2011 Third Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law
Date: December 30, 2011
Docket Number: 11-1819
Justia Opinion Summary: Harold and his son William started a corporation, operated by William. Harold made loans to the corporation. When the corporation ceased operating William and his wife formed PCI-2 to take its place; despite an…
Date: December 30, 2011
Docket Number: 11-1957
Justia Opinion Summary: Decedent was treated at a non-profit clinic, by volunteer physicians. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services deemed those physicians to be Public Health Service employees (Public Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C.…
Date: December 29, 2011
Docket Number: 11-1895
Justia Opinion Summary: Nortel employed about 24,000 people worldwide when it filed Chapter 11 petitions. Its affiliates entered insolvency proceedings in Canada and the U.K. The Bankruptcy Court recognized the foreign proceedings as triggering…
Date: December 28, 2011
Docket Number: 09-2292
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants came to the FBI's attention because of a video taken to a store for copying; it depicted defendants shooting weapons and shouting jihad slogans. At trial, the government presented evidence of a plot to attack…
Date: December 28, 2011
Docket Number: 10-4495
Date: December 27, 2011
Docket Number: 10-4185
Justia Opinion Summary: The ordinance prohibits posting signs on utility poles, streetlights, sign posts, and trees in a public right-of-way. At the time their actions were brought, plaintiffs were both candidates for political office in an…
Date: December 23, 2011
Docket Number: 11-1905
Justia Opinion Summary: Charged as a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(g), defendant agreed to plead guilty and to cooperate with the government. A pre-sentence report indicated that he qualified as a career offender under the…
Date: December 22, 2011
Docket Number: 05-9002
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1984, petitioner was sentenced to death following his convictions in Pennsylvania state court for first-degree murder, robbery, conspiracy to commit murder, and conspiracy to commit robbery. After exhausting state…
Date: December 22, 2011
Docket Number: 11-1069
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1997 plaintiff held a 25% stake in a utility in the United Kingdom that was one of 32 U.K. companies subject to a one-time "windfall tax." After it paid that tax, plaintiff claimed a foreign tax credit on its U.S. tax…
Date: December 21, 2011
Docket Number: 10-3432
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was sentenced to 144 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery, 18 U.S.C. 371; armed bank robbery, 18 U.S.C. 2113(d); and use of a firearm during and in relation to a…
Date: December 20, 2011
Docket Number: 08-2784
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs alleged that De Beers coordinated worldwide sales of diamonds by executing agreements with competitors, setting production limits, restricting resale within regions, and directing marketing, and was able to…
Date: December 15, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1047
Date: December 14, 2011
Docket Number: 09-1827
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants, who operated what purported to be online pharmacies, were convicted on a 42-count indictment alleging crimes arising from a multi-national, internet-based, controlled-substance-distribution scheme. They have…
Date: December 14, 2011
Docket Number: 10-3824
Justia Opinion Summary: The District, which operates six elementary schools and two very highly-rated high schools set goals for redistricting, including: equalizing enrollment of the high schools and middle schools; operating elementary…
Date: December 14, 2011
Docket Number: 11-1172
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant broke into a gun shop and absconded with 30 firearms. He entered a plea of guilty to conspiracy to commit an offense against the U.S. (18 U.S.C. 371), stealing firearms from a federally licensed dealer (18…
Date: December 12, 2011
Docket Number: 10-3965
Justia Opinion Summary: The municipalities that make up the fire protection district had populations that were 69.6% Hispanic, 22.9% white, and 3.4% African-American. In 2008, the district employed 302 firefighters: 240 whites, 58 Hispanics,…
Date: December 12, 2011
Docket Number: 11-1738
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant is a payroll processing firm that collects information about its customers' employees, which may include names, addresses, social security numbers, dates of birth, and bank account information. In 2009,…
Date: December 9, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1047
Justia Opinion Summary: To revitalize the Conshohocken waterfront, the Redevelopment Authority of Montgomery County filed a declaration of condemnation of plaintiffs' property in 1996, which had the effect of transferring title to the property,…
Date: December 8, 2011
Docket Number: 10-3203
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, was convicted in Pennsylvania state court of first-degree murder, reckless endangerment, and possession of an instrument of crime, for a drive-by shooting. The court rejected his evidence of misidentification…
Date: December 7, 2011
Docket Number: 11-2573
Justia Opinion Summary: Until January, 2010, Cambria County owned the nursing- rehabilitation center, subject to the Pennsylvania State Public Employee Relations Act, 43 P.S. 1101.301(1). Employees were in a union; the most recent CBA ended in…
Date: December 6, 2011
Docket Number: 11-1969
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana (21 U.S.C. § 846). The district court sentenced him to 70 months of imprisonment, classifying a crime he…
Date: December 5, 2011
Docket Number: 09-4719
Justia Opinion Summary: From 1996 until 2003, petitioner, a Columbian, laundered money for Colombian drug traffickers. He was arrested and agreed to cooperate with the FBI. Conviction and sentencing were deferred. He worked with the FBI from …
Date: December 1, 2011
Docket Number: 11-1624
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a citizen of Peru, entered the U.S., undocumented, in 2005. In 2007, he was arrested for driving while intoxicated; he was unlicensed. In removal proceedings, petitioner conceded removablity and, after being…
Date: November 29, 2011
Docket Number: 10-3926
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2000, petitioner, a citizen of Honduras, was admitted to the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident. Four years later, in a Pennsylvania state court, he was found guilty of sexual assault, a second degree felony, and…
Date: November 28, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1311
Justia Opinion Summary: Claudia illegally entered the U.S. in 1998 or 1999; her younger sister, Silvia illegally entered in 2005. About a year later, DHS charged each with removability under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C.…
Date: November 21, 2011
Docket Number: 10-4468
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner sought to enter the U.S. with a stolen French passport in 2005, but was intercepted. Numerous proceedings ensued arising from Department of Homeland Security removal proceedings against him. Petitioner sought…
Date: November 16, 2011
Docket Number: 10-3836
Justia Opinion Summary: After defendant was in a serious automobile accident, a benefit plan administered by plaintiff paid $66,866 for his medical expenses. Defendant then recovered $110,000 from third parties, with the assistance of counsel.…
Date: November 15, 2011
Docket Number: 08-2756
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner and his wife, citizens of Georgia, a former U.S.S.R. republic, entered the U.S. on visitor visas in 1999 and remained longer than authorized. In 2004, petitioner filed an affirmative application for asylum,…
Date: November 8, 2011
Docket Number: 08-4564
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, born in 1984, is a citizen of Honduras. He came to the U.S. in 2004 without being admitted. In Removal proceedings, petitioner sought asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against…
Date: November 8, 2011
Docket Number: 11-1580
Justia Opinion Summary: The district court accepted a guilty plea to charges relating to cocaine distribution, but did not expressly rule on a request for reduction of sentence under U.S.S.G. 3B1.2 based on a claim that defendant was a minimal…
Date: November 2, 2011
Docket Number: 06-3575
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008 the Third Circuit ruled that the Federal Communications Commission's imposition of a $550,000 fine on CBS was arbitrary. The fine was based on a 2004 incident: the exposure, for nine-sixteenths of one second, of…
Date: November 1, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2305
Justia Opinion Summary: After defendant's plea of guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm (18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1)), a presentence report indicated that the base offense level under U.S.S.G. 2K2.1(a)(2) was 24 because he had at least two…
Date: October 31, 2011
Docket Number: 10-4295
Justia Opinion Summary: The four-acre parcel is within the watershed of the Sawmill, which flows into the Smyrna River, then into the Delaware Estuary and to Delaware Bay. The Sawmill becomes tidal 2.5 miles from the property. In 1987, the…
Date: October 26, 2011
Docket Number: 10-3279
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, was admitted in 1991 as a conditional permanent resident. Upon her return to the United States from a 2007 trip, she was charged with inadmissibility as an alien convicted…
Date: October 26, 2011
Docket Number: 10-4179
Justia Opinion Summary: Husband worked as a miner from 1970 to 1987. In 2000, he was found to be totally disabled by coal workers' pneumoconiosis and was awarded benefits under the Black Lung Benefits Act, 30 U.S.C. 901. He died in 2005. His…
Date: October 24, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2818
Justia Opinion Summary: Factors purchase accounts receivable to assume garment manufacturers' risk with respect to amounts owed by retailer. A manufacturer typically cannot make sales to retailers for which factors decline to assume the risk.…
Date: October 18, 2011
Docket Number: 10-4460
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was acquitted of carjacking (18 U.S.C. 2119), but convicted of possession of ammunition by a felon (18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1)), and committing an offense while on pretrial release (18 U.S.C. 3147(1). Section 3147…
Date: October 12, 2011
Docket Number: 10-3921
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiiff, a deputy serving a bench warrant, entered a garbage-filled residence. She and her partner discovered that they were covered with fleas and were directed to proceed to an Emergency Management Building. They…
Date: October 12, 2011
Docket Number: 10-3933
Justia Opinion Summary: Dissatisfied with the settlement of a trademark case, plaintiffs filed suit on March 30, 2009 in the Superior Court of New Jersey, alleging legal malpractice and related claims. The complaint was served on one defendant…
Date: October 7, 2011
Docket Number: 09-2423
Justia Opinion Summary: The company overpaid income tax for certain years. The IRS either refunded the overpayments or applied the overpayments as credits to other tax years or to liabilities for other types of taxes before the company…
Date: October 7, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2288
Date: October 5, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1350
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a licensed financial adviser, pled guilty to 34 counts of mail fraud (18 U.S.C. 1341), wire fraud (18 U.S.C. 1343), and bank fraud (18 U.S.C. 1344) based on his solicitation of bank clients to invest in…
Date: October 4, 2011
Docket Number: 08-3874
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a citizen of Pakistan, entered the U.S. in 1999 as a legal permanent resident based on his 1996 marriage to a U.S. citizen. They divorced in 2000. In 2005, the Department of Homeland Security initiated…
Date: October 4, 2011
Docket Number: 08-4336
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, acting pro se, sued an attorney, claiming that her medical malpractice case had been dismissed because the attorney failed to retain an expert as required by state law. Plaintiff failed to file a certificate…
Date: October 3, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2591
Justia Opinion Summary: From the 1930s until 1982, NL manufactured pigments on 440 acres surrounded by the Raritan River. NL later leased to manufacturers of sulfuric acid, until 2005, when a redevelopment agency acquired the site by eminent…
Date: September 29, 2011
Docket Number: 09-4055
Date: September 28, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2235
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, an apartment building owner convicted of bribery of building officials, (18 U.S.C. 666(a)(2)), was sentenced to 34 months of imprisonment. The Third Circuit affirmed and remanded for resentencing. The…
Date: September 28, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2442
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a white male, applied for the position of Housing Development Analyst in Newark. He was rejected because he lived in Rutherford; Newark has a residency requirement for non-uniformed employees. Plaintiff…
Date: September 23, 2011
Docket Number: 11-1202
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was the fiancee of the leader of a Philadelphia drug distribution ring responsible for selling a large amount of cocaine and cocaine base (crack) from 1998 to 2005. In 2005, the couple used drug money to…
Date: September 22, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1176
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a citizen of India, entered the U.S. in 1995 on a B-1 visa. After her visa expired, she accrued more than one year of unlawful presence. An application for labor certification was approved in 1999. Her…
Date: September 21, 2011
Docket Number: 10-4456
Justia Opinion Summary: The nonprofit corporation was founded as a home for elderly African-Americans in 1883. In the 1980s its financial condition began to deteriorate and, in 2004, the administrator recommended bankruptcy. The board opted to…
Date: September 20, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1265
Justia Opinion Summary: The Forest Service manages the surface of the Allegheny National Forest, but most mineral rights are privately owned. From 1980 until recently the Service cooperated with owners to manage drilling; owners would provide…
Date: September 14, 2011
Docket Number: 09-2053
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants, online booking companies, acquire inventories of hotel rooms at negotiated rates (wholesale rate) and rent the rooms to consumers at higher retail rates; they charge consumers a separate amount for hotel…
Date: September 13, 2011
Docket Number: 10-3090
Justia Opinion Summary: Brothers were convicted of distributing crack cocaine (21 U.S.C. 841(a)), conspiring to distribute crack cocaine, possessing a firearm in furtherance of the distribution of crack cocaine, Hobbs Act robbery (18 U.S.C.…
Date: September 13, 2011
Docket Number: 11-1159
Justia Opinion Summary: The Township proposed redevelopment that would eliminate 327-329 existing homes in a neighborhood, occupied predominantly by low-income minority residents, and replace them with more expensive housing, unaffordable to…
Date: September 8, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2272
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, admitted in 1998 as a refugee from Belarus, where he had been threatened by anti-Semitism, became a lawful permanent resident in 2001. In 2007, he returned from a trip and found that he was subject to a…
Date: September 8, 2011
Docket Number: 10-3611
Justia Opinion Summary: The company issued the family auto insurance when they lived in New Jersey. The family moved to Pennsylvania, and made the company aware of the permanent relocation, before being involved in a traffic accident in…
Date: September 7, 2011
Docket Number: 09-1106
Justia Opinion Summary: An intoxicated driver struck a pole, resulting in the death of his passenger. The passenger's estate sued defendant, claiming that defendant illegally sold liquor to 19-year-old, who provided it to the driver.…
Date: September 7, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1818
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant boarded a plane in New York City and flew to Hamburg. Six months after his arrival in Germany, he sexually molested a 15-year-old boy. After serving 19 months in a German prison, defendant returned to the…
Date: September 7, 2011
Docket Number: 11-9002
Justia Opinion Summary: Delaware's death penalty statute calls for lethal injection but does not mandate use of a particular drug, Del. Code tit. 11 sec. 4209(f). Death row inmates challenged, under 42 U.S.C. 1983, a 2011 change in the…
Date: September 1, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1113
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was detained for 1,072 days pursuant to the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, 8 U.S.C. 1226(c), which requires that any person who is removable from this country because he…
Date: August 31, 2011
Docket Number: 10-3178
Justia Opinion Summary: A registered nurse initiated a collective action on behalf of herself and all similarly situated individuals, alleging defendants violated the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. 207 and 216(b), when they implemented a…
Date: August 31, 2011
Docket Number: 10-4040
Justia Opinion Summary: Shareholders implemented a plan to obtain majority ownership and buy out non-participating shareholders. Among other claims, non-participants allege that the participant-directors influenced a special committee formed to…
Date: August 29, 2011
Docket Number: 10-4294
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, arrested for violating probation, was charged with knowing possession of a firearm and ammunition after having been convicted of a felony (18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2)). The government argued that…
Date: August 25, 2011
Docket Number: 09-3128
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, born in the Bahamas in 1981 and lawfully admitted into the U.S, as a permanent resident in 1999, was charged with possession of and intent to deliver marijuana and knowing and intentional possession of a…
Date: August 25, 2011
Docket Number: 09-3243
Justia Opinion Summary: The dean of a school gave the New Jersey State Senator a "low show" well-paid job in exchange for the senator's efforts as Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee to obtain funding for the school. The senator…
Date: August 25, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2108
Justia Opinion Summary: Named plaintiffs are residents of a residential area of about 2000 people. Defendants, chemical companies, operated a facility one mile north of the area. Plaintiffs allege that defendants dumped wastewater into a…
Date: August 24, 2011
Docket Number: 08-4103
Justia Opinion Summary: This case was remanded from the U.S. Supreme Court. Appellants Keith Litman and Robert Watchel asked the Third Circuit to reverse a district court order that compelled them to arbitrate their contract dispute with Cellco…
Date: August 24, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2154
Justia Opinion Summary: The United States Trustee, Region 3, appealed a district court’s reversal of sanctions originally imposed by the bankruptcy court on attorneys Mark Udren and Lorraine Doyle and HSBC for violating the Federal Rules of…
Date: August 23, 2011
Docket Number: 08-4755
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, age 24 at sentencing, co-founded and controlled a drug trafficking organization. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for continuing criminal enterprise (21 U.S.C. 848), 360 months on each of four counts of…
Date: August 23, 2011
Docket Number: 09-2257
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2000, mushroom farmers and related entities formed a cooperative (EMMC) and established minimum pricing policies and programs to improve their market position. EMMC purchased properties and resold them with deed…
Date: August 23, 2011
Docket Number: 09-3388
Justia Opinion Summary: The former Pennsylvania State Senator was sentenced to 55 months' imprisonment, a $411,000 fine, and $2,340,839 in restitution, after conviction on 137 counts of fraud, tax evasion, and obstruction of justice. His former…
Date: August 23, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1394
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of aiding and abetting the receipt of a firearm acquired outside his state of residency (18 U.S.C. 922(a)(3) & 924(a)(1)(D)) and unauthorized possession of a firearm in violation of V.I. Code Ann.…
Date: August 23, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2865
Justia Opinion Summary: Comcast‘s share of programming distribution services in the Philadelphia Designated Market Area allegedly grew from 23.9 percent in 1998 to 69.5 percent in 2007. Customers alleged violations of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C.…
Date: August 19, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2447
Justia Opinion Summary: Representatives of a putative class of participants in a 401(k) sued under the Employment Retirement Income Security Act, 29 U.S.C. 1001, claiming breach of fiduciary duty. They alleged that defendants inadequately…
Date: August 17, 2011
Docket Number: 09-3567
Justia Opinion Summary: A Caucasian former police officer claimed that disciplinary action against him and his 1999 termination violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000e, because it was retaliation for his opposition…
Date: August 17, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2288
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, domestic purchasers of magnesite, alleged that defendants, Chinese exporters, engaged in a conspiracy to fix the price of magnesite in violation of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. 4, 16, predicated on alleged…
Date: August 17, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2411
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a citizen of Guyana, entered the U.S. in 1994 on a six-month tourist visa and remained after that period. He obtained approved I-130 immediate relative and I-140 work petitions and applied for adjustment of…
Date: August 17, 2011
Docket Number: 10-4325
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant began working for plaintiff in 2006 and entered into agreements that contained restrictive covenants and an arbitration provision. In 2009 defendant left the company and allegedly began acting in violation of…
Date: August 16, 2011
Docket Number: 09-3550
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was born in Cape Verde in 1979 and admitted into the U.S. as a legal permanent resident in 1985, when his mother immigrated; she became a citizen in 1996. The Department of Homeland Security instituted removal…
Date: August 16, 2011
Docket Number: 09-4055
Justia Opinion Summary: After refinancing her mortgage in 2006, plaintiff filed suit under the Truth In Lending Act, 15 U.S.C 1601, claiming failure to properly notify her of her right to cancel the mortgage. The court instructed the jury that,…
Date: August 16, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1321
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm (18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1)), possessing heroin with the intent to distribute, (21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C)), and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a…
Date: August 16, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2893
Justia Opinion Summary: The Secretary of Labor cited the refinery for nine "serious" violations of the asbestos in construction standard, which prescribes protective requirements based on measurable concentration of asbestos fibers to which…
Date: August 16, 2011
Docket Number: 11-1206
Justia Opinion Summary: February 9, 2004, petitioner began serving 60 months on Tennessee convictions for possession of forged securities. While serving that sentence, he was convicted of unrelated offenses in Delaware. Before that court could…
Date: August 15, 2011
Docket Number: 09-4185
Justia Opinion Summary: After being told, by children, that defendant, a teacher, had touched them inappropriately and kept a notebook of information about students, an officer applied for a warrant to search defendant's home for child…
Date: August 9, 2011
Docket Number: 10-4300
Justia Opinion Summary: In March 2010, defendant pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base (21 U.S.C. 846) and possession of an unregistered firearm (26 U.S.C. 5861(d)). At the time, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of…
Date: August 9, 2011
Docket Number: 11-1078
Justia Opinion Summary: The company sued, in New Jersey, for breach of contract, conversion, and embezzlement, based on defendant's retention of checks worth $587,775.05. Defendant asserted counterclaims based on termination of an employment…
Date: August 5, 2011
Docket Number: 08-3950
Justia Opinion Summary: After an injury trial, plaintiff's attorney called jurors to ask about the award of damages and assignment of fault between the parties, apparently believing that there had been a clerical error on the verdict form.…
Date: August 5, 2011
Docket Number: 09-3352
Justia Opinion Summary: Unlike many states, Pennsylvania allows felons to vote immediately upon release from prison. To correct widespread misunderstanding, public-interest organizations planned an advertisement encouraging ex-prisoners to…
Date: August 5, 2011
Docket Number: 09-3563
Date: August 5, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1819
Justia Opinion Summary: The school board has a policy of praying at its regular meetings, routinely attended by students. The district court upheld the policy, based on a Supreme Court holding that Nebraska's practice of opening legislative…
Date: August 4, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2354
Justia Opinion Summary: Two multi-national distilleries have engaged in a lengthy dispute over the use of the words "Havana Club" to sell rum in the United States. Most recently the district held that defendant's use of the words on its label…
Date: August 4, 2011
Docket Number: 10-3936
Justia Opinion Summary: Employee, suffering depression and related disorders, received short-term disability benefits for 26 weeks. The administrator denied the employee long-term disability benefits. The district court ruled in favor of the…
Date: August 3, 2011
Docket Number: 09-3487
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant purchased guns in Tennessee, where such purchases are minimally regulated, and transported them to the Virgin Islands, which has more stringent regulation. A jury found him guilty of 12 counts of transporting a…
Date: August 3, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1473
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, born in the Dominican Republic, lived in the U.S. from 1982 until 2009, when DHS charged him as removable under section 212(a)(6)(A)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act as an alien present without being…
Date: August 3, 2011
Docket Number: 10-3833
Justia Opinion Summary: The insurance company sought a declaratory judgment that a plane crash that killed five people did not trigger coverage under a fleet insurance policy issued to an aircraft maintenance and charter company. The policy…
Date: August 3, 2011
Docket Number: 10-4600
Justia Opinion Summary: Doctors and a patient challenged the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requirement, effective in 2014, that all non-exempt applicable individuals either maintain a certain minimum level of health insurance or…
Date: August 2, 2011
Docket Number: 09-2053
Justia Opinion Summary: The Township brought a putative class action on behalf of itself and similarly situated New Jersey municipalities, alleging that defendants, companies who operate hotel booking sites online, owe unpaid hotel occupancy…
Date: August 2, 2011
Docket Number: 09-2528
Justia Opinion Summary: The Township filed disciplinary charges against an officer, which were suspended pending state investigation, and placed him on paid leave. The state and county declined to investigate. The Township reinstituted charges.…
Date: August 2, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2199
Justia Opinion Summary: A task force searching for an escaped fugitive entered the common areas of a multi-unit apartment building. The building had a locked exterior door. An inspector entered through a partially opened side window. Once…
Date: August 1, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1725
Justia Opinion Summary: Developer refused to pay nearly $6.5 million under the prime contract ($5 million was due subcontractors) claiming deficient work. General contractor declined to pay a subcontractor, who sued on the surety bond. The…
Date: August 1, 2011
Docket Number: 10-4110
Justia Opinion Summary: The school district and chief of police sent an e-mail to officials and citizens instructing them "if you see this person in or around the district schools, please contact the police." Plaintiff claimed that the email…
Date: July 29, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2367
Justia Opinion Summary: An essential witness in a rape, robbery, murder prosecution refused to testify because of threats to her family and went as far as pulling a knife on a police officer. She evaded capture during two trials and, after a…
Date: July 28, 2011
Docket Number: 09-4542
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-lender reported to credit agencies that two of plaintiff's mortgage payments were received late. Plaintiff, an attorney, filed suit under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. 1681 and alleging defamation,…
Date: July 25, 2011
Docket Number: 09-4718
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was indicted on one count of attempted possession with intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine (21 U.S.C. 846). Following indictment, arrest, and detention, the government sought to collect a DNA…
Date: July 25, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2044
Justia Opinion Summary: Husband and wife, citizens of Mexico, came to the U.S. without valid documents in 1992 and 1996. They have three American-born children (ages five, ten, and eleven). In 1999, they traveled to Mexico to attend the funeral…
Date: July 22, 2011
Docket Number: 09-1731
Justia Opinion Summary: The district court granted a default judgment of foreclosure in favor of the mortgage company. Following a sale, at which the mortgage company was the successful bidder, the court granted a motion to set aside the sale…
Date: July 22, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1842
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, convicted of armed assault and murder in 1977, is detained in a federal facility in West Virginia. While in prison he was convicted of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. He is…
Date: July 21, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2328
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was injured while driving a rental car on a defendant's Virgin Islands property. Her suit against two Virgin Islands companies was dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction based on a determination that…
Date: July 19, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1743
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff accepted a Rule 68 offer of judgment in his suit against the Newark Police Department and officers in the amount of $55,000. The offer stated an intention to resolve the litigation "in its entirety." Upon…
Date: July 12, 2011
Docket Number: 08-1536
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, serving two consecutive life sentences for murders, exhausted state appeals and filed a federal habeas corpus petition, pro se. The district court dismissed the petition as untimely. Petitioner concedes that…
Date: July 12, 2011
Docket Number: 10-3860
Justia Opinion Summary: A 36 year-old schoolteacher sustained serious brain injuries when he was struck by a car while bicycling to work. His parents, appointed as his legal guardians, filed a products liability suit against the manufacturer of…
Date: July 7, 2011
Docket Number: 08-3078
Justia Opinion Summary: In a 2004 decision, the Third Circuit affirmed the Federal Communications Commission‘s authority to regulate media ownership but remanded aspects of the Commission‘s 2003 Order that were not adequately supported by the…
Date: July 6, 2011
Docket Number: 10-3435
Justia Opinion Summary: A 51-year-old man with a history of violent crime and drug abuse, applied for SSI (42 U.S.C. 1381). He alleged disability beginning in April 2002 due to bipolar disorder and anxiety. The application was denied in…
Date: July 5, 2011
Docket Number: 11-8026
Justia Opinion Summary: The company sought an extension of time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from a decision of the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands (48 U.S.C. 1613), on the ground that new counsel cannot meet the current…
Date: June 30, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2737
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a citizen of Ecuador, entered the U.S. illegally in 1991; she was granted voluntary departure in 1995, but did not depart until 1999. She illegally re-entered in 2000 and married a citizen. Using a different…
Date: June 30, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2747
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants are health service providers that receive reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid under 42 U.S.C. 1395, 1396. Plaintiffs, former employees of defendants, filed a qui tam action, alleging violations of various…
Date: June 29, 2011
Docket Numbers: 09-3537, 09-3538
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal involved a putative class action filed by three Pennsylvania Medicaid beneficiaries subject to the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare's (DPW) liens against future settlements or judgments. At issue was…
Date: June 29, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1231
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to one count of simple possession of a controlled substance in violation of 21 U.S.C. 844(a) and his conviction subsequently triggered removal proceedings against him some years later. Defendant…
Date: June 28, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2524
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was unloading a railway tank car filled with sulfuric acid when its chemical contents exploded, spraying across his face and chest and inflicting severe burns. He sought damages under the common law, but the…
Date: June 27, 2011
Docket Number: 09-4479
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, arrested for violating a township public intoxication ordinance, argued that the law was superseded by or contrary to the New Jersey Alcoholism Treatment and Rehabilitation Act. The judge dismissed the charge.…
Date: June 23, 2011
Docket Number: 10-3411
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1999 the company discharged a forklift driver and a warehouseman. An ALJ ordered reinstatement and payment for their losses, concluding that they had been subject to surveillance and discharged discriminatorily on…
Date: June 21, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2297
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, lawful permanent residents taken into custody based on past convictions, (8 U.S.C. 1182) sought a declaratory judgment that continued detention of putative class members, without bond hearings, violated the…
Date: June 21, 2011
Docket Number: 10-3194
Justia Opinion Summary: After receiving two letters from the law firm, the plaintiff filed suit claiming that the firm violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. 1692e, by misleading him to believe that an attorney was involved…
Date: June 20, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2775
Justia Opinion Summary: The company wished to use cash reserves from subsidiaries in Ireland for activities such as stock repurchase. Foreign income is not taxable in the U.S. when earned, but is taxed if invested in U.S. property, 26 U.S.C.…
Date: June 17, 2011
Docket Number: 10-3388
Justia Opinion Summary: Following an altercation concerning auto repairs, plaintiff, an African American, found damage to his car and was threatened by a garage employee; he called 911. Garage employees also called 911. When officers responded,…
Date: June 16, 2011
Docket Number: 07-9004
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1985, defendant was found guilty of first-degree murder, terroristic threats, and kidnapping, and sentenced to death. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed. While a state post-conviction petition was pending, a…
Date: June 16, 2011
Docket Number: 09-3032
Justia Opinion Summary: The Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1231(b)(3)(B)(iv), precludes withholding of removal if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the alien is a danger to the security of the United States. In November…
Date: June 16, 2011
Docket Number: 09-4574
Justia Opinion Summary: The company filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition and continued to make payments to pension plans, as required by collective bargaining agreements. When the company was sold and it no longer employed individuals covered…
Date: June 16, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1833
Justia Opinion Summary: After pleading guilty to illegal reentry (8 U.S.C. 1326) the defendants challenged their sentences, claiming that their Fifth Amendment rights were violated as a result of the Department of Justice "fast-track" programs…
Date: June 15, 2011
Docket Number: 09-2238
Justia Opinion Summary: The state notified a concert promoter that use of two names might violate New Jersey trademark laws. The promoter provided evidence of common law trademarks, but the state notified the hotel venue to advertise the shows…
Date: June 14, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1479
Justia Opinion Summary: The plaintiffs were subjected to raids as part of "Operation Return to Sender," implemented to apprehend fugitive aliens. The complaint included "Bivens" claims: unreasonable home entries, unreasonable searches;…
Date: June 14, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2163
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006 the photographer took a picture of radio personalities for use in a magazine. An employee of the radio station scanned the picture, cutting off credit lines, and posted it on the internet. After the…
Date: June 14, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2778
Justia Opinion Summary: The hospital filed the proposed class action, alleging that the pharmaceutical company violate antitrust "tying" prohibitions by using its knowledge of insurance reimbursement rates to leverage its market power in one…
Date: June 13, 2011
Docket Number: 07-4465
Justia Opinion Summary: A student created a fake profile of his high school principal on a social networking internet web site, using his grandmother's computer. Some students saw the profile from school computers before the school disabled…
Date: June 13, 2011
Docket Number: 08-4138
Justia Opinion Summary: The student was suspended for using a home computer to create an internet profile of her middle school principal, including sexual content and vulgar language. The site did not include the principal's name, but did…
Date: June 13, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2409
Justia Opinion Summary: Under Medicaid, the federal government reimburses between 50% and 83% of state costs for patient care for eligible low-income individuals, including developmentally-disabled individuals receiving care in home- and…
Date: June 10, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2281
Justia Opinion Summary: The decedent, killed in a motorcycle accident in 2008, was covered by a life insurance policy, subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, 29 U.S.C. 1101. The insurance company denied a claim by the…
Date: June 10, 2011
Docket Number: 10-4397
Justia Opinion Summary: The Bureau of Prisons denied the inmate's request to choose his own cellmate. The district court and Third Circuit affirmed, finding the claim without merit.
Date: June 1, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2970
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants were charged with possessing and passing altered currency (18 U.S.C. 472), possessing false or fictitious items (18 U.S.C. 514(a)), and conspiring to do the same (18 U.S.C. § 371). One pled guilty, the other…
Date: May 26, 2011
Docket Number: 09-4040
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff purchased a credit disability insurance policy from defendant in connection with credit union financing of an automobile. Following an injury on the job, he received benefits in the form of credit union…
Date: May 26, 2011
Docket Number: 10-3539
Justia Opinion Summary: A student reported to her aunt, a member of the school board (plaintiff), that she had seen a teacher hugging another student. The investigation ended because the teacher and minor student denied the incident and the…
Date: May 25, 2011
Docket Number: 10-4699
Justia Opinion Summary: After first filing claims in a U.S. district court, inhabitants of eastern Ecuador filed suit in their country, alleging that the company contaminated the area and caused residents' health problems. The company,…
Date: May 18, 2011
Docket Number: 09-2567
Justia Opinion Summary: Oyster Creek in Ocean County, New Jersey was licensed under the Atomic Energy Act, 42 U.S.C. 2133(c) in 1969 for a 40-year term and is the oldest operating commercial nuclear power plant in the country. Objectors claimed…
Date: May 18, 2011
Docket Number: 09-4676
Justia Opinion Summary: A division of New Jersey's Department of Treasury purchased $300 million in preferred stock issued by the defendant, which later asked New Jersey to convert its preferred shares to common stock. New Jersey agreed, if the…
Date: May 16, 2011
Docket Number: 09-2657
Justia Opinion Summary: Arrested in 1986 for sex crimes against children and terrorist threats and incarcerated since then, the defendant was granted a new trial by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 1992. He was sentenced to 10 to 20 years…
Date: May 16, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2762
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1991 defendant left his job with an insurance brokerage for one with competitor and took two binders of print material for use by the competitor. After discovering the infringement, the employer filed suit in 2005…
Date: May 13, 2011
Docket Number: 09-1189
Justia Opinion Summary: The defendant committed an armed robbery and another shooting within two weeks in 1993 and was ultimately sentenced by one county to 50 years imprisonment, with parole eligibility after 16 years and 8 months, to run…
Date: May 13, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1198
Justia Opinion Summary: The defendant, a dual-citizen of the U.S. and Iran and a chemical engineer, marketed a dynamic software program to Iranian actors and agreed to provide Iranian entities with technology for construction of chemical…
Date: May 10, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1230
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a citizen of Israel, twice overstayed visitors' visas, then sought an adjustment of status based on an employer's approved petition for an alien worker. The application was denied because he refused to submit…
Date: May 5, 2011
Docket Number: 10-3337
Justia Opinion Summary: The defendant was convicted of possession with intent to distribute heroin (21 U.S.C. 841(a)) and two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking (18 U.S.C. 924(c)) and sentenced to 480 months.…
Date: May 4, 2011
Docket Number: 08-3650
Justia Opinion Summary: The district court denied insurance companies standing to challenge a Chapter 11 plan of reorganization for a debtor facing asbestos and silica-related injury claims and affirmed the plan. The Third Circuit vacated and…
Date: May 4, 2011
Docket Number: 09-1049
Justia Opinion Summary: The defendant appealed his sentence for receiving child pornography (18 U.S.C. 2252A): 60 months imprisonment followed by 20 years of supervised release. The defendant had more than 700 images on his computer, some of…
Date: April 29, 2011
Docket Number: 03-9010
Justia Opinion Summary: The defendant filed motions after his 1983 conviction for killing a witness. Before they were heard he escaped, was captured, escaped again, and was arrested again in 1991. Efforts to reinstate the post-verdict motions…
Date: April 29, 2011
Docket Number: 09-2860
Justia Opinion Summary: After being pulled over in February for a traffic violation, the defendant consented to a vehicle search. The officer found cash, marijuana, and guns. Five months later,during a fire code inspection of his girlfriend's…
Date: April 26, 2011
Docket Number: 01-9014
Justia Opinion Summary: The petitioner, convicted in 1982 of murdering a police officer and sentenced to death, exhausted state appeals. The U.S. Supreme Court denied a habeas corpus petition challenging his conviction and subsequently remanded…
Date: April 25, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1554
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1996 the petitioner, an Indian citizen charged as deportable, posted bond and traveled from Texas to Wisconsin. An attorney, hired by his family, had the matter transferred to New Jersey, but later moved to withdraw…
Date: April 22, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1082
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a Chinese citizen, was charged with fraudulent attempt to enter the United States under a false identity in 2002 and sought asylum to avoid removal. The Bureau of Immigration Appeals (BIA) rejected the…
Date: April 22, 2011
Docket Number: 10-3049
Justia Opinion Summary: After pleading guilty to possession of child pornography, the defendant was sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release, with conditions restricting Internet access and association with…
Date: April 21, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1598
Justia Opinion Summary: The defendant accepted a guilty plea on charges of intent to distribute cocaine; the government agreed not to file an information to increase the penalty based on prior conviction (18 U.S.C. 851). The Third Circuit…
Date: April 20, 2011
Docket Number: 09-2872
Justia Opinion Summary: An officer issued a misconduct report against the plaintiff (an inmate) following an attack on another inmate. Although the officer had stated that the incident was recorded, a hearing officer accepted a statement that…
Date: April 19, 2011
Docket Number: 08-2655
Justia Opinion Summary: The taxpayer and her ex-husband maintained a joint account pending resolution of a support dispute. In May 2003 the IRS levied the funds because of the ex-husband's failure to turnover taxes withheld from his employees.…
Date: April 19, 2011
Docket Number: 09-4579
Justia Opinion Summary: The governor terminated two public employees. The district court ordered reinstatement. The Third Circuit reversed and remanded. After examining the law of the U.S. Virgin Islands, the court determined that the employees…
Date: April 18, 2011
Docket Number: 08-9003
Justia Opinion Summary: The defendant was sentenced to death for the 1987 robbery-murder of a bartender. The defendant claimed that he killed the woman while intoxicated and, after she was dead, decided to take the money. On petition for habeas…
Date: April 18, 2011
Docket Number: 09-2051
Justia Opinion Summary: A police officer was suspended for his handling of another officer's complaint against superior officers in violation of policies governing use of the computer system. A union grievance resulted in an award of back pay…
Date: April 14, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1289
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a Palestinian citizen, overstayed his visitor's visa, and was denied asylum in September 2003. In May 2004 he married a U.S. citizen and moved his residence. In December 2004 the Board of Immigration Appeals…
Date: April 13, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1589
Justia Opinion Summary: The defendants (Connelly firm) represented plaintiff in his divorce until July 2005. In July 2006 plaintiff consulted attorney, Downey, who notified the Connelly firm of a malpractice claim in October. In March 2007…
Date: April 13, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1914
Justia Opinion Summary: An Erie County resident had spoken during the public part of 14-15 council meetings before he attempted to object to a motion on an ordinance after the close of public comments. After being told that he was out of order,…
Date: April 12, 2011
Docket Number: 09-3438
Justia Opinion Summary: The U.S. Department of Labor Benefits Review Board affirmed a miner's award of disability benefits under the Black Lung Benefits Act, 30 U.S.C. 901-945. The Third Circuit denied a petition for review. The claim was not…
Date: April 12, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1755
Justia Opinion Summary: The defendant was convicted under 18 U.S.C. 2250 of traveling in interstate and foreign commerce, knowingly failing to register under the Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act, (SORNA) 42 U.S.C. 16901. He…
Date: April 12, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2204
Justia Opinion Summary: The district court dismissed indictment of a criminal defense attorney and co-conspirators under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), 18 U.S.C. 1962(c). The underlying criminal enterprises…
Date: April 11, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2532
Justia Opinion Summary: The district court dismissed a pro se debtor's claims against creditors, a collection firm, and credit reporting agencies, holding that expiration of the limitations period on the original debt did not prohibit…
Date: April 6, 2011
Docket Number: 09-4454
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007 the Board of Immigration Appeals denied a petition for asylum and to withhold removal brought by an Albanian citizen who had entered the United States illegally. In 2009 the BIA declined to reopen the case to…
Date: April 5, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1377
Justia Opinion Summary: A nurse filed suit under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. 1059, claiming that her former employer had failed to maintain accurate records. She alleged that nurses were required to work…
Date: April 4, 2011
Docket Number: 07-2151
Justia Opinion Summary: A Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition, filed in May 2005, was dismissed; the order was mailed on October 5, 2006. Notice of appeal was sent by first-class and electronic mail on October 16, but was not filed until October 19.…
Date: April 4, 2011
Docket Number: 09-3105
Justia Opinion Summary: The district court dismissed class actions filed under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. 227(b), which provides a private right of action against senders of unsolicited faxes, for lack of diversity…
Date: April 4, 2011
Docket Number: 10-4077
Justia Opinion Summary: The defendant was convicted of possession with intent to deliver 50 grams of cocaine base and sentenced to life in prison. The conviction was affirmed on appeal and the Supreme Court denied certiorari. Subsequent…
Date: March 29, 2011
Docket Number: 08-8033
Justia Opinion Summary: Following disclosure of misrepresentations and omissions concerning collateral, the company, which provides loans for purchase of medical equipment, sought bankruptcy protection. The district court certified a class of…
Date: March 29, 2011
Docket Number: 09-2051
Justia Opinion Summary: Under Pennsylvania law, 53 Pa. Stat. 46190, police officers may not be suspended or terminated without just cause. An officer, who entered charges against other officers on the police network on behalf of another, but in…
Date: March 29, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1050
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants pled guilty to participation in a scheme to fraudulently obtain class action settlement funds. One defendant sentenced to 15 months imprisonment and payment of $572,279 in restitution; the other was sentenced…
Date: March 29, 2011
Docket Number: 10-1673
Justia Opinion Summary: The biological mother of three children lived with the children and their adoptive mother and named the adoptive mother as beneficiary on one of her life insurance policies through her employer. She did not name…
Date: March 28, 2011
Docket Number: 09-1170
Justia Opinion Summary: Harvey and her boyfriend jointly leased an apartment. After Harvey obtained an order of protection and was granted exclusive possession of the apartment, the boyfriend retrieved some of his belongings. Later, seeking to…
Date: March 28, 2011
Docket Number: 09-2185
Justia Opinion Summary: The defendant was convicted of the first degree murder of her husband. His death was caused by a lethal dose of liquid morphine. The defense argued that the death was a suicide. The court relied on circumstantial…
Date: March 16, 2011
Docket Number: 10-2341
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