2014 Ninth Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit against defendants, alleging that defendants violated federal and state antitrust laws by conspiring to fix the price for SD cards and engaging in improper practices with respect to the licensing of…

Justia Opinion Summary: UNM, a trade show cleaning company, filed suit against SDC, alleging claims for interference with contract, interference with prospective economic advantage, and antitrust violations. The court reversed the district…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner pled guilty to one count of battery in California state court for biting a correctional officer while incarcerated at the California Rehabilitation Center. On appeal, petitioner challenged the district court's…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, an Indonesian citizen of Chinese descent, sought review of the BIA's denial of his motion to reopen removal proceedings. The court joined its sister circuits and held that a petitioner's untimely motion to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against defendants, alleging claims under 42 U.S.C. 1983 and state law for wrongful detention, false arrest, and excessive force. An SFPD officer, Sergeant Kim, made a "high-risk" stop of plaintiff's…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment to defendants regarding the roundup, or "gather," of approximately 1,600 wild horses and 160 burros from the Twin Peaks Herd Management Area (HMA).…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of the Marshall Islands, sought review of the BIA's order reversing the IJ's finding that he was eligible for relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). Petitioner fled the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, an unsuccessful candidate for judicial office in Mohave County, Arizona, filed suit challenging the facial and as-applied constitutionality of certain provisions of the Arizona Code of Judicial Conduct. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the denial of his motion to dismiss an indictment charging attempted entry after deportation. The court applied the modified categorical approach and held that defendant's state conviction for…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit against Zynga and Facebook under the Wiretap Act, 18 U.S.C. 2511(3)(a), and the Stored Communications Act, 18 U.S.C. 2702(a)(2), two chapters within the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Union petitioned for review of the FRA's decision that the agency lacked jurisdiction to decide whether the Union Pacific Railroad Company had authority under the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to designate…

Justia Opinion Summary: LOWD plaintiffs appealed the district court's denial of their motion to preliminarily enjoin the Snow Basin logging project. The court concluded that the LOWD plaintiffs have shown that they were likely to prevail on…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. 1132(a)(1)(B), 1132(a)(3), against PacifiCare when Pacificare denied her health care coverage. The court concluded that…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner sought review of the BIA's order vacating the IJ's grant of asylum based on his well-founded fear of persecution as a member of a particular social group. The BIA concluded that petitioner's purported social…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit against defendants under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), 18 U.S.C. 1962. Plaintiffs alleged that defendants conspired to pay inflated rent payments so that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner challenged the district court's dismissal of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus because it was time barred. In order to determine whether petitioner's state post-conviction petition for relief was a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the district court's grant of the government's motion for authorization to medicate defendant involuntarily. Determining that the court had jurisdiction to review the district court's involuntary…

Justia Opinion Summary: After plaintiff, who was twenty-seven years old at the time, was excluded from the presidential primary ballot under California law, she filed suit under the First Amendment, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of illegal reentry in 2011. The district court imposed probation along with a stayed custodial sentence, exceeding its authority under 18 U.S.C. 3561(a)(3). Defendant was again convicted of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner appealed the district court's dismissal of his second federal habeas petition, arguing that because the district court dismissed his first petition without first providing him an opportunity to amend the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Using a methodology known as "stable isotope analysis," an expert hired by the city determined that the most likely dominant source of the perchlorate found in the city's groundwater was sodium nitrate that had been used…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner sought federal habeas relief on the basis that the district court improperly instructed the jury on self-defense in violation of his Fourteenth Amendment right to due process. The jury instruction should have…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, currently incarcerated at SRCI, filed suit pro se under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging that prison officials violated his due process rights by housing him in the Intensive Management Unit (IMU) for twenty-seven…

Justia Opinion Summary: Technica, a subcontractor on a federal construction project in California, filed suit under the Miller Act, 40 U.S.C. 3131-3134, against Candelaria, the prime contractor, and its surety CCIC. On appeal, Technica…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, machinists at Pearl Harbor, filed suit against defendants under state tort law on the theory that defendants failed to warn them of the hazards posed by asbestos used in and around equipment defendants sold…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner appealed the denial of his habeas petition challenging the application of amended California Penal Code Section 2933.6 against him as a violation of his right against ex post facto application of the law. That…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for attempted entry after deportation and making a false claim of United States citizenship. The court concluded that the use of defendant's post-conviction silence to impeach him…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for illegal reentry following deportation, seeking a judgment of acquittal. The court concluded that so long as the documents in an A-file have been properly admitted in the criminal…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant is a United States citizen with a history of convictions for smuggling illegal aliens. At issue was whether defendant encouraged or induced an illegal alien to reside in the United States or aided and abetted…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, convicted of two counts of murder and sentenced to death, appealed the district court's denial of his 28 U.S.C. 2254 habeas corpus petition. The court concluded that petitioner's leg restraint was not imposed…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner sought habeas corpus relief from his state murder conviction on the ground that his right against self-incrimination under Miranda v. Arizona was violated. At issue was whether a mid-trial conversation between…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, San Francisco police officers over the age of forty, performed well enough on an examination in 1998 to qualify for consideration for promotion to Assistant Inspector. Plaintiffs filed suit alleging that a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against BNSF, alleging claims under MCA 39-2-703, which governs the liability of a railway for negligent mismanagement. BNSF removed to federal court. On appeal, plaintiff challenged the district…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for refusing to submit to a test of blood alcohol content. The court concluded that it was fundamentally unfair to convict defendant on the refusal charge when he was told time and again…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the district court's order denying his motion for attorney's fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. 2412. The court concluded that the underlying agency action lacked a reasonable…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, convicted of attempted murder, assault, kidnapping, and coercion of his former wife, appealed the district court's rejection of his petition for post-conviction relief as untimely. The court concluded that…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed a two-level enhancement for obstruction of justice under U.S.S.G. 3C1.1 based on defendant's false and misleading testimony at a bond revocation hearing. The court affirmed the sentence, holding that a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Secretary filed suit against DSHS, alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act's (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. 201 et seq., overtime and record-keeping provisions. The Secretary provided proof of the alleged violations…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a citizen of China, petitioned for review of the decision of the BIA that he was not entitled to asylum or withholding of removal. Petitioner sought asylum on the ground that his wife had suffered a forcible…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, an immigrant, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. On appeal, defendant challenged his sentencing, claiming that a statement by the district judge at sentencing evidenced an anti-immigrant…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for two counts of transmitting through interstate commerce email communications containing threats to injure the person of another. The court held that the district court abused its…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the district court's denial of his motion for early termination of supervised release. Defendant claimed that the district court applied the wrong legal standard by refusing to grant early termination…

Justia Opinion Summary: Debtor sought attorneys' fees incurred in defense of ASC's appeal of the bankruptcy court's determination that ASC had violated the automatic stay. The court concluded that, because debtor was not pursuing a damages…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native of the Dominican Republic, petitioned for review of the BIA's decision affirming the denial of her application for withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT).…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was convicted at his first trial of first degree murder in which the prosecutor relied on evidence obtained in violation of his Miranda rights, and after the conviction was reversed he was again convicted, this…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against defendants in the Superior Court of Guam, asserting claims arising from alleged breach of fiduciary duty in the course of the parties' several business ventures. Defendants removed to the…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose when Meritage submitted an administrative claim to the FDIC. The FDIC disallowed Meritage's administrative claim and Meritage then filed suit. Meritage obtained a default judgment against the FDIC and the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant plead guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession with intent to distribute at least 50 grams of cocaine base . On appeal, defendant challenged the district court's denial of his motion…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. 2671 et seq., alleging sexual assault committed by a sergeant of the Corps while he was on recruitment detail at her middle school. The court concluded…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of China, sought review of the BIA's order dismissing his appeal of an IJ's denial of his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with two counts of transmitting threatening interstate communications and one count of transmitting threatening communications by United States mail. The district court determined that defendant was…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, an attorney, appealed his conviction for attempted extortion and endeavoring to obstruct justice. The court concluded that where a nonviolent threat to obtain property was not, by its nature, inherently…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the district court's summary judgment in favor of the Plan based on her failure to file the action within the applicable limitation period. The court concluded that plaintiff's right to file an…

Justia Opinion Summary: Eldee-K filed suit against DIRECTV, alleging that DIRECTV has a policy of installing satellite reception equipment in common areas of apartment buildings and other dwelling units without the landlord's consent. Eldee-K…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction and sentence for assault on a federal officer and illegally entering the United States. The court vacated the conviction for assault on a federal officer and remanded the case for a new…

Justia Opinion Summary: PAMC appealed the district court's affirmance of the Secretary's decision denying PAMC its full Medicare Annual Payment Updated for the fiscal year 2009. PAMC claimed that the Department acted arbitrarily and…

Justia Opinion Summary: CNS filed suit against defendant, the Executive Officer/Clerk of the Ventura County Superior Court, alleging that the Ventura County Superior Court's failure to provide same-day access to newly filed unlimited civil…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed her convictions and sentence for wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering. Defendant and her then-husband were involved in a scheme to defraud customers by tricking them into making advanced…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant challenged his conviction and sentence for being a deported alien found in the United States. The court concluded that the admission into evidence during his criminal trial of a Notice to Appear did not violate…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his sentence after pleading guilty to illegal reentry to the United States. The court concluded that defendant's 1996 conviction for assaulting a federal officer in violation of 18 U.S.C. 111(a) did…

Justia Opinion Summary: Samsung filed suit alleging that defendant's SD card licenses were an anti-competitive agreement in restraint of trade in violation of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. 1-7. At issue was the scope of the continuing violation…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against Novartis, manufacturer of Zometa, alleging products liability, negligent manufacture, negligent failure to warn, breach of express and implied warranty, and loss of consortium. On appeal,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction of two counts of aggravated identity theft in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1028A(a)(1). The court concluded that the district court constructively amended the indictment when it declined to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for being an alien found in the United States after deportation in violation of 8 U.S.C. 1326. The court concluded that section 1326 did not require the government to prove that an order…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a minor, challenged the district court's orders upholding the OAH's partial denial of reimbursement for educational costs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in No. 12-55715 and…

Justia Opinion Summary: In enacting comprehensive welfare reform in 1996, Congress rendered various groups of aliens ineligible for federal benefits and also restricted states' ability to use their own funds to provide benefits to certain…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the dismissal of his putative class action alleging that ebay.com's Automatic Bidding system breached two provisions of eBay's User Agreement, violated California's Unfair Competition Law (UCL), Cal.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Peabody appealed the Board's affirmance of the ALJ's decision ordering Peabody to pay a coal miner's surviving spouse all the benefits to which the coal miner was entitled to receive under the Black Lung Benefits Act, 20…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of Mexico, challenged the reinstatement of his removal order under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-208, div. C., 110 Stat.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, twelve years old at the time of the offense, appealed his conviction for sexually abusing his six year old cousin. The court concluded that the certification that the government filed in the district court met…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 and California law after police officers shot and killed Kamal Lal. The district court granted summary judgment for defendants, finding that the officers were entitled to…

Justia Opinion Summary: After Reno's financing collapsed, Reno initiated an arbitration before FINRA to resolve its claims against Goldman arising out of their contractual relationship. Goldman then filed this action to enjoin the FINRA…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Guillen-Cervantes and Castillo were convicted of conspiring to transport and harbor illegal aliens. On appeal, Castillo challenged her forfeiture judgment, contending that it violated her due process rights…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of possessing an unregistered machine gun and sentenced to 30 months' imprisonment. On appeal, the government conceded that the district court miscalculated defendant's base offense level. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against JAL, alleging that JAL retaliated against him for reporting safety concerns and constructively terminated him for reasons related to his medical and mental fitness. At issue on appeal was…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, convicted of felony murder and other offenses, appealed the district court's denial of his petition for habeas corpus relief. The court concluded that the state trial court's decision to credit the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit against Wells Fargo, raising multiple causes of action under state and federal law pertaining to plaintiffs' home loan and deed of trust. At issue was whether, under 28 U.S.C. 1348, a national bank…

Justia Opinion Summary: The USDA decided to change its rules to allow roads to be built through an Alaskan forest it had previously ruled should be roadless. The district court held invalid the 2003 Record of Decision (ROD) that temporarily…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the district court's order denying her motion for preliminary injunction of San Francisco Police Code sections 4512 and 613.10(g) on the ground that both infringed upon her Second Amendment rights. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a prisoner suffering from schizoaffective disorder and who is proceeding pro se, sought damages from California prison officials under 42 U.S.C. 1983. Plaintiff challenged the district court's denial of his…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, an American citizen born in Iran, petitioned for review of a determination letter issued by DHS, seeking disclosure of his watchlist status, a meaningful opportunity to contest inclusion on any watchlist, and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a native and citizen of Mexico, appealed the denial of his motion to dismiss the indictment charging him with attempted reentry after a prior removal in violation of 8 U.S.C. 1326. The court concluded that…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, an English auctioneer of thoroughbred horses, filed suit against defendant after defendant took possession of a horse but did not pay for it. The district court granted title and right of possession of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed a putative class action alleging that Consumerinfo had violated various California consumer protection laws. At issue was whether the court had jurisdiction to hear appeals from district court orders…