2014 Second Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law

Janes v. Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Auth.  
Date: December 24, 2014
Docket Number: 13-4377

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, residents of New Jersey and New York, filed suit challenging a TBTA program that provides discounted tolls to residents of Staten Island, the Rockaway Peninsula, and Broad Channel Island for crossings over…

United States v. Rodriguez  
Date: December 24, 2014
Docket Number: 14-47

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the district court's revocation of his supervised release and sentence. At issue was whether 18 U.S.C. 3583(h), which covers the calculation of the maximum term of supervised release following…

Retirement Board v. Bank of New York Mellon  
Date: December 23, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1776

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, pension funds, filed suit, seeking to hold BNYM responsible for the losses allegedly caused by Countrywide's breach of its representations and warranties in connection with 530 residential mortgage-backed…

Amara v. CIGNA Corp.  
Date: December 23, 2014
Docket Number: 13-447

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, individual CIGNA Plan participants, filed suit on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated, alleging that CIGNA defendants made misleading communications in regards to the terms of the Plan.…

National Credit Union Admin. Bd v. Goldman, Sachs & Co.  
Date: December 23, 2014
Docket Number: 14-312

Justia Opinion Summary: Goldman appealed from the denial of its motion to compel arbitration of a suit brought against it by NCUA. The court concluded that NCUA successfully repudiated the Cash Account Agreement (CAA), including the arbitration…

U.S. D.I.D. Corp. v. Windstream Communications, Inc.  
Date: December 22, 2014
Docket Number: 13-206

Justia Opinion Summary: The district court granted a D.I.D. a temporary restraining order against Windstream, requiring D.I.D. to post security with the court clerk under Rule 65(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The district court…

Adelson v. Harris  
Date: December 19, 2014
Docket Number: 13-4173

Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose when plaintiff filed a defamation action against defendants based on statements that they made in an online petition and press release. The district court dismissed the action. The court reserved decision…

Garcia v. Jane & John Does
Date: December 18, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2634
In re Bernfeld
Date: December 18, 2014
Docket Number: 14-90080
Turley v. ISG Lackawanna, Inc.  
Date: December 17, 2014
Docket Number: 13-561

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a longtime steelworker in Lackawanna, New York, endured racial insults, intimidation, and degradation over more than three years, including slurs, evocations of the Ku Klux Klan, statements comparing black men…

Paulsen v. Remington Lodging & Hospitality, LLC  
Date: December 12, 2014
Docket Numbers: 13-2775, 13-3876

Justia Opinion Summary: James G. Paulsen, a Regional Director for the NLRB, appealed the district court's order denying his petition under section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), 29 U.S.C. 160(j), for an injunction prohibiting…

Optimal Investment Serv. v. Berlamont  
Date: December 12, 2014
Docket Number: 14-2807

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee, a Swiss criminal complainant, sought from appellants the production of documents relating to the examination of Rajiv Jaitly to provide to a Swiss investigating magistrate overseeing a criminal inquiry into a…

United States v. Newman  
Date: December 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1837

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants appealed their convictions for securities fraud in violation of sections 10(b) and 32 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. 78j(b), 78ff; Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Rules 10b-5 and…

Ellul v. Christian Brothers  
Date: December 8, 2014
Docket Number: 11-1682

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit against defendants under, inter alia, the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), 28 U.S.C. 1350, alleging that defendants took plaintiffs away from their families as children, falsely told them that their…

In re: Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC  
Date: December 8, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2557

Justia Opinion Summary: The Trustee for the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BLMIS) under the Securities Investor Protection Act (SIPA), 15 U.S.C. 78aaa et seq., filed suit against hundreds of BLMIS customers who withdrew more from…

Vossbrinck v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Co.  
Date: December 8, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3647

Justia Opinion Summary: After losing his property in a state foreclosure action, plaintiff filed suit against Accredited and Deutsche Bank for fraud, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, violations of the Truth in Lending Act (TILA),…

United States v. Van Mead  
Date: December 8, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4054

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant plead guilty to failing to register as a sex offender and possession of stolen firearms. On appeal, defendant challenged his sentence, contending that the district court erroneously applied an enhancement under…

Huo Qiang Chen v. Holder  
Date: December 5, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2030

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a Chinese national, sought review of the BIA's decision upholding the IJ's denial of asylum and withholding of removal. The BIA determined that imposition of a fine equal to approximately twenty times…

United States v. Sanchez  
Date: December 4, 2014
Docket Number: 11-2429

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess, with intent to distribute, over 1,000 grams of heroin. On appeal, defendant challenged his sentence of 288 months' imprisonment and 10 years' supervised release. The…

Ramos v. SimplexGrinnell LP
Date: December 4, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4901
Hardison v. Bd. of Ed. Oneonta City Sch. Dist.  
Date: December 3, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1594

Justia Opinion Summary: This case stemmed from plaintiffs' request for tuition assistance for their daughter under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq. Plaintiffs filed suit challenging the State Review…

United States v. Wiltshire  
Date: December 1, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3590

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute Adderall. On appeal, defendant challenged the district court's judgment convicting defendant of violating her supervised release by making false statements to a…

Chesapeake Energy Corp. v. Bank of New York Mellon Trust Co., N.A.  
Date: November 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1893

Justia Opinion Summary: BNY Mellon appealed the district court's judgment declaring that the Notice of Special Early Redemption issued by Chesapeake on March 15, 2013, was timely and effective to redeem certain senior notes (the "Notes") at the…

Glen Harris v. JohnMichael O’Hare et al.
Date: November 24, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4350
Glen Harris v. JohnMichael O'Hare et al.
Date: November 24, 2014
Docket Number: 12-43550
United States v. Anderson  
Date: November 24, 2014
Docket Number: 13-4152

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant and his wife were indicted on drug possession and conspiracy charges. Husband moved to suppress evidence of drugs wife was concealing in her vaginal cavity. The district court granted the motion and the…

NAF Holdings, LLC v. Li & Fung (Trading) Ltd.  
Date: November 19, 2014
Docket Number: 13-830

Justia Opinion Summary: NAF filed suit against Trading for breach of contract and sought damages, alleging that Trading wrongfully repudiated the contract and that, as a consequence of the breach, NAF lost financing commitments provided by…

Chau v. Lewis, et al.  
Date: November 14, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1217

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, Wing F. Chau and his company, filed suit against author Michael Lewis, his source, Steven Eisman, and Lewis's publisher for twenty-six allegedly defamatory statements in Lewis's book "The Big Short." On…

Motorola Credit Corp. v. Standard Chartered Bank  
Date: November 14, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2535

Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal, the district court held that the "separate entity rule" precludes a court from ordering a garnishee bank with branches in New York to restrain assets of judgment debtors held in foreign branches of the…

United States v. Dantzler  
Date: November 14, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2930

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty of one count of possession of a firearm as a felon and subsequently appealed his sentence. The court held that, in determining whether crimes were committed "on occasions different from one another"…

Cent. States, Se. & Sw Areas Health & Welfare Fund v. Gerber Life Ins. Co.  
Date: November 14, 2014
Docket Number: 13-4834

Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose from injuries suffered by several students during scholastic athletic activities. The students were insured by Central States, an Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.,…

Cuomo v. Crane Co.  
Date: November 13, 2014
Docket Number: 13-4510

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against Crane, alleging that Crane, a supplier of shipboard equipment to the Navy, caused her husband to be exposed to asbestos during his service from 1974 to 1980 by failing to affix adequate…

In re Bank of America  
Date: November 5, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1573

Justia Opinion Summary: The district court approved a settlement agreement between representative plaintiffs and Bank of America in a class action lawsuit alleging violations of the Securities Act of 1933, 15 U.S.C. 77a et seq., and the…

Kroshnyi v. U.S. Pack Courier Services, Inc.  
Date: November 4, 2014
Docket Number: 11-2789

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, delivery drivers for one or more defendant corporations owned by defendant Peter Glazman, filed suit under federal and state laws, alleging that defendants systematically undercompensated them for their work,…

Meng v. Holder  
Date: November 3, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2258

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of the People's Republic of China, sought review of the BIA's decision affirming the IJ's order of removal and denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention…

Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System v. Morgan Stanley  
Date: October 31, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2095

Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose out of the collapse of SIV, managed by Cheyne and structured by Morgan Stanley. PSERS and Commerzbank appealed from the final order of judgment denying class certification, dismissal of Commerzbank's…

In re: Dynegy, Inc.,  
Date: October 31, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2581

Justia Opinion Summary: Dynegy filed a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. Charles Silsby then filed a securities class action complaint against Dynegy and others alleging dissemination of false and misleading information and failure to…

NASDAQ OMX Grp., Inc. v. UBS Sec., LLC  
Date: October 31, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2657

Justia Opinion Summary: NASDAQ conducted the initial public offering (IPO) for Facebook in May 2012. UBS subsequently initiated an arbitration proceeding against NASDAQ seeking indemnification for injuries sustained in the Facebook IPO, as well…

Floyd v. City of New York  
Date: October 31, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3088

Justia Opinion Summary: Intervenors, a group of police unions, challenged the ruling of the district court that the City of New York's "stop-and-frisk" policy was carried out in a discriminatory manner, as well as its imposition of various…

Harris v. O’Hare, et al.  
Date: October 30, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4350

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit against the City of Hartford and Officers O'Hare and Pia for damages stemming from the officers' warrantless entry into plaintiffs' home where O'Hare shot and killed the family dog. Because the…

United States v. Bastian  
Date: October 29, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1156

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction following a guilty plea to unlawful possession of a firearm, contending that the district court's acceptance of his plea based on the possession of a different weapon from the one…

In re: BGI, Inc.  
Date: October 29, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2226

Justia Opinion Summary: In these consolidated appeals, holders of unredeemed consumer gift cards issued by the former book retailer (Borders or Debtors) seek to vacate the district court's dismissal as equitably moot appellants' challenges to…

Eric M. Berman, P.C., et al. v. City of New York, et al.  
Date: October 29, 2014
Docket Number: 13-598

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, law firms that seek to collect debts, obtained a judgment from the district court declaring that New York City's Local Law 15, which regulates debt collection agencies, was void as applied to plaintiffs.…

Golodner v. Berliner, et al.  
Date: October 27, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1173

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Golodner and STS filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 against the City and two officials, alleging retaliation against Golodner for exercising his rights under the First Amendment when he filed an earlier suit…

Hausler et al., v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., et al.  
Date: October 27, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1264

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, family members or trustees of the estates of victims of state-sponsored terrorism, seek to enforce their 2009 Florida state court judgment obtained against Cuba by attaching the blocked assets of that state…

Mastafa v. Chevron Corp.  
Date: October 23, 2014
Docket Number: 10-5258

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, Iraqi women who were the victims of torture by agents of the Saddam Hussein regime or whose husbands were the victims of such torture, filed suit against Chevron and others, seeking compensatory and punitive…

Calderon-Cardona v. BNY Mellon et al.  
Date: October 23, 2014
Docket Number: 12-0075

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners, family members of victims of state sponsored terrorism, sought enforcement of their 2010 judgment obtained against North Korea by attaching the blocked assets of that state under section 201 of the Terrorism…

United States v. Fazio  
Date: October 22, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3786

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants appealed their convictions for racketeering conspiracy, racketeering, extortion, and receiving unlawful labor payments. Defendants' convictions stemmed from their demands for money from union members by using…

Teichmann v. State of New York  
Date: October 20, 2014
Docket Number: 11-4973

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, convicted of attempting to commit a criminal sexual act against his ex-wife and twenty-two counts of criminal contempt for violating a protective order that his ex-wife obtained against him, filed a pro se…

Security Plans v. CUNA Mutual  
Date: October 17, 2014
Docket Number: 13-384

Justia Opinion Summary: Security Plans, a credit insurer, filed suit against CUNA, alleging breaches of contract and of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The district court granted summary judgment to CUNA and Security Plans…

Nigro v. Mercantile Adjustment Bureau  
Date: October 16, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1362

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against MAB, a collection agency, alleging that MAB sent numerous telephone calls to his mobile phone number in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), 47 U.S.C. 227. MAB made the…

Sutherland v. Holder  
Date: October 8, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4510

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of Jamaica, sought review of the BIA's order affirming the IJ's order of removability. The court concluded that the record supports the BIA's determination that petitioner's conviction of…

Oppedisano v. Holder  
Date: October 8, 2014
Docket Number: 13-4351

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of Italy, sought review of the BIA's order determining that his conviction under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1) for the unlawful possession of ammunition qualifies as an aggravated felony under 8…

Community Health Care Assoc. of N.Y. v. Shah  
Date: October 7, 2014
Docket Number: 13-771

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs are health-service providers designated under federal law as Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) and a trade association representing a number of FQHCs. Plaintiffs filed suit challenging New York's…

Raspardo v. Carlone  
Date: October 6, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1686

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit against the City, the police department, the police union, and five police supervisors, alleging violations under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 1983, and other federal and…

Acumen Re Mgmt. Corp. v. General Security Nat. Ins. Co.  
Date: October 3, 2014
Docket Number: 12-5081

Justia Opinion Summary: Acumen, the underwriter, filed suit against General Security, the reinsurer, for breach of a reinsurance underwriting agreement. The district court granted partial summary judgment for General Security, certified the…

United States v. Zhyltsou  
Date: October 3, 2014
Docket Number: 13-803

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction of a single count of charge of transfer of a false identification document. The court concluded that the district court erred in admitting evidence of a printed copy of a web page, which…

Urgen v. Holder  
Date: October 2, 2014
Docket Number: 12-809

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner asserts that he is a stateless Tibetan born in Nepal. On appeal, petitioner sought review of the BIA's decision affirming the IJ's denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention…

Sunrise Detox v. City of White Plains  
Date: October 2, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2911

Justia Opinion Summary: Sunrise filed suit alleging intentional discrimination, disparate impact discrimination, and failure to grant a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq., after the…

Otoe-Missouria Tribe v. New York State Dept. of Fin. Servs.  
Date: October 1, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3769

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, provider of short-term loans over the internet, sought a preliminary order enjoining DFS from interfering with the tribes' consumer lending business. New York's usury laws prohibit unlicensed lenders from…

EEOC v. Port Authority of N.Y. and N.J.  
Date: September 29, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2705

Justia Opinion Summary: The EEOC filed suit against the Port Authority under the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA), 29 U.S.C. 206(d), alleging that the Port Authority paid its female nonsupervisory attorneys at a lesser rate than their male…

Grogan v. Blooming Grove Volunteer Ambulance Corps  
Date: September 29, 2014
Docket Number: 13-656

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against BGVAC and others under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging that various disciplinary charges levied against her by BGVAC and her suspension as an officer of BGVAC without a hearing violated her First…

Krys v. Farnum Place, LLC  
Date: September 26, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3000

Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal concerns the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BLMIS). The liquidator appealed the district court's affirmance of the bankruptcy court's order declining to conduct a section 363…

United States v. Adams  
Date: September 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-146

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute at least 1,000 kilograms of marijuana. On appeal, defendant contended that his plea should be vacated because the district court…

Vanegas-Ramirez v. Holder  
Date: September 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-749

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner sought review of the BIA's decision affirming the IJ's denial of petitioner's motion to suppress evidence and terminate removal proceedings, and his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and…

Baptiste v. Sommers  
Date: September 24, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3079

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit pro se alleging that he received inadequate medical care while he was in a federal corrections facility. The district court dismissed the case for failure to prosecute. A district court considering a…

Weiss v. Nat'l Westminster Bank  
Date: September 22, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1618

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, victims of terrorist attacks in Israel by Hamas, filed suit against NatWest, claiming that NatWest provided material support and resources to a terrorist organization in violation of the Antiterrorism Act…

Chabad Lubavitch of Litchfield v. Litchfield Historic District Commission  
Date: September 19, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1057

Justia Opinion Summary: Chabad and Rabbi Joseph Eisenbach filed suit against defendants, alleging that defendants violated their rights by denying an application to expand an existing property to accommodate Chabad's religious mission. Chabad…

The Republic of Iraq v. ABB AG  
Date: September 18, 2014
Docket Number: 13-618

Justia Opinion Summary: The Republic appealed the district court's dismissal of its claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), 18 U.S.C. 1961 et seq., the Foreign Practices Act (FCPA), 15 U.S.C. 78dd-1 et seq.,…

Gucci v. Bank of China  
Date: September 17, 2014
Docket Number: 11-3934

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, manufacturers of well-known luxury items, filed suit claiming that defendants were selling counterfeit versions of plaintiffs' products on the Internet. In the instant appeal, Bank of China, a nonparty…

Mastrio v. Sebelius  
Date: September 17, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2529

Justia Opinion Summary: The government appealed the district court's award of attorneys' fees and costs in favor of plaintiff. The district court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) reinstating plaintiff's home health care benefits. The…

Mead v. Reliastar Life Ins. Co.  
Date: September 16, 2014
Docket Number: 11-192

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against her employer, Reliastar, under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. 1001 et seq., after she was denied long term disability benefits. The district court…

United States v. Andino  
Date: September 16, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3329

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was indicted for possession charges after officers conducted a warrantless entry into her home and seized cocaine. On appeal, the Government challenged the district court's grant of defendant's motion to…

Export-Import Bank of the Republic of China v. Grenada  
Date: September 12, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2619

Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal concerns Ex-Im Bank's efforts to execute on a $21 million judgment in its favor against Grenada. Grenada had waived its sovereign immunity from suit in federal court but, nonetheless, Ex-Im Bank has…

New York State Elec. & Gas v. FirstEnergy Corp.  
Date: September 11, 2014
Docket Number: 11-4143

Justia Opinion Summary: NYSEG filed suit against FirstEnergy under section 107(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq., to recover certain costs incurred in…

United States v. Cuti  
Date: September 11, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2042

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, the former CEO and board chairman of Duane Reade, appealed the district court's award of restitution after he was convicted of one count of conspiracy to make false statements and four counts of securities…

Jackson v. Federal Express  
Date: September 9, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1475

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed from the grant of summary judgment dismissing her medical leave, disability, employment discrimination, and retaliation claims and denial of her pro se request to reopen discovery. The court affirmed…

United States v. Rios
Date: September 8, 2014
Docket Number: 11-2624
Dalberth v. Xerox Corp.  
Date: September 8, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1658

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed a class action on behalf of all persons who purchased common stock from Xerox during a certain period, alleging that Xerox violated the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.…

Delaney v. Bank of America Corp.  
Date: September 5, 2014
Docket Number: 13-184

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of his former employers, BoA, on his claim of age discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. 621 et…

Loginovskaya v. Batratchenko  
Date: September 4, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1624

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the district court's judgment dismissing her claims under Rule 12(b)(6) under the Commodities Exchange Act (CEA), 7 U.S.C. 1 et seq., and declining to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over her state…

Safelite Group, Inc. v. Jepsen  
Date: September 4, 2014
Docket Number: 13-4761

Justia Opinion Summary: Safelite appealed from the denial of a preliminary injunction against enforcement of Connecticut's Public Act 13-67, "An Act Concerning Automotive Glass Work." The court held that the district court erred in applying…

United States v. Groysman  
Date: September 3, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1031

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed her conviction for conspiring to commit health care fraud, and conspiring to commit money laundering. Defendant principally argued that the main government witness gave testimony that included…

United States v. Rios  
Date: September 2, 2014
Docket Number: 11-2624

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Rios and Bautista appealed their sentences after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine base. Defendants had moved twice under 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(2) for a…

United States v. Fofanah  
Date: September 2, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4617

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction and sentence for conspiracy to transport stolen vehicles, transportation of stolen vehicles, and possession of stolen vehicles. The court concluded that it need not decide whether the…

Center for Constitutional Rights v. CIA  
Date: September 2, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3684

Justia Opinion Summary: CCR seeks disclosure of certain videos and photographs of a high-profile Guantanamo Bay detainee, Mohammed al-Qahtani (the so called "20th hijacker" in the September 11, 2001 attacks), under the Freedom of Information…

United States v. Kleiner  
Date: September 2, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3809

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant challenged his sentence after pleading guilty to bank fraud, arguing that his use of another person's name and address to create a counterfeit driver's license that he used in committing the crime of conviction…

Holt v. Town of Stonington  
Date: August 29, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4878

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit seeking equitable relief to prevent the Town from denying her the ability to build on a lot that she owns in the Town. The district court granted plaintiff an injunction following a bench trial. The…

United States v. Komasa  
Date: August 28, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1534

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants appealed from their convictions on multiple counts of mail, wire, and bank fraud, as well as conspiracy. Defendants' convictions stemmed from a mortgage fraud scheme in which defendants purchased and…

United States v. Zayac  
Date: August 27, 2014
Docket Number: 11-4900

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for several counts arising from his involvement in the kidnapping, robbery, and murder of a drug dealer. The court concluded that the evidence was sufficient to convict defendant of the…

Boyd v. J.E. Robert Co., Inc.  
Date: August 27, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4422

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed a putative class action against defendants alleging that defendants violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), 15 U.S.C. 1692 et seq., and New York statutory and common law. Plaintiffs…

Abrams v. Dept. of Pub. Safety
Date: August 26, 2014
Docket Number: 13-111
In Re: World Trade Center  
Date: August 26, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2699

Justia Opinion Summary: Mishkin appealed the district court's order denying an award of attorneys' fees for services performed as plaintiffs' liaison counsel in the bodily injury, non-respiratory cases arising out of the events of September 11,…

United States v. Gonzalez  
Date: August 21, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2403

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed from his conviction on four counts of intentional murder while engaged in a trafficking crime involving five or more kilograms of cocaine. Defendant challenged his convictions on several grounds. The…

Garcia v. Does  
Date: August 21, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2634

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging that they were falsely arrested for participating in a demonstration in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement. On appeal, defendants challenged the district…

United States v. Mergen  
Date: August 21, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2873

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for a Travel Act offense as well as various criminal acts. The court rejected defendant's sufficiency challenge to the Travel Act conviction under 18 U.S.C. 1952(a)(3)(A). However, the…

Terebesi v. Torresso, et al.  
Date: August 21, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3867

Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose out of a botched SWAT-style raid that resulted in the fatal shooting of plaintiff's houseguest (Gonzalo Guizan) and injury to plaintiff. Plaintiff and Guizan's estate filed suit against law enforcement…

Goldman, Sachs & Co. v. Golden Empire Sch. Fin. Auth.  
Date: August 21, 2014
Docket Numbers: 13-797, 13-2247

Justia Opinion Summary: In each of these appeals, the district court granted a financial services firm's motion to enjoin a FINRA arbitration brought against the firm by a public financing authority. As a preliminary matter, the court concluded…

European Community v. RJR Nabisco
Date: August 20, 2014
Docket Number: 11-2475
Torres v. Holder  
Date: August 20, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2498

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of the Dominican Republic, was convicted of attempted arson in the third degree in violation of New York Penal Law sections 110 and 150.10. Petitioner claimed that his conviction is not…

Lin v. Holder  
Date: August 19, 2014
Docket Number: 12-179

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of China, appealed the BIA's affirmance of the IJ's declaration that his petition was untimely. At issue was whether political activity first undertaken in the United States amounts to…

Doe v. Holder  
Date: August 19, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3779

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of Ghana, pled guilty to an information including a count related to his heroin smuggling activities. Petitioner then cooperated with federal agents to arrange a controlled delivery of…

Alvarez v. Ercole  
Date: August 18, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2828

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, convicted of murder and sentenced to 45 years' imprisonment, was granted a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. 2254 based on his Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause right. The trial court prohibited…

United States v. Erie County  
Date: August 18, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3653

Justia Opinion Summary: This case concerns compliance reports regarding improving conditions in two correctional facilities under a settlement agreement between the United States and Erie County. The NYCLU sought to intervene in order to have…

Parkcentral v. Porsche  
Date: August 15, 2014
Docket Number: 11-397

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, international hedge funds, filed suit alleging violations of U.S. securities laws because defendants made various fraudulent statements and took various manipulative actions to deny and conceal Porsche's…

United States v. Grimm
Date: August 15, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4310
Central Rabbinical Congress v. NYC Dept. of Health & Mental Hygiene  
Date: August 15, 2014
Docket Number: 13-107

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit challenging section 181.21 of the New York City Health Code, which regulates metzitzah b'peh, the direct oral suction of the circumcision wound of an infant as a part of a bris milah. Plaintiffs…

Maldonado v. Holder  
Date: August 14, 2014
Docket Number: 10-3259

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners sought review of the BIA's dismissal of their appeals from decisions of the IJ and denial of their motions to remand and reopen. Petitioners were among persons gathered in a park to seek work as day laborers.…

Jackson v. Conway  
Date: August 14, 2014
Docket Number: 11-922

Justia Opinion Summary: The state appealed the magistrate judge's grant of habeas corpus relief and petitioner, convicted of repeatedly raping his wife, ex-wife, and daughter, cross-appealed those portions of the decision adverse to him. The…

Liu v. Siemens AG  
Date: August 14, 2014
Docket Number: 13-4385

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a citizen and resident of Taiwan, filed suit alleging that by firing him Siemens had violated the antiretaliation provision of the Dodd-Frank Act, 15 U.S.C. 78u-6(h)(1)(A). The court concluded that the…

Niang v. Holder  
Date: August 13, 2014
Docket Number: 11-4156

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of Senegal, sought review of the BIA's affirmance of the IJ's denial of his application for adjustment of status based on a finding that he was ineligible for all relief for having filed…

United States v. Bond  
Date: August 13, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4803

Justia Opinion Summary: The Liquidating Trustee filed a federal income tax refund claim in bankruptcy court. The bankruptcy court ruled that the Liquidating Trustee was entitled to a $3.8 million tax refund, and that the reorganization…

FTC v. BlueHippo, et al.  
Date: August 12, 2014
Docket Number: 11-374

Justia Opinion Summary: The FTC appealed the damages portion of a district court order granting in part the FTC's motion for contempt relating to defendants' violation of a Consent Order. The FTC argued that it was entitled to a presumption…

Dawkins v. Holder  
Date: August 12, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4569

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of Jamaica, sought review of the BIA's affirmance of the IJ's finding of removal based on her convictions for multiple crimes involving moral turpitude and an aggravated felony as defined…

The New York Times Company v. United States
Date: August 11, 2014
Docket Number: 13-422
Picard v. Fairfield Greenwich Ltd.  
Date: August 8, 2014
Docket Numbers: 13-1289, 13-1785

Justia Opinion Summary: The Trustee for the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BLMIS) and the bankruptcy estate of Bernard L. Madoff, initiated adversary proceedings seeking to block the settlement of three lawsuits,…

Nielsen v. AECOM Technology Corp.  
Date: August 8, 2014
Docket Number: 13-235

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against AECOM and AME under the whistleblower retaliation provision created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, 18 U.S.C. 1514A. The district court dismissed plaintiff's claim against AECOM and…

United States v. Ledee  
Date: August 8, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2363

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for crimes stemming from participating via webcam in the sexual abuse of an eight-year-old girl by her mother. The court concluded that the closure of the courtroom during the victim's…

Paloka v. Holder  
Date: August 7, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4987

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native of Albania, petitioned for review of the BIA's dismissal of her application for asylum and other relief. At issue was whether "young Albanian women" or "young Albanian women between the ages of 15…

In Re: Thelen LLP
Date: August 6, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4138
United States, ex rel. Dr. Jesse Polansky v. Pfizer, Inc.  
Date: August 6, 2014
Docket Number: 12-5008

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the dismissal of his claims against Pfizer for alleged violations of the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. 3729-3733, and state law equivalents. The court held that it lacked jurisdiction over the appeal…

Sompo Japan Ins., Inc. v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co.  
Date: August 6, 2014
Docket Numbers: 13-3416, 13-3501

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Sompo and Nipponkoa, subrogees of the cargo owners/shippers, filed suit against Defendants Norfolk Southern and KCSR to recover for the damages sustained to cargo by a train derailment. At issue in these…

Acharya v. Holder  
Date: August 5, 2014
Docket Number: 11-4362

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a citizen and native of Nepal, seeks review of the BIA's dismissal of his appeal from an oral decision of the IJ denying petitioner's application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the…

In Re: Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.  
Date: August 5, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2322

Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal involves a dispute between the Trustee, appointed to protect public customers and creditors in the liquidation of LBI, and purchasers of LBI's assets over the entitlement to two sets of LBI assets: (1) the…

1256 Hertel Avenue Associates v. Calloway  
Date: August 1, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1603

Justia Opinion Summary: The New York State Legislature amended N.Y. C.P.L.R. 5206 in 2005, increasing the state's homestead exemption from $10,000 to $50,000. At issue was whether the 2005 Amendment's increased homestead exemption applied to…

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. v. Abbar  
Date: August 1, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2172

Justia Opinion Summary: Ghazi Abbar, manager of the Abbar family trusts, lost $383 million invested with a United Kingdom affiliate of Citigroup and seeks to arbitrate his grievances under the rules of FINRA against a New York affiliate. The…

Silverman v. Teamsters Local 210 Affiliated Health & Ins. Fund.  
Date: August 1, 2014
Docket Number: 13-392

Justia Opinion Summary: The UMM Fund filed suit asserting three claims against the 210 Fund. The district court construed all three claims as pleading causes of action under section 502 of ERISA, 29 U.S.C. 1132(a)(3)(B), which provides a…

Cayuga Indian Nation of New York v. Seneca County, New York  
Date: July 31, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3723

Justia Opinion Summary: The County appealed the district court's order preliminarily enjoining it from foreclosing upon certain real property owned by the Cayuga Nation in order to recover uncollected ad valorem property taxes. The court…

Beardslee v. Inflection Energy, LLC  
Date: July 31, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4897

Justia Opinion Summary: This dispute concerns oil and gas leases granting the Energy Companies specified rights to extract oil and gas underlying the Landowners' real property. The Energy Companies failed to produce oil and gas from the…

Wurtz v. The Rawlings Co.  
Date: July 31, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1695

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs initially filed suit in state court seeking to enjoin defendant insurers under New York law from obtaining reimbursement of medical benefits from plaintiffs' tort settlements. Defendants removed to federal…

Meyer v. JinkoSolar Holding Co.  
Date: July 31, 2014
Docket Number: 13-616

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, purchasers of securities issued by JinkoSolar in two public offerings, appealed from the district court's dismissal of their complaint alleging violations of the federal securities laws. JinkoSolar…

Stampf v. Trigg  
Date: July 30, 2014
Docket Number: 11-3225

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against her coworker and her employer, LIRR, and others asserting violations of the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA) and 42 U.S.C. 1983; state law claims of false arrest, malicious prosecution,…

Mirabilio v. Regional School District 16  
Date: July 30, 2014
Docket Number: 13-4156

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a tenured culinary arts teacher, filed suit against the school board, alleging that the school board violated her due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment and Connecticut General Statute 10-151 when…

Merck Eprova AG v. Gnosis S.P.A.  
Date: July 29, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4218

Justia Opinion Summary: Gnosis appealed the district court's entry of judgment in favor of Merck on its Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. 1125(a), false advertising and contributory false advertising claims; award to Merck of damages, attorneys' fees and…

American Atheists, Inc. v. Port Authority of N.Y. & N.J.  
Date: July 28, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1668

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit challenging the display of "The Cross at Ground Zero," a column and cross-beam from one of the Twin Towers, at the National September 11 Museum as violating the Establishment and Equal Protection…

Reyes v. NYC Dept. of Educ.  
Date: July 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-158

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff enrolled her son at a private school after she decided that the individualized education program (IEP) proposed by the DOE for the 2010-2011 school year failed to provide her son with a free appropriate public…

Berger & Assocs. Attorneys, P.C. v. Kran  
Date: July 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1931

Justia Opinion Summary: Bradley Ian Berger and his law firm filed suit against debtor and his law partner in state court for outstanding fees owed to plaintiffs under a referral agreement between the parties. Berger had difficulty proving the…

Kirkland v. Cablevision Systems  
Date: July 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3625

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against his former employer, Cablevision, alleging claims of race discrimination and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq. On appeal, plaintiff challenged the…

NRDC v. US FDA  
Date: July 24, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2106

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs contend that the FDA is required by 21 U.S.C. 360b(e)(1) to proceed with hearings to determine whether to withdraw approval for the use of penicillin and tetracyclines in animal feed, and that the FDA's denial…

United States v. Vazquez-Alvarez  
Date: July 24, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2562

Justia Opinion Summary: Claimant appealed from the district court's order of forfeiture seizing roughly $750,000 in cash, arguing that the district court erred in granting the government's motion for a default judgment against the res without…

Moll v. Telesector Resources Group, Inc.  
Date: July 24, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4688

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against Verizon, alleging that the company discriminated against her, subjected her to a sexually hostile work environment, retaliated against her, and paid her less than her male colleagues for…

Cox v. Onondaga Cnty. Sheriff's Dep't.  
Date: July 23, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1526

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-3, against the Department, alleging claims of retaliation for their complaints of racial harassment to the EEOC. Plaintiffs had shaved their…

In Re: Johns-Manville Corp.  
Date: July 22, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1094

Justia Opinion Summary: The bankruptcy court required Travelers to pay over $500 million to asbestos plaintiffs based on Travelers' obligations under certain settlement agreements. On appeal, plaintiffs challenged the district court's reversal…

United States v. McDonald  
Date: July 22, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2056

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction on three federal fraud charges. The court concluded that the challenged jury instruction, considered in its context and circumstances, did not tend to coerce jurors into reaching a…

United States v. Soler  
Date: July 22, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2077

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants appealed their convictions for carjacking in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2119. The court joined its fellow circuits in adopting, for the purpose of interpreting the carjacking statute, the United States v. Burns…

Fisher v. Comm. on Grievances, S.D.N.Y.
Date: July 22, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1272
Pippins v. KPMG LLP  
Date: July 22, 2014
Docket Number: 13-889

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, employed as "Audit Associates," filed suit under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. 201-219, against KMPG, alleging that they were entitled to overtime compensation. The court concluded that Audit…

United States v. Kopstein  
Date: July 21, 2014
Docket Number: 13-417

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for transporting and shipping child pornography to a federal agent posing as a minor during a chat room conversation. The court concluded that the jury instructions on entrapment failed…

Carter v. Incorporated Village of Ocean Beach  
Date: July 21, 2014
Docket Number: 13-815

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, five former seasonal and part-time police officers, filed suit against defendants, alleging wrongful termination and defamation claims. On appeal, plaintiffs challenged the district court's grant of…

Olsen v. Stark Holmes, Inc.  
Date: July 18, 2014
Docket Number: 13-247

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit against defendants under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), 42 U.S.C. 3604(f), and New York State Human Rights Law, N.Y. Exec. Law 296(5) and (18)(2). Plaintiffs alleged that defendants denied their…

Kurtz v. Verizon New York, Inc.  
Date: July 16, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3900

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed a putative class action alleging that Verizon installed multi-unit terminal boxes on their property without just compensation and violated their due process rights. The court concluded that Williamson…

Technomarine SA v. Giftports, Inc.  
Date: July 15, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4174

Justia Opinion Summary: TechnoMarine holds various trademark and copyright registrations for its word mark, logo, and watch dial. At issue in this appeal was whether a prior litigation between TechnoMarine and Giftports resolving claims of…

Abrams v. Dept. of Pub. Safety  
Date: July 14, 2014
Docket Number: 13-111

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against DPS under 42 U.S.C. 1983 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq., against DPS. The court affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment as to the Title…

E.M. v. NYC Dept. of Educ.  
Date: July 11, 2014
Docket Number: 11-1427

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a mother with limited financial means raising a severely disabled child, withdrew her daughter from public school and enrolled her in a private learning center, alleging that the Department failed to provide…

Chechele v. Sperling  
Date: July 11, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1769

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the district court's grant of insider defendants' motion to dismiss her short-swing trading complaint. The court agreed with the district court that the requirements of a claim under section 16(b) of…

Crawford v. Franklin Credit Management Corp.  
Date: July 11, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2514

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the dismissal of her complaint alleging that defendants fraudulently procured a mortgage on her home, and thereafter sought to foreclose on that mortgage, in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and…

In Re: World Trade Center Lower Manhattan Disaster Site Litig.  
Date: July 10, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3403

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, cleaning workers who purportedly were exposed to toxic contaminants while working in buildings on the periphery of the World Trade Center site following the September 11, 2001, attacks, filed suit against…

Holland v. Goord  
Date: July 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2694

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, an inmate and practicing Muslim, filed suit against prison officials alleging that they unconstitutionally burdened his religious exercise when they ordered him to provide a urine sample within a three-hour…

The New York Times Company v. United States
Date: July 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-422
In re Tustaniwsky
Date: July 9, 2014
Docket Number: 10-90003
Peterson v. Islamic Republic of Iran  
Date: July 9, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2952

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, representatives of hundreds of Americans killed in multiple Iran-sponsored terrorist attacks, have billions of dollars of unpaid compensatory damages judgments against Iran stemming from these attacks. The…

United States v. Park  
Date: July 9, 2014
Docket Number: 13-4142

Justia Opinion Summary: The United States appealed defendant's sentence imposed after he pled guilty to one count of filing a false corporate tax return. The court held that the district court failed to conduct a meaningful review of the 18…

Cook v. Nat'l Archives & Records Admin.  
Date: July 8, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1228

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552, seeking disclosure of records held by NARA of archived presidential and vice-presidential materials submitted by or on behalf of former…

Ermini v. Vittori  
Date: July 8, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2025

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, an Italian citizen, sought the return of his two sons from the United States from their Italian citizen mother under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, T.A.S. No. 11,…

McIntyre v. Colvin  
Date: July 7, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2886

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the denial of her application for disability insurance benefits and supplemental security income. The district court granted the Commissioner's motion for judgment on the pleadings, finding that the…

Vermont Right to Life Committee v. Sorrell, et al.  
Date: July 2, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2904

Justia Opinion Summary: VRLC is a non-profit corporation and VRLC-FIPE is a political committee formed under Vermont law. VRLC challenged three disclosure provisions of Vermont's election laws as unconstitutionally vague and violating freedom…

Rajamin v. Deutsche Bank Nat'l Trust Co.  
Date: June 30, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1614

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs appealed the district court's dismissal of their claims against four trusts to which their loans and mortgages were assigned in transactions involving the mortgagee bank, and against those trusts' trustee. The…

ING Global v. United Parcel Service Oasis Supply Corp.  
Date: June 30, 2014
Docket Number: 13-489

Justia Opinion Summary: After the jury returned a verdict in favor of ING on its breach of contract claims, the jury awarded ING attorney's fees under Georgia law. UPS moved under Rule 59(e) to amend the judgment to set aside the award of…

Brown v. Daikin America Inc.  
Date: June 27, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2955

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the district court's dismissal of his original complaint against DIL and his amended complaint against DIL's wholly-owned subsidiary, Daikin America. Plaintiff, a white male of United States origin,…

Pricewaterhousecoopers, LLP, et al. v. Bhatia, et al.  
Date: June 26, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1642

Justia Opinion Summary: Non-Settling Defendants seek to overturn a partial final judgment approving the settlement of certain putative class actions. The settled claims were brought by Investor Plaintiffs who were individual and institutional…

Giuffre Hyundai, Ltd. v. Hyundai Motor America, Inc.  
Date: June 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1886

Justia Opinion Summary: Giuffre, an authorized dealer of Hyundai automobiles under a contract with that company's domestic affiliate (HMA), filed suit against HMA seeking to enjoin termination of the contract. HMA terminated its contract with…

United States v. Reed  
Date: June 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-359

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Reed, Johnson, and Gonzalez appealed their convictions for conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and one count of attempted Hobbs Act robbery, both in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1951, and one count of possession…

Asarco LLC v. Goodwin  
Date: June 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3954

Justia Opinion Summary: Asarco appealed from the district court's dismissal of its Second Amended Complaint. As part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the bankruptcy court approved two settlement agreements related to the environmental…

Roth v. CitiMortgage Inc.  
Date: June 24, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3839

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit alleging that CitiMortgage's responses to requests for information about her mortgage violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), 12 U.S.C. 2601-2617; the Fair Debt Collection…

Dormitory Authority v. Continental Casualty Co.  
Date: June 23, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1671

Justia Opinion Summary: Continental issued claims-made liability policies to the architectural firm responsible for designing and overseeing the construction of a building for the DASNY. In this declaratory judgment action, the insurer appealed…

Castine v. Zurlo  
Date: June 23, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1834

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against defendants after she was temporarily removed from the office of the Clinton County Election Commissioner during her candidacy for Beekmantown Town Justice. Plaintiff alleged that her removal…

The New York Times Company v. United States
Date: June 23, 2014
Docket Number: 13-422
Stockbridge-Munsee v. State of New York, et al.  
Date: June 20, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3069

Justia Opinion Summary: Stockbridge, a recognized Indian tribe, appealed from the district court's dismissal of its claims asserting title of a tract of land in upstate New York. The court affirmed the judgment of the district court, concluding…

Louisiana Wholesale Drug Co. v. Shire LLC
Date: June 19, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1232
United States v. Kerr
Date: June 18, 2014
Docket Number: 11-5462
Brown v. N.Y.C. Dep't of Educ.  
Date: June 18, 2014
Docket Number: 13-139

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed from the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants on plaintiff's federal claim for relief under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. 201 et seq. The court…

Scheidelman v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue  
Date: June 18, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2650

Justia Opinion Summary: Taxpayer donated a facade conservation easement to the National Architectural Trust, and claimed a charitable deduction under I.R.C. 170(f)(3(B)(iii). On appeal, Taxpayer challenged the Tax Court's judgment finding that…

Centurion v. Holder  
Date: June 17, 2014
Docket Number: 11-2997

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of Peru, sought review of a 2011 order of the BIA affirming a 2009 decision of the IJ, which pretermitted his application for cancellation of removal under section 240A of the Immigration…

United States v. Ganias  
Date: June 17, 2014
Docket Number: 12-240

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed from his conviction for tax evasion. The court concluded that the Government violated defendant's Fourth Amendment rights by seizing and indefinitely retaining non-responsive computer records, and then…

In Re: Motors Liquidation Co.  
Date: June 17, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2187

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed from an order of the bankruptcy court holding that a mistakenly filed UCC-3 termination statement was unauthorized and therefore not effective to terminate a secured lender's interest in a debtor's…

Herrera-Gomez v. United States  
Date: June 17, 2014
Docket Number: 14-1166

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner sought leave to file a successive 28 U.S.C. 2255 motion in the district court presenting claims based on the Supreme Court's holding in Peugh v. United States, and evidence that was purported to be newly…

Doe v. Cuomo  
Date: June 16, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4288

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed from the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the Governor and DCJS on plaintiff's as-applied constitutional challenges to the enforcement of certain amendments to the New York State…

D'Amico Dry Ltd. v. Primera Maritime, et al.  
Date: June 12, 2014
Docket Number: 11-3473

Justia Opinion Summary: D'Amico filed suit to enforce an English court's judgment on a forward freight agreement (FFA) between D'Amico and Primera. On appeal, D'Amico challenged the district court's dismissal of its complaint for lack of…

Authors Guild, Inc. v. HathiTrust  
Date: June 10, 2014
Citation: 755 F.3d 87
Docket Number: 12-4547

Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal concerned the HathiTrust Digital Library (HDL). At issue was whether the HDL's use of copyrighted material is protected against a claim of copyright infringement under the doctrine of fair use. Plaintiffs…

Euchner-USA, Inc. v. Hartford Casualty Ins. Co.  
Date: June 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2021

Justia Opinion Summary: This declaratory judgment action under New York law involves Hartford's issuance to Euchner of comprehensive general liability insurance with an endorsement covering the company's employee benefits program. Hartford…

The New York Times Company v. United States
Date: June 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-422
Cirino et al. v. City of New York et al.  
Date: June 9, 2014
Docket Number: 11-4021

Justia Opinion Summary: After the attacks of September 11, 2001, thousands of lawsuits were filed against the City, private contractors, and the WTC Captive. Following years of litigation and extensive negotiations, the parties agreed on a…

Louisiana Wholesale Drug Co. v. Shire LLC  
Date: June 9, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1232

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, wholesale dealers in pharmaceutical products, filed a putative class action alleging that defendants violated the anti-monopolization provision of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. 2, by breaching defendants'…

Am. Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO v. U.S. Postal Serv.  
Date: June 6, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2579

Justia Opinion Summary: USPS appealed from the district court's grant of APWU's motion to vacate an arbitral award on the basis that the arbitrator had exceeded his powers under the relevant agreement by applying the doctrine of collateral…

Zalewski v. Cicero Builder Dev., Inc.  
Date: June 5, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3448

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, an architect, and the company through which he does business, filed suit asserting that he created then licensed numerous designs for colonial homes to two construction companies and that these companies and…

StreetEasy, Inc. v. Chertok  
Date: June 5, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1050

Justia Opinion Summary: StreetEasy filed suit under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. 1125(d). This appeal arose out of the attempted resolution of a dispute between a real estate listing website and one of its…

United States v. McIntosh  
Date: June 4, 2014
Docket Number: 11-1936

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction and sentence for assault on a federal officer (Count 1), false personation of a federal officer (Count 2), and concealment of public record (Count 3). The court concluded that the…

Lotes Co., Ltd. v. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.  
Date: June 4, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2280

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit under the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. 1,2, alleging that defendants, a group of five competing electronics firms, have attempted to leverage their ownership of certain key patents to gain control of a new…

United States v. Technodyne LLC  
Date: June 3, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4498

Justia Opinion Summary: Claimants appealed from the district court's forfeiture orders of 23 of the defendant funds and properties to the United States. The judgments were entered by default after the district court granted the motion of the…

Stanczyk v. City of New York, et al.  
Date: June 3, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1582

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging that New York City officers used excessive force when arresting her. On appeal, plaintiff primarily seeks a new trial on damages and challenges portions of the district…

Swatch Group v. Bloomberg
Date: May 30, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2412
Coulter, et al. v. Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc., et al.  
Date: May 29, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2504

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, a class of individuals who participated in the Morgan Stanley 401(k) Plan and the Morgan Stanley Employee Stock Ownership Plan, filed suit alleging violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of…

United States v. Certified Environmental Services, Inc.  
Date: May 28, 2014
Docket Number: 11-4872

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants appealed from their convictions of conspiracy; aiding and abetting violations of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7401; mail fraud; and making false statements to federal officials. Defendants argued that the…

Trezziova v. Kohn
Date: May 28, 2014
Docket Number: 12-156
Newdow v. United States  
Date: May 28, 2014
Docket Number: 13-4049

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants appealed from the district court's dismissal of their claims under the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause, as well as the Religions Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA), 42 U.S.C. 2000bb.…

The New York Times Company v. United States
Date: May 28, 2014
Docket Number: 13-422
United States v. Taylor
Date: May 23, 2014
Docket Number: 11-2201
United States v. Medunjanin  
Date: May 20, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4724

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his convictions stemming from his participation in coordinated suicide bombings in the New York City subway system. Defendant eventually caused a high-speed collision with another car, attempting to…

Efstathiadis v. Holder  
Date: May 20, 2014
Docket Number: 13-236

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner pled guilty to four counts of sexual assault in the fourth degree under Connecticut General Statute 53a-73a(a)(2), which criminalizes subjecting "another person to sexual contact without such other person's…

SEC v. O'Meally  
Date: May 19, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1116

Justia Opinion Summary: The SEC filed a civil enforcement action against defendant, alleging that defendant failed to follow directives issued by the mutual funds and his employer to cease his market timing, and that he used different…

Tandon v. Ulbrick  
Date: May 19, 2014
Docket Number: 13-461

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners filed a petition for limitation on liability after visitors of their powerboat were involved in a fistfight on a floating dock operated by Claimant. At issue was whether federal admiralty jurisdiction…

United States v. Kerr  
Date: May 16, 2014
Docket Number: 11-5462

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to drug-related offenses. On appeal, defendant argued that his erratic and irrational behavior following the entry of his plea required the district court to hold a competency hearing before…

United States v. Mandell  
Date: May 16, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1967

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Mandell and Harrington appealed from their convictions of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and mail fraud; securities fraud; wire fraud; and mail fraud. The principal issue on appeal was…

McGugan v. Aldana-Bernier  
Date: May 16, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4165

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against defendants, a medical center and four of its employees. Plaintiff alleged that had any of the defendants performed their duties properly, they would have realized that she was never a danger…

Sherman v. Town of Chester  
Date: May 16, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1503

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against the Town after a decade of dealing with the Town in plaintiff's efforts to apply for subdivision approval. The court reversed the district court's decision to dismiss plaintiff's federal…

Morales v. City of New York  
Date: May 16, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2126

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against the City, the NYPD, and four individual State and Federal law enforcement officials under 42 U.S.C. 1981, 1983, 1985, and 1988 and State law. Plaintiff claimed that a Federal agent presented…

Nunn v. Massachusetts
Date: May 15, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3712
United States v. Lockhart  
Date: May 15, 2014
Docket Number: 13-602

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the district court's application of a sentencing enhancement pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 2252(b)(2), which requires a minimum term of imprisonment of ten years. The enhancement applied when a defendant is…

Disabled in Action, et al. v. Bd. of Elections in the City of New York, et al.  
Date: May 14, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4412

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit alleging that BOE is failing to provide them with meaningful access to its voting program, in violation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. 794(a), and Title II of the…

United States v. Gill  
Date: May 7, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2207

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a native and citizen of Barbados, appealed the district court's denial of his motion to dismiss the indictment for illegal reentry in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1326(a), (b)(2). At issue was whether the Supreme…

United States v. Pena  
Date: May 7, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1787

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his sentence after being convicted of conspiracy to distribute with intent to distribute at least 500 grams of cocaine. Defendant challenged the district court's application of a sentencing enhancement…

City of Pontiac v. UBS AG et al.  
Date: May 6, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4355

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, a group of foreign and domestic institutional investors, filed a putative class action against UBS and others, alleging violations of sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C.…

Allstate Ins. Co. v. Mun  
Date: May 6, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1424

Justia Opinion Summary: Allstate filed suit against defendants, alleging that defendants engaged in insurance fraud. On appeal, defendants challenged the district court's denial of their motion to compel arbitration, arguing that the New York…

In re: September 11 Litigation  
Date: May 2, 2014
Docket Number: 10-4197

Justia Opinion Summary: Cedar & Washington, a real estate developer, filed suit against the owners and lessees of the World Trade Center and others under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), 42…

Betts v. Shearman, et al.  
Date: May 2, 2014
Docket Number: 13-619

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff's ex-wife, intoxicated and strung out, called the police and falsely accused plaintiff of assaulting her. Plaintiff was charged with assault and resisting arrest. After the charges were dismissed with…

Alcantara v. Bakery and Confectionery Union  
Date: May 1, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4834

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit against the Plan under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. 1054(g). At issue was whether the anti-cutback rule in section 204(g) precluded plan amendments that…

Keiler, et al. v. Harlequin Enterprises LTD et al.  
Date: May 1, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1753

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, authors of romance novels, filed a putative class action against Harlequin Enterprises and its subsidiaries contending that the Harlequin entities breached agreements with them and others by paying them…

European Community v. RJR Nabisco
Date: April 29, 2014
Docket Number: 11-2475
United States v. Corbett  
Date: April 29, 2014
Docket Number: 11-3678

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his federal kidnapping conviction, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to prove that he held his kidnapping victim against the victim's will. The court concluded that the evidence was sufficient…

United States v. Yousef  
Date: April 29, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4822

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to one count of conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. On appeal, defendant argued that the indictment to which he pled guilty failed to adequately…

Sonera Holding B.V. v. Cukurova Holding A.S.  
Date: April 25, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4280

Justia Opinion Summary: Sonera, a Dutch holding corporation, filed suit in district court to enforce a final arbitration award against Cukurova, the parent company of a large Turkish conglomerate. The district court held that it had personal…

United States v. Griffiths  
Date: April 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2102

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction on one count of making false statements to the Government, one count of obstruction of justice, and one count of mail fraud. The court held that there was no per se violation of the…

Carpenters Pension Trust v. Barclays PLC, et al.  
Date: April 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2678

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit against defendants, alleging, inter alia, that Barclays knowingly misrepresented its cost of borrowing funds by submitting false information for the purpose of calculating the London Interbank…

United States v. Lott  
Date: April 24, 2014
Docket Number: 12-5002

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed from his sentence after pleading guilty to failure to register as a sex offender. Defendant argued that the district court should have dismissed the indictment because at the time of defendant's…

European Community v. RJR Nabisco, Inc.  
Date: April 23, 2014
Docket Number: 11-2475

Justia Opinion Summary: The European Community filed suit against RJR, alleging that RJR directed, managed, and controlled a global money-laundering scheme with organized crime groups in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt…

The New York Times Company v. United States  
Date: April 21, 2014
Docket Number: 13-422

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552, seeking documents related to the drone attacks that killed three United States citizens. Plaintiffs sought information concerning the…

Cutrone v. Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc.  
Date: April 17, 2014
Docket Number: 14-455

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed a putative class action against MERS in state court asserting claims related to MERS's facilitation of the provision of "Esign" mortgages to consumer-borrowers. MERS appealed the district court's grant…

United States v. Allen  
Date: April 16, 2014
Docket Number: 13-296

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant plead guilty to charges of transporting, receiving, and possessing child pornography. On appeal, defendant challenged the district court's determination that his prior state court conviction for Sexual Abuse in…

Hallock v. Koubek
Date: April 15, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2905
Caronia v. Philip Morris USA, Inc.
Date: April 14, 2014
Docket Number: 11-316
Krys v. Pigott  
Date: April 11, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3575

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, Joint Official Liquidators of the SPhinX Funds, filed suit against defendants, alleging that defendants aided and abetted fraud and breached their fiduciary duty to Refco, the brokerage and financial services…

United States v. Crandall  
Date: April 10, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3313

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, arguing that his due process rights were violated because a hearing impairment allegedly prevented him from exercising his…

Tze Wung Consultants, Ltd. v. Bank of Baroda  
Date: April 10, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3901

Justia Opinion Summary: Tze Wung and related appellants moved the bankruptcy court to eliminate or suspend discharge under the bankruptcy plan of a judgment by Trendi Sportswear against debtor, Indu Craft. The bankruptcy court denied the…

United States v. Miles  
Date: April 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1158

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction and sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm following a bench trial on stipulated facts. Defendant was sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of fifteen years under the…

Federal Grievance Committee v. Williams
Date: April 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-845
Schoenefeld v. State of New York, et al.  
Date: April 8, 2014
Docket Number: 11-4283

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants appealed the district court's grant of plaintiff's cross-motion for summary judgment and declaring New York Judiciary Law 470 unconstitutional as violative of the Privileges and Immunities Clause. The court…

Widomski v. Orange County Community College  
Date: April 8, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1367

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against OCCC, alleging claims of discrimination on the basis of a "perceived disability" and retaliation in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), 42 U.S.C. 12101…

Adelphia Recovery Trust v. Goldman, Sachs & Co., et al.  
Date: April 4, 2014
Docket Number: 11-1858

Justia Opinion Summary: Adelphia Recovery Trust, an entity created to represent the non-whole creditors of a debtor corporation that was part of a bankruptcy proceeding, appealed from a grant of summary judgment dismissing its fraudulent…

Psihoyos v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.  
Date: April 4, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4874

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against publisher Wiley under the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. 101 et seq., based on Wiley's publication of textbooks containing eight of plaintiff's photographs. The district court concluded…

Wadsworth v. Allied Professionals Ins.  
Date: April 4, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1163

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against APIC, a nondomiciliary risk retention group, under New York's direct action statute, N.Y. Ins. Law 3420, to recover an unsatisfied state court judgment that had been entered against APIC's…

Kristan L. Peters v. Committee on Grievances
Date: April 4, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1916
Berlin v. Renaissance Rental Partners, LLC
Date: April 3, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2213
Bronx Household v. Board of Education  
Date: April 3, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2730

Justia Opinion Summary: The Board and School District appealed from the district court's grant of summary judgment permanently enjoining defendants from enforcing Reg. I.Q. Reg. I.Q. governs the "extended use" of school facilities outside of…

T.M. v. Cornwall Central School District  
Date: April 2, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4301

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, on behalf of their child with autism, claimed that the school district violated the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. 1400-1482, by denying the child a free appropriate public…

United States ex rel. Maurice v. Nursing Personnel Home Care  
Date: April 2, 2014
Docket Numbers: 13-1688, 14-251

Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose when plaintiff filed a qui tam action against various providers of home health-care services and their officers, including Nursing Personnel. Plaintiff and the United States settled the claim against…

Santiago-Monteverde v. Pereira  
Date: March 31, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4131

Justia Opinion Summary: Debtor, a New York City tenant, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and listed the value of her apartment lease on Schedule B as personal property exempt from the bankruptcy estate as a "local public assistance benefit." At…

DPWN Holdings (USA), Inc. v. United Airlines, Inc.  
Date: March 27, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4867

Justia Opinion Summary: United appealed the district court's order denying United's motion to dismiss an antitrust complaint brought against it by DHL. At issue was whether DHL had sufficient notice of the availability of the claim against a…

Fracasse v. People's United Bank  
Date: March 27, 2014
Docket Number: 13-266

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, formerly employed as mortgage underwriters by the Bank, filed suit in state court asserting state law claims for unjust enrichment, negligent infliction of emotional distress, wrongful termination in…

United States v. Harvey  
Date: March 26, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1490

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for illegal reentry into the United States after he was deported because of an aggravated felony conviction. Defendant challenged the sufficiency of the evidence, arguing that the…

Parada v. Banco Industrial de Venezuela, C.A.  
Date: March 25, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3525

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed discrimination and retaliation claims against the Bank under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq., as well as state and local laws. At issue was whether an employee's…

United States v. Gupta  
Date: March 25, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4448

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a member of the board of directors of Goldman Sachs, appealed his conviction for three counts of securities fraud, in violation of 15 U.S.C. 78j(b) and 78ff, and one count of conspiracy to commit securities…

United States v. Annabi  
Date: March 25, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4988

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed a forfeiture order in connection with a conviction for, inter alia, three counts of mortgage fraud (Counts Seven, Eight, and Nine). At issue was whether the district court erred by ordering forfeiture…

Federative Republic of Brazil v. Fu  
Date: March 24, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4601

Justia Opinion Summary: Liquidators challenged the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Brazil, concluding that a forfeiture judgment entered by a Brazilian court pursuant to Brazil's successful criminal prosecution of…

United States v. Bussey  
Date: March 20, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1180

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed from a conviction for violating a condition of supervised release imposed in connection with his earlier conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The district court sentenced…

Royal Crown Day Care LLC v. Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene  
Date: March 19, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4959

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging, among other things, that defendants violated their First Amendment and substantive due process rights by closing down Royal Crown's day care facility in retaliation…

Price Trucking Corp. v. Norampac Indus., Inc.  
Date: March 18, 2014
Docket Number: 11-2917

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant paid a general contractor for costs associated with the cleanup of a contaminated parcel of land that defendant owned. After the general contractor failed to remit those payments to plaintiff, a subcontractor…

United States v. Lucas  
Date: March 17, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4840

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants pled guilty to conspiring to distribute a controlled substance in violation of 21 U.S.C. 841(a), 841(b), and 846, and to using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to that conspiracy in violation of…

Deep Woods Holdings, L.L.C. v. Savings Deposit Ins. Fund  
Date: March 14, 2014
Docket Number: 11-1471

Justia Opinion Summary: SDIF appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Deep Woods against SDIF on the issue of liability. The main issue on appeal was whether Deep Woods, through its predecessor-in-interest David…

Tellado v. United States  
Date: March 12, 2014
Docket Number: 11-3227

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the denial of his motion under 28 U.S.C. 2255 to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence. Defendant challenged, among other things, the imposition of the career offender enhancement under the…

Georgitsi Realty, LLC v. Penn-Star Ins. Co.
Date: March 12, 2014
Docket Number: 11-4444
Hizam v. Kerry  
Date: March 12, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3810

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit under 8 U.S.C. 1503(a), seeking a declaration of U.S. nationality and the return of his Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) and passport. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of…

United States v. Glenn  
Date: March 12, 2014
Docket Number: 13-231

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed an order revoking his supervised release. The district court concluded that defendant committed "another federal, state or local offense" in violation of the conditions of his supervised release, based…

Warren v. Colvin  
Date: March 12, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2536

Justia Opinion Summary: After plaintiff sought to obtain records from the SSA related to his father's disability status in order to support his efforts to obtain proceeds of his father's life insurance policy, plaintiff filed suit pro se…

Exec. Plaza, LLC v. Peerless Ins. Co.
Date: March 11, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1470
C.L. v. Scarsdale Union Free Sch. Dist.  
Date: March 11, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1610

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs placed their son in a specialized private school designed to educate children with learning disabilities and filed suit against the District for tuition reimbursement under the Individuals with Disabilities…

Donachie v. Liberty Mutual Ins. Co., et al.  
Date: March 11, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2996

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2004, plaintiff appealed the denial of his long term disability (LTD) benefits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. 1001 et seq. Liberty moved for summary judgment. In a 2009 Report and…

Youseff v. Tishman Construction Corp.  
Date: March 10, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4135

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a qui tam action against defendants under the federal False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. 3729 et seq., and under the New York False Claims Act, N.Y. Fin. Law 187 et seq. Before defendants filed an answer or made…

United States v. Chibuko  
Date: March 7, 2014
Docket Number: 12-39

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction and sentence for nine counts of various fraud crimes, including three counts of aggravated identity theft, 18 U.S.C. 1028A. The district court ordered that defendant's terms of…

Wilson v. Dantas  
Date: March 6, 2014
Docket Number: 13-367

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit alleging that the Citibank defendants engaged in tortious conduct and breached contractual obligations owed to him in connection with private equity investments in Brazil. On appeal, plaintiff…

Castagna v. Luceno  
Date: March 5, 2014
Docket Number: 13-796

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed from the dismissal of her state-law tort claims as time-barred, arguing that the statute of limitations applicable to her tort claims was tolled by her filing of a charge of discrimination with the…

United States v. Taylor
Date: March 4, 2014
Docket Number: 11-2201
C.F. v. New York City Dept. of Educ.  
Date: March 4, 2014
Docket Number: 11-5003

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs unilaterally placed their child, a child with autism, in a private placement. Plaintiffs then sought reimbursement of school placement expenses for the 2008-2009 school year under the Individuals with…

United States v. Hakimi  
Date: March 4, 2014
Docket Number: 11-5364

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for conspiracy and attempt to possess and distribute controlled substances. On appeal, the government challenged the district court's grant of defendant's motion for judgment of…

Barlow, Jr. v. Liberty Maritime, et al.  
Date: March 4, 2014
Docket Number: 13-254

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, injured while working on the Motor Vessel Liberty Sun, filed suit against his employer and others asserting claims for damages under a negligence theory and an admiralty cause of action against the owners of…

La Russo v. St. George's University School of Medicine  
Date: March 4, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1665

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit alleging claims of medical malpractice, breach of contract, and negligence based on alleged failures by SGU to appropriately treat plaintiff's son's mental illness. The court concluded that the case…

Kovacs v. United States  
Date: March 3, 2014
Docket Number: 13-209

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, convicted of misprision of felony, sought a writ of error coram nobis on the ground that his lawyer rendered ineffective assistance by giving erroneous advice concerning deportation consequences of pleading…

Guertin v. United States  
Date: February 26, 2014
Docket Number: 13-186

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff challenged HUD's refusal to authorize reimbursement of defense costs plaintiff incurred while successfully defending criminal charges stemming from a series of transactions involving Middletown's use of funds…

Matusick v. Erie Cnty. Water Auth., et al.
Date: February 25, 2014
Docket Number: 11-1234
Nunn v. Massachusetts Casualty Ins.  
Date: February 24, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3712

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, former NBA referees, filed suit alleging breach of contract and/or seeking reformation with respect to each supplemental insurance policy that plaintiff had. Plaintiffs had relied on the insurance agent's…

United States v. Maynard and Ludwig  
Date: February 24, 2014
Docket Number: 12-5106

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants plead guilty to committing a series of bank robberies. On appeal, defendants challenged the district court's order of restitution under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act of 1996 (MVRA), 18 U.S.C. 3663-64.…

United States v. Bailey
Date: February 21, 2014
Docket Number: 07-3719
Li v. Holder  
Date: February 21, 2014
Docket Number: 10-274

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of the People's Republic of China, sought review of the BIA's order affirming the IJ's denial of her motion to reopen. Petitioner contended that her prior deportation proceedings were…

United States v. Baldwin  
Date: February 21, 2014
Docket Number: 13-163

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography. On appeal, defendant challenged the district court's imposition of a two-level sentencing enhancement for distribution of child pornography under U.S.S.G.…

Ligon, Floyd v. City of New York
Date: February 21, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3123
Ay v. Holder  
Date: February 20, 2014
Docket Number: 11-2102

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a Kurdish ethnic and citizen of Turkey, sought review of the BIA's order affirming the IJ's denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). The IJ…

United States v. Rubin  
Date: February 19, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3777

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of conspiracy to violate the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA), in violation of 18 U.S.C. 371 and 31 U.S.C. 5363, and other charges. The indictment alleged that three…

Nguyen v. Holder  
Date: February 19, 2014
Docket Number: 13-605

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a citizen of Vietnam, sought review of an order of the BIA dismissing her appeal from a decision of the IJ, which ordered her removed and denied her petition to remove conditions placed upon her residency in…

SEC v. Contorinis  
Date: February 18, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1723

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant executed several illegal insider trades involving the stock of the supermarket chain Albertson's using material nonpublic information received from an employee of UBS. On appeal, defendant challenged the…

Nielsen v. Bloomberg  
Date: February 13, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4313

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, pro se, filed suit against defendants under the Fourteenth Amendment for deliberate indifference. After plaintiff was beaten by police officers, he was taken to the emergency room where was evaluated doctors.…

Federal Grievance Committee v. Williams
Date: February 13, 2014
Docket Number: 13-845
Chowdhury v. Worldtel Bangladesh Holding, Ltd.  
Date: February 10, 2014
Docket Number: 09-4483

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against his former business associates, alleging that they directed a paramilitary unit of the Bangladeshi national police to detain and torture him in order to force him to turn over his ownership…

Yugoimport v. Republic of Croatia, Republic of Slovenia  
Date: February 10, 2014
Docket Number: 11-1990

Justia Opinion Summary: The Bank filed this interpleader action to determine ownership of funds held on deposit in an account in the name of the Federal Directorate of Supply and Procurement (FDSP), an entity organized under the former…

Rivera v. Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority
Date: February 10, 2014
Docket Number: 11-762
Rosu v. City of New York, et al.  
Date: February 7, 2014
Docket Number: 13-243

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the district court's dismissal of his complaint for failure to state a claim, arguing that the procedures employed by the Commission in investigating, evaluating, and resolving his claim of…

In Re: Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, NY  
Date: February 7, 2014
Docket Number: 13-4736

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit in district court in Vermont against the Diocese and its former priest, alleging that the priest transported plaintiff from New York to Vermont for the purpose of sexually abusing him, and did…

United States v. DHL Express (USA), Inc.  
Date: February 5, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3829

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed a qui tam action against DHL under the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. 3729 et seq., alleging that DHL billed the United States jet-fuel surcharges on shipments that were transported exclusively by ground…

Hillside Metro Associates, LLC v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.  
Date: February 4, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3302

Justia Opinion Summary: This litigation arose out of the failure of WaMu and the assumption of WaMu's assets and liabilities by Chase from the FDIC, acting in its capacity as WaMu's receiver. On appeal, the FDIC and Chase challenged the…

Liberty Mutual Ins. Co. v. Donegan  
Date: February 4, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4881

Justia Opinion Summary: A Vermont statute requires all "health insurers" to file with the State reports containing claims data and other "information relating to health care." Liberty Mutual sought a declaration that the Employee Retirement…

Kalyanaram v. Am. Ass'n. of Univ. Professors at The N.Y. Inst. of Tech., Inc.  
Date: February 3, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3630

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against the Union alleging that it breached its duty of fair representation. The Union filed a motion for partial judgment on the pleadings, arguing that plaintiff's claim was time-barred. The court…

Brady v. Int'l Brotherhood of Teamsters, et al.  
Date: February 3, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2038

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against defendants alleging that they violated Title I of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), 29 U.S.C. 411 et seq., by denying him membership in IBT Local 817 in retaliation…

Roth v. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., et al.  
Date: January 29, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2509

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, on behalf of Leap, filed suit against Goldman, seeking to hold Goldman liable under Section 16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. 78p(b), and Rule 16b-6(d), 17 C.F.R. 240.16b-6(d), for Goldman's…

Starr Int'l Co. v. Federal Reserve Bank of New York  
Date: January 29, 2014
Docket Number: 12-5022

Justia Opinion Summary: Starr, AIG's former principal shareholder, filed suit against the FRBNY for breach of fiduciary duty in its rescue of AIG during the fall 2008 financial crisis. The district court dismissed Starr's claims and Starr…

United States v. DeMizio  
Date: January 28, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1293

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of conspiring to commit honest-services wire fraud and securities fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1343, 1346, 1348, and 1349, as well as making a false statement in violation of 18 U.S.C.…

Doe v. Guthrie Clinic Ltd.
Date: January 27, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1045
Swatch Group v. Bloomberg  
Date: January 27, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2412

Justia Opinion Summary: Swatch filed suit against Bloomberg for copyright infringement after Bloomberg obtained a copy of a recording of a conference call convened by Swatch to discuss the company's recently released earnings report with…

Steginsky v. Xcelera Inc.  
Date: January 27, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1327

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a former minority shareholder of Xcelera, filed securities fraud claims alleging that Xcelera insiders purchased Xcelera stock by making a tender offer through a shell corporation without disclosing any…

Koehl v. Bernstein  
Date: January 23, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3855

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a prisoner serving a New York State sentence, filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging that defendants violated his constitutional rights by failing to provide him with necessary medical treatment during his…

United States v. Thavaraja  
Date: January 23, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4330

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and conspiracy to bribe public officials. Defendant, a Sri Lankan native, was the principal procurement officer for the…

Ramos v. SimplexGrinnell LP  
Date: January 23, 2014
Docket Number: 12-4901

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, workers who installed, maintained, repaired, tested, and inspected fire alarm and suppression systems in public and private buildings for Simplex, filed suit claiming that Simplex did not pay them prevailing…

McColley v. County of Rensselaer  
Date: January 21, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2220

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants appealed from the district court's denial of summary judgment on their claims of qualified immunity for purported violations of the Fourth Amendment and state tort law based upon omissions made by Investigator…

The Evergreen Association, Inc. V. City of New York
Date: January 17, 2014
Docket Number: 11-2734
The Evergreen Association, Inc v. City of New York  
Date: January 17, 2014
Docket Number: 11-2735

Justia Opinion Summary: The City appealed the district court's grant of plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction enjoining Local Law 17. Local Law 17, inter alia, requires pregnancy services centers to make certain disclosures regarding…

United States v. Clark  
Date: January 17, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1221

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm (Count 1) and possession of a controlled substance (Count 2). The court affirmed defendant's conviction on Count 1. However, the court could…

Marcos Poventud v. City of New York, et al.
Date: January 16, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1011
Martinez v. Bloomberg LP  
Date: January 14, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3654

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the district court's dismissal of his discrimination claim against his former employer under Rule 12(b)(3) for improper venue. Defendants moved to dismiss on the basis of a clause contained in…

United States v. Vasquez Macias  
Date: January 14, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3908

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for being voluntarily present and found in the United States, arguing that he was not in the United States when he was found. The court concluded that, although defendant had…

Tire Eng'g and Distrib., L.L.C., et al. v. Bank of China Ltd.  
Date: January 14, 2014
Docket Numbers: 13-1519, 13-2639

Justia Opinion Summary: These appeals challenged two orders entered in the district court holding that the separate entity rule precludes a court from ordering a garnishee bank with branches in New York to turn over or restrain assets of…

In Re: Bernard Madoff  
Date: January 13, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1645

Justia Opinion Summary: These consolidated appeals arose out of a permanent injunction entered by the Bankruptcy Court and affirmed by the district court, enjoining state law tort actions asserted by appellants, two of Madoff's defrauded…

United States v. Shand  
Date: January 13, 2014
Docket Number: 13-227

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a Jamaican citizen, pleaded guilty to illegal reentry into the United States. On appeal, defendant challenged his sentence of 77 months' imprisonment, arguing that the district court lacked the authority to…

Licci ex rel. Licci v. Lebanese Canadian Bank, SAL
Date: January 9, 2014
Docket Number: 10-1306
In re: Douglas Palermo  
Date: January 7, 2014
Docket Number: 11-848

Justia Opinion Summary: After debtor filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. 701 et seq., the trustee brought proceedings against defendant and others, alleging that these defendants had received fraudulent…

Hollis v. O'Driscoll  
Date: January 7, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3688

Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent, the mother, appealed the district court's grant of petitioner's, the father, petition for the return of his daughter from New York to New Zealand under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of…

Matusick v. Erie Cnty Water Auth., et al.  
Date: January 6, 2014
Docket Number: 11-1234

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against defendants alleging, inter alia, unlawful discrimination and hostile work environment. The court concluded, inter alia, that the jury was precluded from finding that plaintiff had not…

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