2021 Third Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law
Opinions 1 - 500 of 1075
Date: December 27, 2021
Docket Number: 19-3693
Justia Opinion Summary: The Unions represented employees at Care One facilities. Care One sued the Unions for damages arising from actions that allegedly amounted to a pattern of racketeering under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt…
Date: December 23, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3300
Date: December 23, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3300
Date: December 22, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3531
Date: December 22, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3565
Justia Opinion Summary: Nsimba was born in the Congo in 1992. His wife and his children still live there. In 2011, Nsimba joined the largest political party, UDPS, which opposed the policies of then-President Kabila. When it became apparent…
Date: December 22, 2021
Docket Number: 21-1302
Date: December 21, 2021
Docket Number: 20-1705
Date: December 21, 2021
Docket Number: 20-1705
Date: December 21, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3158
Justia Opinion Summary: Taylor, on probation, was found to be in possession of drugs, a firearm, and cash, and moved to suppress the evidence. Before the scheduled hearing, his court-appointed lawyer (Carey) moved to withdraw because Taylor…
Date: December 21, 2021
Docket Number: 21-1019
Date: December 20, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2509
Justia Opinion Summary: Yasin, a citizen of Pakistan, last entered the United States more than 20 years ago. In 2002, he became subject to a final BIA removal order but continued residing in the U.S. In 2017, he and his U.S.-citizen wife had a…
Date: December 16, 2021
Docket Number: 20-1200
Justia Opinion Summary: Kane woke up to find his girlfriend, Ally, dead. Ally had a tourniquet wrapped around her arm; nearby, officers spotted a purse containing wax bags bearing the word “Butter,” containing a mix later determined to be…
Date: December 16, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2526
Justia Opinion Summary: Officer Staffer saw Jefferson traveling at high speed with his car alarm blaring. Staffer, suspecting the vehicle was stolen, attempted a traffic stop. Jefferson was driving with an open container of alcohol. Fearing a…
Date: December 13, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2514
Justia Opinion Summary: Maple’s girlfriend, Vinsek, told him that Teck had tried to rape her. Later, they found her apartment ransacked and blamed Teck and his friend, Altman. Maple tracked them down at a bar, where he brawled with them. …
Date: December 9, 2021
Docket Number: 21-1180
Justia Opinion Summary: Chavez-Chilel entered the U.S. without admission. DHS issued her a Notice to Appear (NTA), “on a date to be set at a time to be set,” charging her with removability, 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(6)(A)(i). A subsequently-served…
Date: December 7, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2040
Justia Opinion Summary: Vastardis, a citizen of Greece and Chief Engineer onboard the Liberian-registered petroleum tanker, Evridiki, was convicted of offenses related to maritime pollution: failing to maintain an accurate Oil Record Book for…
Date: December 7, 2021
Docket Number: 21-1945
Date: November 30, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3172
Date: November 30, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3475
Justia Opinion Summary: PG sought to vacate a labor arbitration award. In many labor disputes, both the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA), 29 U.S.C. 185(a), and the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), 9 U.S.C. 10, provide means for seeking…
Date: November 26, 2021
Docket Number: 19-3855
Justia Opinion Summary: A plan participant sued under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, 29 U.S.C. 1132(a)(1)(B), claiming that an insurance-company fiduciary wrongfully terminated his benefits. The participant enrolled in his former…
Date: November 26, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2247
Justia Opinion Summary: AT&T employed Fowler, 1986-2016. She was diagnosed in 2006 with epilepsy that caused cognitive impairments. In 2015, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and informed AT&T of her diagnosis. In December 2015, AT&T planned…
Date: November 24, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3218
Date: November 23, 2021
Docket Number: 19-2390
Justia Opinion Summary: Dennis was convicted of a 1991 robbery and first-degree murder and was sentenced to death. In 2013, the district court granted Dennis’s habeas petition, vacated his conviction, and ordered a new trial on all charges,…
Date: November 23, 2021
Docket Number: 20-1449
Justia Opinion Summary: Johnson developed an obsession with the allegations of sexual assault against entertainer Bill Cosby. Hoping to discredit the accusers, Johnson posed as an attorney and filed a fabricated document on the civil docket of…
Date: November 22, 2021
Docket Numbers: 20-2343, 20-2344
Justia Opinion Summary: SHI, owned by Vik, borrowed funds from Deutsche Bank (Bank). SHI entered a limited partnership (LP) agreement with Devon and invested $25 million, Bank issued margin calls. SHI claimed that it lacked funds to satisfy the…
Date: November 22, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3510
Date: November 18, 2021
Docket Number: 20-1634
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1972, P&A signed a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with Local 15024. In the early 1980s, according to P&A, Local 825 pressured P&A to employ them instead. P&A created Utility Systems to hire Local 825 workers.…
Date: November 18, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3468
Date: November 18, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3567
Date: November 17, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3217
Date: November 16, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2269
Justia Opinion Summary: The Reefer arrived at the Port of Wilmington, Delaware for what its owner, Nederland, expected to be a short stay. Upon inspection, the Coast Guard suspected that the vessel had discharged dirty bilge water directly…
Date: November 12, 2021
Docket Number: 20-1692
Date: November 12, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3127
Date: November 4, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2991
Justia Opinion Summary: Delaware’s Unclaimed Property Law (UPL), Del. Code tit. 12 section 1101, allows the state to escheat certain types of unclaimed property held by businesses chartered in the state, if the particular business holding the…
Date: November 3, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2633
Justia Opinion Summary: Argueta, a 20-year-old citizen of Honduras, entered the U.S. in 1998. In 2007, Argueta had an altercation with a former employer over the late payment of wages. Convicted of aggravated assault, he was sentenced to 96…
Date: November 3, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3088
Justia Opinion Summary: In August 2019, Sheppard began serving a three-year term of supervised release in connection with a 2016 guilty plea for mail fraud. During the first year of his supervision, Sheppard learned that his girlfriend and his…
Date: October 29, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2719
Justia Opinion Summary: Since his 2012 federal conviction, Garrett has brought at least 10 federal civil suits. In this suit, Garrett sued New Jersey's Governor and another official under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging due process and “speedy trial”…
Date: October 29, 2021
Docket Number: 21-2810
Justia Opinion Summary: Garrett, a New Jersey prisoner, has commenced at least 10 civil actions against prison officials, state officials, and the United States, avoiding paying filing fees for these lawsuits by proceeding in forma pauperis.…
Date: October 28, 2021
Docket Number: 19-3810
Justia Opinion Summary: Dr. Polansky was an official at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) before consulting for EHR, a “physician advisor” company that provides review and billing certification services to hospitals and…
Date: October 28, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3300
Justia Opinion Summary: Arreaga-Bravo, a 31-year-old from Guatemala. arrived in the U.S. in 2016. In removal proceedings, she sought withholding of removal under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), claiming that she had fled Guatemala to…
Date: October 27, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3563
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, Claude, convicted of bank fraud, access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, and currency offenses, was sentenced to 232 months’ imprisonment. In 2020, Claude sought compassionate release under 18 U.S.C.…
Date: October 26, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2709
Justia Opinion Summary: Quinnones pleaded guilty to two counts of armed bank robbery and stipulated that her commission of an armed robbery of a store should be treated at sentencing as if it were a third conviction. The PSR recommended that…
Date: October 20, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2833
Justia Opinion Summary: The estates of New Jersey nursing home residents, who died from COVID-19, alleged that the nursing homes acted negligently in handling the COVID-19 pandemic. The nursing homes removed the case to federal court. The…
Date: October 15, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3584
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2019, Mallet learned that Bundy was its newest competitor in the sale of baking release agents, the lubricants that allow baked goods to readily separate from the containers in which they are made. Bundy was…
Date: October 14, 2021
Docket Number: 19-3825
Date: October 12, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3353
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1997, Liang learned that his girlfriend was pregnant. Because they had not yet married, Chinese government officials forced her to abort their baby. To protest, Liang met with a local official. A scuffle ensued. It…
Date: October 8, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3324
Date: October 5, 2021
Docket Number: 19-3046
Justia Opinion Summary: Current and former mortgage loan officers claim that Citizens Bank forced them—and more than a thousand of their colleagues—to work over 40 hours a week without paying them the overtime they were due under state and…
Date: October 5, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3484
Date: September 30, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3531
Date: September 30, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3543
Date: September 29, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3564
Date: September 28, 2021
Docket Number: 20-1706
Date: September 28, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3404
Date: September 27, 2021
Docket Number: 19-3055
Justia Opinion Summary: Talley, a Pennsylvania state prison inmate, signed a settlement agreement resolving two prior lawsuits. He alleges that the Settlement Agreement was fraudulent because attorneys had not entered a “‘proper’ appearance” on…
Date: September 24, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2128
Justia Opinion Summary: The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates certifies graduates of foreign medical schools who wish to be accepted to a U.S. medical residency program. In 1992, Igberase obtained certification. No…
Date: September 23, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2725
Justia Opinion Summary: Hepp hosts FOX 29’s Good Day Philadelphia. In 2018, Hepp was told by coworkers that her photograph was making its way around the internet. The image depicts Hepp in a convenience store, smiling, and was taken without…
Date: September 23, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3579
Date: September 22, 2021
Docket Number: 19-1089
Justia Opinion Summary: At initial hearings, New Jersey's Parole Board may consult any information it deems relevant, including an inmate’s criminal history. At successive parole hearings, the Board could not consider old information, including…
Date: September 22, 2021
Docket Number: 19-1475
Justia Opinion Summary: Born in Yemen in 1986, Ghanem was admitted to the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident in 2003. In 2009, Ghanem returned to Yemen to get married and settled with his wife in Sana’a. Pro-democracy uprisings, the Arab…
Date: September 22, 2021
Docket Number: 20-1514
Justia Opinion Summary: Scott was sentenced for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. His PSR included a career offender enhancement under U.S.S.G. 2K2.1(a)(2), which applies if a defendant “committed any part of the instant offense…
Date: September 22, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3470
Date: September 17, 2021
Docket Number: 20-1119
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1969, Beasley founded a band, “The Ebonys,” one of many bands that created the “Philadelphia Sound.” The Ebonys achieved some commercial success in the 1970s but never reached the notoriety of similar artists such as…
Date: September 15, 2021
Docket Number: 19-1652
Justia Opinion Summary: Stinson and Jarmon each ran drug trafficking conspiracies out of a North Philadelphia public housing complex/ at various times, 2010-2015. The complex included about 500 apartment units and two playgrounds. During a…
Date: September 15, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2171
Justia Opinion Summary: Grace operated a Montana asbestos facility, 1963-1990. Facing thousands of asbestos-related suits, Grace filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Its reorganization plan provided for a several-billion-dollar asbestos…
Date: September 14, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2632
Justia Opinion Summary: Icker, a part-time uniformed police officer, twice pulled over a woman who was driving alone at night and detained her, claiming that she appeared intoxicated or that he could smell marijuana. Icker handcuffed each woman…
Date: September 10, 2021
Docket Number: 20-1273
Justia Opinion Summary: The Third Circuit denied a petition for review challenging the BIA's ruling that petitioner's conviction for aggravated identity theft in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1028A(a)(1) is a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT),…
Date: September 10, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2267
Justia Opinion Summary: The Third Circuit affirmed the district court's application of a sentencing enhancement for possession of a dangerous weapon under USSG 2D1.1(b)(1). The court concluded, in United States v. Drozdowski, 313 F.3d 819, 823…
Date: September 9, 2021
Docket Number: 19-2973
Justia Opinion Summary: Arrington claims he stopped engaging in drug activity after he was released from prison on parole in 2007. The government contends Arrington became a Pennsylvania drug supplier. In 2009, the police arrested Arrington’s…
Date: September 9, 2021
Docket Number: 20-1309
Justia Opinion Summary: When Aleckna filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, she still owed the University (CCU) tuition. The filing of her bankruptcy petition imposed an “automatic stay” of all collection actions against her. While her case was…
Date: September 8, 2021
Docket Number: 20-1908
Justia Opinion Summary: The Arbitration Board, in its Merits Award, held that Verizon violated a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with its Union by contracting with common carriers to deliver FiOS TV set-top boxes to “existing customers”…
Date: September 8, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2359
Date: September 8, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2614
Justia Opinion Summary: Harper runs deliveries under the “Amazon Flex” program, which supplements Amazon’s traditional delivery services. Interested drivers use an app to sign up to drive packages from Amazon warehouses, affiliated grocers, and…
Date: September 3, 2021
Docket Number: 19-3241
Justia Opinion Summary: Under 8 U.S.C. 1226(c), the government must detain noncitizens who are removable because they committed certain specified offenses or have connections with terrorism, and it must hold them without bond pending their…
Date: September 2, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2829
Justia Opinion Summary: In March 2010, Orrstown made a stock offering at $27 per share. SEPTA invested some of its pension funds in Orrstown stock during this offering and later purchased Orrstown stock on the open market. In 2011-2012 Orrstown…
Date: September 1, 2021
Docket Number: 19-1408
Justia Opinion Summary: B.C., a native of Cameroon, primarily speaks “Pidgin” English, and reports that he has only limited abilities in “Standard” English. He fled from Cameroon to the U.S. after allegedly facing persecution at the hands of…
Date: September 1, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2554
Justia Opinion Summary: Shorter, a transgender woman, has undergone hormone replacement therapy; her body is “openly female.” In 2015, she entered a Federal Correctional Institution to begin a 96-month sentence for creating a fraudulent “tax…
Date: August 31, 2021
Docket Number: 20-1778
Justia Opinion Summary: Singh, a native of India,arrived in the U.S. in 1991, without travel documents or proof of identity. He falsely claimed that his name was Davinder Singh. Singh failed to appear at his immigration hearing and was ordered…
Date: August 30, 2021
Docket Number: 20-1776
Justia Opinion Summary: Ellison, an orthopedic surgeon who practices in California, wants to move to New Jersey and practice in the RWJBarnabas Health system. In order to obtain staff privileges, Ellis sought certification by the American Board…
Date: August 30, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2216
Justia Opinion Summary: Three former Deputy Coroners claim their employer, the County of Schuylkill, violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. 201, by failing to pay them overtime and then firing them in retaliation for seeking…
Date: August 30, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2768
Justia Opinion Summary: Andrews was convicted of 13 robberies in 2005, conspiring to commit the robberies, and brandishing a firearm during the crimes and was sentenced to 312 years’ imprisonment: 57 months for the robberies and conspiracy (18…
Date: August 30, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2867
Justia Opinion Summary: Westinghouse filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In June 2017, the Bankruptcy Court set a “General Bar Date” of September 1, 2017—the deadline by which creditors had to file proofs of claims for most prepetition claims. The…
Date: August 26, 2021
Docket Number: 19-2988
Justia Opinion Summary: The Union represents about 165 employees at the Clinton research facility, staffed by EMRE. In 2015, a bargaining unit member retired. After advertising internally failed to fill the open position, EMRE used independent…
Date: August 24, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2667
Justia Opinion Summary: Rought sold fentanyl to Carichner, who provided some to Giberson. Both overdosed. Giberson was revived with Narcan; Carichner died. Rought was indicted for possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute resulting in…
Date: August 23, 2021
Docket Number: 20-1982
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, Golden sought to construct a hotel and casino. Golden’s proposed development, located within St. Croix’s coastal zone, required a major Coastal Zone Management (CZM) permit. The CZM Committee held the…
Date: August 19, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2083
Justia Opinion Summary: H.K., a fifth-grader who has been diagnosed with ADHD, oppositional tendencies, and developmental delays, lives within the East Brunswick school district. H.K. was previously enrolled at Hatikvah, a local educational…
Date: August 18, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2954
Justia Opinion Summary: The three restaurants in these consolidated appeals each brought its own action in state court seeking a declaration that its respective Insurer was obligated to provide coverage for COVID-19-related losses under an…
Date: August 18, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3057
Justia Opinion Summary: Before filing for bankruptcy, the Debtors provided general contracting services for large construction projects, including many projects for departments of the federal government. To enter into contracts with the United…
Date: August 17, 2021
Docket Number: 20-1722
Justia Opinion Summary: For many years, a 265-acre tract in Robinson Township, Pennsylvania hosted a gun range with over 800 members. In 2008, the range’s then-owner pleaded guilty to possessing weapons as a convicted felon, and the Club…
Date: August 16, 2021
Docket Number: 16-3820
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1992, Grant was convicted of homicide and other crimes that he had committed while he was a juvenile. He was sentenced to life imprisonment under the then-mandatory Sentencing Guidelines. Parole is unavailable to…
Date: August 16, 2021
Docket Number: 20-1727
Justia Opinion Summary: Trinh sued Fineman, who had been appointed by the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County as a receiver in a case involving the dissolution of Trinh’s beauty school. She alleged that Fineman did not give her a…
Date: August 16, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2476
Justia Opinion Summary: Lozano, a former Marine, was discharged for medical reasons and suffers from severe asthma, impaired airway, limited motion in his knees and ankle, and total blindness in one eye. Lozano has a handicapped parking permit…
Date: August 10, 2021
Docket Number: 19-3269
Justia Opinion Summary: Jacobs, in Cumberland County Jail awaiting trial for a weapons charge, got into a fight with Hanby, another inmate. Less than 30 seconds after the fight ended, corrections officers entered the dorm and identified Hanby…
Date: August 10, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2703
Justia Opinion Summary: Travers served in the Naval Reserve. He also works for FedEx and fulfilled his Reserve duties during his leaves from work. Travers received no compensation from FedEx for those absences because the company does not pay…
Date: August 10, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2813
Justia Opinion Summary: America Can! Cars for Kids and Kars 4 Kids are charities that sell donated vehicles to fund children’s programs. America began receiving donations in the late 1980s and, in the early 1990s, began using the mark “Cars for…
Date: August 10, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2936
Justia Opinion Summary: On various dates between March and July 2020, the Governor and Secretary of Health of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania entered orders to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Plaintiffs, Pennsylvania citizens, elected…
Date: August 9, 2021
Docket Number: 18-2622
Justia Opinion Summary: Three decades ago, Vogt and McClearn were part of a group who took Landry to a quarry, forced Landry off a cliff into the water, then rolled a “huge rock” in behind him. Landry suffered blunt force trauma and drowned.…
Date: August 9, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2754
Justia Opinion Summary: The New Jersey Attorney General issued Law Enforcement Directive 2018-6, the Immigrant Trust Directive. Concluding “that individuals are less likely to report a crime if they fear that the responding officer will turn…
Date: August 9, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2755
Justia Opinion Summary: New Jersey Law Enforcement Directive 2018-6, states “that individuals are less likely to report a crime if they fear that the responding officer will turn them over to immigration authorities,” and barred counties and…
Date: August 6, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2967
Date: August 2, 2021
Docket Number: 18-3747
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1995, Rosado shot and killed Nguyen. Rosado was almost eighteen and a half years old. He pleaded guilty in Pennsylvania state court to first-degree murder and was sentenced to mandatory life without parole. He…
Date: July 29, 2021
Docket Number: 20-1307
Justia Opinion Summary: Kengerski, a Captain at the Allegheny County Jail, made a written complaint to the jail Warden alleging that a colleague had called his biracial grand-niece a “monkey” and then sent him a series of text messages with…
Date: July 27, 2021
Docket Number: 20-1813
Justia Opinion Summary: The Borough brought misdemeanor criminal charges against the owner for abandoning inoperable vehicles, appliances, and other trash on his property, in violation of ordinances and statutes. During a status conference, the…
Date: July 22, 2021
Docket Number: 19-1469
Justia Opinion Summary: Over a six-month period in 2017, Perez sold firearms and controlled substances to various confidential informants and undercover officers. On March 9, 2017, he sold two firearms to an undercover officer. During the…
Date: July 20, 2021
Docket Number: 20-1128
Justia Opinion Summary: Dondero served as the Lower Milford Township Chief of Police from 2006-2016. Dondero’s relationship with the Township Supervisors was rocky. While on duty in 2015, Dondero, then the only active member of the police…
Date: July 20, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3309
Date: July 20, 2021
Docket Number: 20-9003
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002, Randolph was arraigned on two counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and five counts of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury. The government sought the death…
Date: July 19, 2021
Docket Number: 20-1840
Justia Opinion Summary: S.B., a 12-year-old boy with Down Syndrome, requires special education. In 2014, S.B. and his parents moved from New York to Lakewood, New Jersey. S.B.’s parents requested an individualized education program (IEP) under…
Date: July 15, 2021
Docket Number: 20-1705
Justia Opinion Summary: Valarezo-Tirado, an Ecuadorian citizen, entered the U.S. illegally in 2017. In 2020, DHS reinstated a 2015 removal order and conducted a reasonable fear interview. Valarezo-Tirado was twice informed of his right to…
Date: July 14, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2865
Date: July 13, 2021
Docket Number: 20-1922
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002, Farfield contracted with SEPTA for improvements on Philadelphia-area railroad tracks. The federal government partially funded the project. Work concluded in 2007. As required by federal regulation, Department of…
Date: July 9, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2084
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs brought a putative class action against the School District, claiming that shortcomings in the District’s translation and interpretation services violated the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act…
Date: July 8, 2021
Docket Number: 20-3241
Date: July 7, 2021
Docket Number: 20-1504
Justia Opinion Summary: The Company operates an electrical system from a central “control room” where 16 system operators and 15 dispatchers manage electrical transmission and facilitate fieldwork. Outside the control room, the Company deploys…
Date: July 6, 2021
Docket Number: 20-2241
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