2014 Ninth Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of domestic assault by a habitual offender in violation of 18 U.S.C. 117(a). On appeal, defendant challenged the district court's denial of his motion to dismiss the indictment,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, non-profit organizations representing the manufacturers and distributors of pharmaceutical products, filed suit challenging the Alameda County Safe Drug Disposal Ordinance, which requires that prescription…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner sought review of the BIA's affirmance of the IJ's denial of petitioner's motion to reopen. Immigration officials had failed to properly record petitioner's correct address and, instead, recorded another…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against two ICE agents, seeking damages for the time he spent in pre-trial detention on state criminal charges allegedly as a result of the agents' wrongful acts. The district court granted the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, convicted in state court of one count of an attempted lewd act upon a child under the age of 14, sought review of the district court's dismissal of his 28 U.S.C. 2254 petition. Petitioner alleged that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, a class of disabled state prisoners and parolees, filed suit seeking disability accommodations required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq., and the Rehabilitation Act (RA),…

Justia Opinion Summary: Peabody mines coal on the Hopi and Navajo reservations in Arizona under leases with the tribes. The EEOC filed suit alleging, among other things, that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-8(c), prohibits…

Justia Opinion Summary: King Mountain and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Indian Nation filed suit against the Attorney General for declaratory and injunctive relief from Washington's escrow statute, Wash. Rev. Code…

Justia Opinion Summary: These consolidated appeals concern challenges to two logging projects in Montana's Flathead National Project: (1) the Weber case challenged the Forest Service's decision to authorize the Spotted Bear River Project, and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against Wynn Las Vegas, alleging claims of breach of contract and recoupment regarding gambling debts that plaintiff owed to Wynn. The district court dismissed based on plaintiff's failure to exhaust…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the denial of social security benefits on the basis that she was not intellectually disabled. Plaintiff had received social security benefits because of her intellectual disability but the SSA…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Mall filed suit in state court alleging state-law claims for trespass and nuisance. The Union removed to federal court on the ground that the Mall had alleged the equivalent of unlawful secondary boycott activity in…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner sought review of the BIA's order of removal. The court concluded that, given the scope of the BIA's remand order, the IJ properly allowed the government to file new charges against petitioner. On the merits,…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose from California's decision to extend its control to cleanup of radioactive pollutants (Senate Bill 990). Boeing filed suit challenging the validity of SB 990, which controlled cleanup of the Santa Susanna…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed a class action against Sweetwater, alleging unlawful sex discrimination under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX), 20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq. Plaintiffs alleged that Sweetwater…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit on behalf of himself and a putative class, alleging claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), 42 U.S.C. 227(b)(1)(A)(iii), that Campbell-Ewald instructed or allowed a third-party…

Justia Opinion Summary: In consolidated appeals, two groups challenged the BPA's decision to forgo refunds after the court invalidated three sets of contractual arrangements in which BPA agreed to subsidize certain longtime industrial customers…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of using a pipe bomb to damage a vehicle and apartment building in violation of 18 U.S.C. 844(i). On appeal, defendant challenged his conviction. Applying Russell v. United States and United…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, now deceased, was incarcerated for two years pending trial on charges arising from a series of demand-note robberies. Plaintiff filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 against the two detectives responsible for…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, convicted of crimes ranging from manufacture of a controlled substance to possession of child pornography, appealed the district court's dismissal of his habeas petition because it was time-barred. In this…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, an aspiring model, filed a failure to warn suit against Internet Brands, the company who owns the website modelmayhem.com. Plaintiff had posted information about herself on the website and two rapists used the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Tribe filed suit alleging that the Secretary, acting through the BIA, violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. 702, 706, by determining that the Secretary was not authorized to approve the Tribe's…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 against the Commonwealth after she was terminated from her position as Special Assistant to the Governor for Women's Affairs. On appeal, plaintiff challenged the district court's…

Justia Opinion Summary: In these consolidated appeals, C.M's parents challenged the district court's decision affirming the OAH judge's conclusion that the District did not violate the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20…

Justia Opinion Summary: After petitioner was terminated from Union Pacific, he filed suit challenging the Public Law Board decision affirming his termination by the railroad. The court concluded that there was no violation of petitioner's due…

Justia Opinion Summary: CDA entered into a settlement with the government under provisions of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. 9601-75, for payment of the costs of hazardous waste…

Justia Opinion Summary: Debtors, William M. "Trip" Hawkins - the cofounder of EA and his wife, filed a declaratory action against the IRS and the FTB seeking a determination that their unpaid taxes were covered by the bankruptcy plan discharge.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit alleging that DHL's decision to eliminate plaintiffs' right to transfer their account balances from DHL's defined contribution plan to its defined benefit plan violated the "anti-cutback" rule of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Johnson and Williams appealed their convictions for armed robbery and murder. At issue was the so-called "forfeiture exception" to the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment, which applies when the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging that various defendants violated her Fourth Amendment rights when they searched her apartment without a warrant. The court dismissed the claim based on untimeliness.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction of one count of distributing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography. An NCIS agent investigating online criminal activity of persons in Washington state found…

Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal stemmed from debtor's listing of a $575 payday loan from CIC. Debtor filed a motion for sanctions in the Bankruptcy Court, alleging that CIC willfully violated the automatic stay provision of the bankruptcy…

Justia Opinion Summary: MEIC filed suit against the Director of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, claiming that the Director will violate duties imposed by the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA), 30 U.S.C.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, seeking relief from a misdemeanor conviction for driving under the influence, appealed the district court's dismissal of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. 2254. The district court…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, convicted of murdering her husband and unauthorized surreptitious intrusion of privacy by listening device, appealed the district court's dismissal of her 28 U.S.C. 2254 habeas corpus petition based on…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, Appellants, commercial fishers, were stopped by officers from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) while driving on a public highway. The officers pulled Appellants’ vehicle over to check for…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a teacher in the United States Forest Service’s Job Corps Program, filed a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain records pertaining to an investigation into misconduct allegations. The Forest Service…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was convicted in California state court of murder and related offenses. Petitioner appealed, arguing that the district court erred in denying his Batson motion because the prosecution engaged in purposeful…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitioned for review of the BIA's decision upholding a final order of removal against him. The BIA held that petitioner's sexual battery conviction was a violent or dangerous…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a paraplegic who uses a wheelchair, filed suit under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq., and the California Disabled Persons Act (CDPA), Cal. Civ. Code 54 et seq., against the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal, the court considered the district court's order granting in part and denying in part a newspaper's motion to unseal transcripts and filings related to a grand jury witness's contempt and continued…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction of one count of attempted bank robbery. The court concluded that the district court violated Rule 43 when it questioned Juror H outside of defendant's earshot, but the district court did…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of Mexico, sought review of the BIA's decision affirming the IJ's final order of removal against him. The court concluded that possession of marijuana for sale under the California Health…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed her conviction for impersonating an officer or employee of the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 912. Defendant had prepared a letter responding to her client's tax concerns by using the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for two counts of knowingly receiving visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The court concluded that the district court did not abuse its discretion in…

Justia Opinion Summary: Allstate appealed the district court's grant of class certification to plaintiff and 800 other Allstate employees in California who alleged that Allstate has a practice or unofficial policy of requiring its claims…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment to defendants. The district court concluded that defendants were shielded from liability under the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251, where defendants'…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, small business owners, filed a class action suit alleging that Yelp, an online forum, extorted or attempted to extort advertising payments from them by manipulating user reviews and penning negative reviews…

Justia Opinion Summary: Allergan, the pharmaceutical manufacturer of Botox, settled several qui tam suits concerning allegations that it had acted illegally in marketing and labeling Botox, and pled guilty in a criminal case. Plaintiffs, all…

Justia Opinion Summary: El Dorado, a mobile home park owner located in the City of Fillmore alleged that the City interfered with an application for a subdivision of its seniors-only mobile home park by causing unreasonable delays and imposing…

Justia Opinion Summary: Oracle filed suit against SAP alleging that TomorrowNow, an enterprise software company recently acquired by SAP, was engaging in systematic and pervasive illegal downloading of Oracle's software. SAP stipulated to…

Justia Opinion Summary: After law enforcement officers arrested Defendant they obtained a warrant to search his home. The search of Defendant’s home resulted in the seizure of illegal drugs and firearms. Defendant entered a conditional guilty…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, a confidential informant told Anaheim police officer Stauber that Cruz was a gang member who sold methamphetamine and carried a gun. Stauber determined that Cruz had prior convictions including a felony…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs allege that they hold land patents, issued by the federal government before Alaska entered the Union, giving title to certain Alaska streambeds. In 2010- 2011, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to engage in prohibited monetary transactions in property for his part in the purchase of two parcels of real property with fraudulently obtained loans. The district…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner George Wharton appealed the district court's denial of habeas relief. Police officers arrested Petitioner after finding the body of his live-in girlfriend stuffed in a barrel in their kitchen. Petitioner…

Justia Opinion Summary: The named plaintiffs represented a class comprising approximately 2300 individuals who were full-time delivery drivers for FedEx in California between 2000 and 2007. FedEx contended its drivers were independent…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1976, Gail Kennedy, a professor at the University of California-Los Angeles ("UCLA"), led an archaeological field excavation project on the property of the Chancellor's official residence at the University of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Named plaintiffs, former FedEx drivers, represented two classes of plaintiffs comprising approximately 363 individuals who were full-time delivery drivers for FedEx in Oregon at any time between 1999 and 2009. Plaintiff…

Justia Opinion Summary: ASARCO, LLC ("Asarco") appealed the district court's dismissal of its contribution action brought under section 113(f) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act ("CERCLA"). Asarco…

Justia Opinion Summary: Singh, a 51-year-old citizen of India, entered the U.S. in 2006 after egregious physical abuse by the police in Jullandar, Punjab, concerning his employment of a domestic servant alleged to be a Kashmiri terrorist. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Debtors were account holders at Wells Fargo. When Wells Fargo discovered that the Debtors had filed a voluntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition, it placed a “temporary administrative pledge” on their accounts and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Rashdan, an Egyptian dentist, enrolled in a program to credential her for practice in the U.S. Three months before graduation, Rashdan followed her clinical supervisor’s instructions to seat a crown, but the procedure…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, a juvenile court adjudicated Mendez guilty of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. If committed by an adult, the offense is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. In 2012, after Mendez had…

Justia Opinion Summary: Clinton is a musician, bandleader, and touring performance artist. H&L, a law firm, represented Clinton in in 2005-2008, billed Clinton $3,341,650, received $1,000,578 in payment, and wrote off $600,000 of the remaining…

Justia Opinion Summary: Yongguo Lai, a native and citizen of China, appealed a Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) decision dismissing Lai's appeal of an immigration judge's (IJ) decision denying his application for asylum, withholding of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA") agents and Long Beach Police Department ("LBPD") officers obtained warrants for wiretaps on two phones in the Summer of 2006. Officers intercepted communications pursuant to the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-appellee William Sloan, a citizen of the United States, and plaintiff-appellant Elaine Murphy, a citizen of Ireland, were married in California in 2000. They lived together in Mill Valley, California, and had a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a California prisoner, appealed the dismissal of his federal habeas petition as time-barred. The district court refused to apply the prison mailbox rule to calculate the dates of petitioner's filings, finding…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitioned for review of the BIA's decision that his conviction under California Penal Code section 459 was an aggravated felony that rendered him ineligible for cancellation…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this fraudulent conveyance action, Linda Mastro, a nonclaimant to the bankruptcy estate, appealed the district court's judgment. The court held that the bankruptcy court had authority to enter judgment based on the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff and Kuda Mujeyi filed a class action suit in state court asserting claims against several defendants. The case was removed to federal court under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA), 28 U.S.C. 1332(d)(2).…

Justia Opinion Summary: Claimant appealed the district court's decision forfeiting $132,245 for failure to report the currency when crossing the United States border in violation of 31 U.S.C. 5316 and for bulk cash smuggling in violation of 31…

Justia Opinion Summary: PSH filed suit against the Wells Fargo & Company Health Plan, governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. 1001 et seq., and UBH, seeking payment for additional days of inpatient treatment…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit against defendants, owners and operators of railyards, under the citizen suit provision of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), 42 U.S.C. 6901-6992k. Plaintiffs sought to enjoin the…

Justia Opinion Summary: ISKCON appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), manager Stephen Yee, and the LAX police chief, on ISKCON's claim that section…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Gadson and Wilson appealed their convictions for drug and firearm offenses. On appeal, defendants raised numerous arguments regarding various evidentiary rulings, the correctness of jury instructions, the…

Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal arose from a proceeding brought by the Klallam under the continuing jurisdiction of a 1974 decree issued by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, and it involved a dispute over the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs appealed from the district court's dismissal of their 42 U.S.C. 1983 complaint alleging that defendants violated plaintiffs' First Amendment right to freedom of religion by forcing them to provide direct staff…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the district court's decision that six of his past convictions qualify as predicate offenses under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. 924(e). The court concluded that defendant's three…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, convicted of unlawful sexual penetration for the sexual abuse of his sister, brought a federal habeas petition seeking relief based on a freestanding claim of actual innocence after three witnesses recanted…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner represented himself against theft charges at trial and was sentenced under Nevada's habitual criminal statute. On appeal, petitioner challenged the district court's denial of his petition for habeas corpus…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of India, petitioned for review of the BIA's dismissal of his appeal from an order of removal. The court concluded that, although petitioner now claims that he only accepted the order of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the denial of his application for disability insurance benefits and supplemental security income. The court concluded that the ALJ improperly discounted the opinions of plaintiff's treating providers…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff and her union appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment on their First Amendment retaliation claims. Defendants cross-appealed a later order denying them attorneys' fees. The court remanded so…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit on behalf of himself and a putative class of consumers whose Touchpad orders had been cancelled, alleging that Barnes & Noble had engaged in deceptive business practices and false advertising. On…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed from the district court's grant of summary judgment to the FTC and its order permanently enjoining defendant from engaging in a variety of marketing tactics, and ordering him to pay restitution. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, convicted in Nevada state court of first degree murder, argued that his conviction was invalid due to the trial court's use of the Kazalyn instruction, which did not separately define the terms "willful,"…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a police officer, filed suit after he was terminated following severe interpersonal problems between him and other police officers. Plaintiff contended that these interpersonal problems resulted from his…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of Vietnam, petitioned for review of a BIA decision dismissing his appeal from an order of removal entered by an IJ. The court concluded that the BIA did not err in determining that…

Justia Opinion Summary: ATC filed suit challenging the City's denial of its Conditional Use Permit (CUP) applications for three of its San Diego telecommunications facilities. ATC raised claims under, among other provisions, the California…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, an inmate, filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging a violation of his Eighth Amendment rights when prison officials were deliberately indifferent to his serious medical needs in refusing him cataract surgery…

Justia Opinion Summary: Encompass filed suit against Mid-Century and Coast National seeking contribution or subrogation for the expenses Encompass incurred in its defense and indemnification of its insured, Lisa Torti, in an underlying lawsuit.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner challenged the state court's holding that a retrospective competency determination was feasible and that he was competent at the time of his penalty-phase trial. The district court concluded that exhaustion of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his convictions for manufacturing 1,000 or more marijuana plants and carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. The court concluded that a deputy's single reference to a consulate did not…

Justia Opinion Summary: Avenal Power filed suit seeking to compel EPA to issue a Prevention of Significant Deterioration Permit under the old applicable air quality standards that would have applied had EPA acted within the statutory deadline.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a juvenile male, appealed the district court's adjudication of delinquency on six counts of aggravated sexual abuse in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2241(c). The court concluded that the district court had subject…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of knowingly joining and participating in a drug conspiracy because she translated telephone calls for her godson, a leader of a methamphetamine conspiracy. The court held that when a government…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a death row prisoner, filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 against Department of Corrections officials and a prison guard, alleging that the prison guard read a confidential letter he sent to his attorney, rather…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed a putative class action alleging that defendants failed to provide necessary services for students with diabetes in California public schools. The parties subsequently entered into a settlement agreement…

Justia Opinion Summary: SoCal filed suit against Defendant Zaffina and his company, SoCal Inc., alleging violations of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. 1051 et seq.; the California Business and Professions Code; common law trademark infringement; and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the dismissal of his securities fraud class action for failure to state a claim. The court, agreeing with the Eleventh Circuit, held that the announcement of an investigation, standing alone, is…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Coons and Novack filed suit challenging the constitutionality of two provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. L. No. 111-148, 124 Stat. 119, as amended by the Health Care and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Quinta Real appealed from the district court's conclusion that expansion of Quinta Real's Mexican hotel business into the United States would result in a likelihood of consumer confusion with La Quinta. The court held…

Justia Opinion Summary: Riverkeeper attempted to intervene in an effort to prevent LNG from constructing a liquefied natural gas facility and pipeline along the Columbia River in Oregon. Riverkeeper sought review of the Coast Guard's issuance…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the district court's dismissal of her consumer rights claim under section 480-2 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes (UDAP claim). The court concluded that district courts evaluating whether a borrower's…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Ringgold and Ringgold-Lockhart appealed the district court's vexatious litigant order. The court concluded that the district court provided proper notice and an opportunity to be heard, in accordance with the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Carr, Anderson, and Franklin appealed their convictions and sentences for three counts related to the armed robbery of a federal credit union. The government cross-appealed defendants' sentences. The court…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants invoked diversity jurisdiction and filed a notice of removal fourteen months after the lawsuit was filed in state court. The district court sua sponte remanded, concluding that defendants removed the case too…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case concerns liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. 9601-75, and its state law counterpart, the Arizona Water Quality Assurance Revolving Funds,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Hawaii AG filed suit in state court against six credit card providers, alleging that each violated state law by deceptively marketing and improperly enrolling cardholders in add-on credit card products. The card…