary: After plaintiff was arrested for violation of Mo. Rev. Stat. 578.095, which prohibits flag desecration, he filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 against Cape Girardeau, the arresting police officer, and the prosecuting…
Date: May 30, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3437
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to one count of reentry after removal. On appeal, defendant challenged the district court's denial of his motion to suppress evidence of his identity obtained during a traffic stop. Because the…
Date: May 29, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2226
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of Tanzania, sought review of several of the BIA's orders. The court concluded that the court's jurisdiction was limited to reviewing the BIA's denial of petitioner's motion to reopen and…
Date: May 28, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3495
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, convicted of starting a fire that damaged her failing tavern, appealed the district court's denial of a new trial and 28 U.S.C. 2255 relief. The court concluded that there was no Brady violation where the…
Date: May 27, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2744
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed her sentence for one count of witness retaliation. Defendant's presentence report applied a cross-reference under U.S.S.G. 2J1.2(c)(1) for obstructing a criminal prosecution. The court concluded that,…
Date: May 23, 2014
Docket Numbers: 12-2527, 12-2593
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Young and Mock were convicted of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, resulting in death and murder-for-hire, resulting in death. The court rejected defendants' evidentiary challenges; the district court did…
Date: May 23, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1730
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, claiming that his Eighth Amendment rights were violated after Sgt. Earl Eaton pepper-sprayed him when he refused to return to his cell after showering, and Cpl. Renita White…
Date: May 22, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2394
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment to the Red Cross on her claims, inter alia, of race discrimination and retaliation. The court concluded that plaintiff failed to establish a prima facie…
Date: May 22, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2510
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine. On appeal, defendant argued that the prosecution breached the plea agreement by failing to move for a three…
Date: May 21, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1297
Justia Opinion Summary: D&G filed suit against wholesalers under Section 1 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. 1, and Section 4 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. 15(a), and moved for class certification. The court concluded that this case presented a…
Date: May 21, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3004
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Defendant challenged the district court's denial of his motion for a new trial based on the government's failure to disclose exculpatory…
Date: May 20, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4000
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a victim of sexual assault while in pretrial detention in jail, filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 and pendent state law, alleging claims against those he considered responsible for the assault. At issue in this…
Date: May 19, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3714
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a former inmate, filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 against the State and the Iowa Board of Parole, alleging violations of his constitutional rights based on defendants' failure to conduct in-person parole…
Date: May 15, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3062
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit seeking a declaratory judgment quieting title to an interest in the Bakken formation that Phillip Armstrong purchased from Berco. Armstrong also filed suit against Encore for breaching a Letter…
Date: May 15, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2015
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction and sentence for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine and marijuana (Count I) and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense (Count…
Date: May 15, 2014
Docket Numbers: 13-2059, 13-2060
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Allen and Mallet appealed their conviction of conspiring to distribute 280 grams or more of cocaine base. The court concluded that Allen's speedy trial rights were not violated where his trial began within the…
Date: May 15, 2014
Docket Number: 13-6061
Justia Opinion Summary: Debtor appealed the bankruptcy court's judgment excepting a debt owed to CFG from debtor's discharge under 11 U.S.C. 523(a)(2)(A). The court concluded that the bankruptcy court did not clearly err by finding that debtor…
Date: May 14, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3712
Justia Opinion Summary: AECI filed suit against the Union seeking to vacate the arbitrator's award and the Union counterclaimed for enforcement. Relying on the court's decision in Coca-Cola Bottling Co. v. Teamsters Local Union No. 688, the…
Date: May 14, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2448
Justia Opinion Summary: First Tennessee and members of the Gregg family filed suit against Pathfinders and its assignees for breaching an oil and gas lease. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Pathfinder, finding the case…
Date: May 13, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1103
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native of China, sought review of the BIA's denial of her motion to reopen her application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). The court concluded…
Date: May 13, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1307
Justia Opinion Summary: United filed a declaratory judgment action against Titan, seeking a declaration that United did not owe a duty to defend or indemnify Titan against a pending state-court lawsuit because the policy's absolute pollution…
Date: May 13, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3329
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a putative class action against Bridgestone for violating the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act (MMPA), 407.020.1 RSMo. Plaintiff alleged that a shop supply fee was for profit, not supplies. The court…
Date: May 12, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3130
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a negligence and strict products liability suit against Stryker, the manufacturer and seller of the pain pump that was inserted into her shoulder to mitigate her pain while recovering from surgery.…
Date: May 12, 2014
Docket Numbers: 13-1660, 13-1661
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Holmes and Rendon appealed their convictions for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The court concluded that the district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting…
Date: May 12, 2014
Docket Numbers: 13-1772, 13-1875
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against the city, alleging claims under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), 29 U.S.C. 2601; Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.; section 504 of the…
Date: May 12, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1780
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, a software engineer, filed no federal individual income tax return for 2007. The Commissioner issued a notice of deficiency alleging unpaid taxes, penalties, and interest of more than $250,000 based on a…
Date: May 12, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2935
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his 48-month sentence imposed after the second revocation of his supervised release. The court concluded that the sentence was substantively reasonable where the district court adequately considered…
Date: May 9, 2014
Docket Numbers: 12-3461, 12-3508
Justia Opinion Summary: BLB, an aviation company, brought contract claims against Jet Linx and others, and Jet Linx counterclaimed. The court concluded that Jet Linx's tender of a check and BLB's act of depositing the check did not amount to an…
Date: May 9, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1310
Justia Opinion Summary: The Secretary petitioned for review of OSHA's order approving without comment an underlying ALJ's decision that addressed competing interpretations of a Department of Labor safety regulation, 29 U.S.C. 1910.212(a)(1).…
Date: May 9, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2043
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. The court concluded that there was sufficient evidence to convict defendant; the district court properly denied defendant's…
Date: May 8, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1332
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against MetLife, alleging that MetLife abused its discretion in denying her claim to receive the proceeds of her late husband's life insurance policy under an employee-benefit plan governed by the…
Date: May 8, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1954
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a lieutenant of the Arkansas police department, appealed her conviction of two counts of attempted extortion under color of official right and two counts of attempted possession with intent to distribute…
Date: May 7, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1884
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for knowingly receiving and distributing child pornography (Count 1) and knowingly possessing child pornography (Count 2). The court concluded that the district court did not abuse its…
Date: May 7, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2269
Justia Opinion Summary: An ALJ denied plaintiff's application for disability insurance benefits, concluding that she was not disabled because there were jobs she could have performed during the relevant period. The Appeals Council then denied…
Date: May 2, 2014
Docket Numbers: 12-3816, 13-1021
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his three convictions in a murder-for-hire case; denial of a belated motion to withdraw his guilty plea in a user-in-possession case; and both sentences. The court concluded that the district court did…
Date: May 2, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1187
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner appealed the district court's denial of his 28 U.S.C. 2255 petition to vacate, set aside or correct his sentence. The court concluded that petitioner failed to demonstrate that petitioner's trial counsel was…
Date: May 2, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1606
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed a purported class action against Charter in Missouri state court, alleging that Charter violated the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act (MMPA), Mo. Rev. Stat. 407.10 et seq., and breached its contract…
Date: May 2, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1651
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitioned for review of a final order of removal entered by the BIA. The court concluded that substantial evidence supported the IJ's determinations, affirmed by the BIA, that…
Date: May 2, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1911
Justia Opinion Summary: Farm Credit had a security interest in corn delivered to Cargill and filed suit against Cargill in replevin for the corn. The district court concluded that Farm Credit's security interest under the Food Security Act…
Date: May 2, 2014
Docket Numbers: 13-2018, 13-2050
Justia Opinion Summary: The Government filed civil forfeiture actions against five properties alleging that they were used to manufacture illegal drugs or were purchased with proceeds from illegal drug sales. Claimants filed claims to the…
Date: May 2, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2076
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. 201 et seq., against H&R Block, alleging that H&R Block must compensate tax professionals for the time spent completing twenty-four hours of…
Date: May 1, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2072
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his sentence after being convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Defendant argued that the district court erred by treating a prior drug conspiracy conviction and…
Date: April 29, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1509
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for assault resulting in serious bodily injury. The court concluded that the evidence was sufficient to support the verdict where defendant was entitled to attack the credibility of…
Date: April 29, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1779
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute at least 28 grams of a mixture and substance containing cocaine base. The court held that vehicular flight, as described by Michigan Code…
Date: April 28, 2014
Docket Numbers: 13-1719, 13-1822
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Randy and Paul Irlmeier each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to manufacture at least 100 marijuana plants. On appeal, defendants challenged their sentences. The court affirmed, concluding that the…
Date: April 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1215
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner appealed the district court's denial of his petition to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence under 28 U.S.C. 2255. The court concluded that it need not discuss whether trial counsel's conduct was…
Date: April 25, 2014
Docket Numbers: 13-1401, 13-2745
Justia Opinion Summary: South Dakota Native American inmates filed suit against defendants claiming that a tobacco ban substantially burdened the exercise of their religious beliefs in violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized…
Date: April 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1615
Justia Opinion Summary: After debtors filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, GMAC filed this adversary proceeding claiming that it was entitled to a first-priority lien on a home and surrounding twenty-two acres of land by operation of the…
Date: April 24, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1560
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, pretrial detainees at a detention center, filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 against prison guards and the Sheriff, alleging a variety of constitutional violations. The court concluded that the district court…
Date: April 24, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2487
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his sentence after pleading guilty to using interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire. Defendant had posted a classified ad on Craigslist.com offering to pay for the murder of…
Date: April 22, 2014
Docket Number: 13-6050
Justia Opinion Summary: The Trustee appealed from the bankruptcy court's holding that a property tax refund was exempt under Minn. Stat. 550.37, subd. 14, as "government assistance based on need." The property tax refund at issue is authorized…
Date: April 22, 2014
Docket Number: 14-6001
Justia Opinion Summary: Creditor appealed from the bankruptcy court's order directing the clerk to reject the filing of his dischargeability complaint based on creditor's failure to make a motion to reopen the underlying bankruptcy case. The…
Date: April 17, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1569
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, an insanity acquitee committed to the custody of the Missouri Department of Mental Health, filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. 2254, challenging the denial of his state-court application for unconditional…
Date: April 16, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3872
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a prison inmate, filed suit asserting various claims, including 42 U.S.C. 1983 claims alleging violations of the First and Fourteenth Amendments, that prison officials wrongfully censored and confiscated his…
Date: April 16, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1073
Justia Opinion Summary: Claimant appealed the district court's order denying his post-trial motion to suppress evidence obtained as the result of a traffic stop. The government had instituted a civil in rem forfeiture lawsuit against the…
Date: April 16, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2085
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was found incompetent to stand trial after he was indicted on one count of possession of a firearm after having been committed to a mental institution. The district court ordered defendant to be involuntarily…
Date: April 10, 2014
Docket Number: 11-3514
Justia Opinion Summary: Relators filed several related qui tam actions against government contractors, including Cisco, alleging that they committed fraud against the government by means of a kickback and defective pricing schemes in violation…
Date: April 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1525
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, through his guardian, sought to recover from an insurance policy of ACE. Plaintiff is developmentally disabled and requires a personal care assistant. Plaintiff, while supervised by an assistant, was blinded…
Date: April 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1721
Justia Opinion Summary: The trustee filed an adversary proceeding to recover as voidable preferences two payments that Momar received from debtor during the 90 days prior to filing a bankruptcy petition. On appeal, the trustee challenged the…
Date: April 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2111
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against the City, several officers, the State of Iowa, the director of the Iowa Department of Corrections (Baldwin), the Curt Forbes Residential Center, and manager of the Residential Center…
Date: April 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2378
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana after two mistrials. The district court denied defendant's motion to…
Date: April 9, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1321
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, convicted of raping his two minor nieces, appealed the district court's denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. 2254. Plaintiff claimed that his counsel was ineffective by failing to…
Date: April 8, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3223
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against National Life and Penn Mutual after both companies denied his claims for disability benefits under insurance policies they had issued to him. Plaintiff was unable to practice chiropractic…
Date: April 8, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1361
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for unlawful possession of marijuana as a previously convicted felon. The court concluded that the district court did not abuse its discretion by admitting evidence of the…
Date: April 7, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1348
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for one count of criminal sexual conduct. The court held that the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt defendant's knowledge that his victim lacked the capacity to consent to…
Date: April 4, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3055
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, plaintiffs filed suit against the Bank for breach of contract, negligence, and conversion after plaintiffs gave physical possession of gold coins and proof sets to a predecessor of the Bank, as collateral to…
Date: April 4, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3064
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against defendants, alleging claims of unlawful sexual harassment and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000 et seq., and the Iowa Civil Rights Act, Iowa Code…
Date: April 4, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3247
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant conditionally pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. On appeal, defendant challenged the district court's denial of his motions to suppress. The government argued that the police had a…
Date: April 4, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1164
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit against the Bank seeking to void a mortgage foreclosure sale of their home. Plaintiffs alleged that the Bank represented orally that it would postpone the foreclosure sale, but then proceeded to…
Date: April 4, 2014
Docket Numbers: 13-1382, 13-1512
Justia Opinion Summary: After receiving an adverse ruling from the Rosebud tribal courts regarding a casino management contract, plaintiff filed suit in federal court seeking to vacate the tribal court ruling and to enjoin the Tribe from…
Date: April 4, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1426
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a citizen of China, sought review of the BIA's affirmance of the IJ's denial of her application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). The IJ found that…
Date: April 4, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1485
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, consumers, filed suit in Minnesota state court against ConAgra, claiming that some Hebrew National beef products were not, as the label reads, "100% kosher." ConAgra removed to federal court under the Class…
Date: April 4, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1641
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. 1132(a)(1)(B), claiming that Prudential wrongly denied him long term disability (LTD) benefits under a group policy sponsored by…
Date: April 4, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2217
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against Wells Fargo and Freddie Mac, asserting several deficiencies with the foreclosure of his home and seeking to quiet title to the property in himself. The district court granted defendants'…
Date: April 3, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4007
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction and sentence for conspiracy to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and more than 50 grams of cocaine base. The court concluded that the district court did not abuse its…
Date: April 3, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1445
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 against the city and several police officers after her son was shot in the chest with an electronic control device (ECD). After the case settled, plaintiff filed suit against…
Date: April 3, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1882
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction of one count of receipt of materials involving the sexual exploitation of children in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2252(a)(2) and three counts of possession of materials involving the sexual…
Date: April 3, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1986
Justia Opinion Summary: Continental appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment to plaintiffs. The district court determined that plaintiffs' had made more than one claim against their former financial advisor. The financial advisor…
Date: April 3, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2222
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to one count of transporting a minor in interstate commerce with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. On appeal, defendant appealed his sentence of 120 months imprisonment. Defendant…
Date: April 2, 2014
Docket Number: 13-6065
Justia Opinion Summary: The Creditor appealed from the bankruptcy court's denial of its motion for relief from the automatic stay in the Chapter 13 bankruptcy case of debtors. At issue was whether the bankruptcy court abused its discretion when…
Date: April 1, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3924
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. On appeal, defendant challenged the denial of his motion to suppress the evidence seized during the search of his person. The court concluded that,…
Date: March 28, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2531
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging that state officials in the WRDCC's Offenders Under Treatmet Program (OUTP) violated his rights under the First Amendment. Plaintiff, as an atheist, participated in…
Date: March 27, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1887
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction of one count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana. The court concluded that defendant waived any claim that he was "forced" to stipulate that he lived at the residence at issue where a…
Date: March 27, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1976
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 after she was terminated by the law school of Hamline University. Plaintiff alleged that the university, the dean, and the president of the St. Paul Police Federation (SPPF)…
Date: March 26, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2696
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit against defendant under 42 U.S.C. 1981 and 1983. The district court concluded on remand that defendant was not entitled to qualified immunity on any ground. Determining that the court had…
Date: March 26, 2014
Docket Numbers: 12-3713, 12-3736
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against the cities, alleging violations of the Fair Housing Act (FHA), 42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq., federal civil rights laws, and state laws stemming from the cities' demolition of his properties after…
Date: March 26, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1565
Justia Opinion Summary: The Union sought to set aside an arbitration award that ruled in favor of the MADA and several member car dealerships. At issue was the transition between the 2006 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and the 2010 CBA…
Date: March 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1206
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit alleging deliberate indifference by the University to her rape by another student and state law violations including breach of contract, misrepresentation, and negligence following a back injury she…
Date: March 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1613
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff and the Estate of John Green appealed from the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Church Mutual. The court affirmed the district court's conclusion that coverage for the injuries plaintiffs…
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