2012 Eighth Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law
Opinions 501 - 1000 of 1245
Date: July 31, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2460
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury convicted Defendant of eight counts of production of child pornography, two counts of attempted production of child pornography, and two counts of possession of child pornography. The district court sentenced…
Date: July 31, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2650
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for theft of government funds, contending that the district court abused its discretion by admitting evidence at trial of his prior applications for Social Security disability benefits.…
Date: July 31, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2764
Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved a dispute over the rights to an extensive collection of Elvis Presley memorabilia. The collection was amassed by Sterling Gary Pepper, Jr. (Gary), who suffered from cerebral palsy and was cared for by…
Date: July 31, 2012
Docket Numbers: 11-2958, 11-3331
Justia Opinion Summary: Robert Gray and Teresa Tremusini committed various crimes related to schemes to defraud the United States Postal Service (USPS). Gray, who pled guilty, appealed certain sentencing evidentiary rulings and the district…
Date: July 31, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3204
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury convicted Defendant of possession with intent to distribute as well as distribution of 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that Johnson was not entitled to a…
Date: July 31, 2012
Docket Numbers: 11-3331, 11-2958
Justia Opinion Summary: Robert Gray and Teresa Tremusini committed various crimes related to schemes to defraud the United States Postal Service (USPS). Gray, who pled guilty, appealed certain sentencing evidentiary rulings and the district…
Date: July 31, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1194
Justia Opinion Summary: Pattison Sand Company operated a sandstone mine in Iowa. After part of the mine roof collapsed near where a miner was working, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) issued an order under the Federal Mine…
Date: July 31, 2012
Docket Number: 12-6003
Justia Opinion Summary: Debtor appealed the bankruptcy court's order denying Debtor's claim of an exemption for limited partnership units that she received from her employer, Kwik Trip, Inc. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the…
Date: July 30, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2737
Justia Opinion Summary: Theodore Wolk filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and the trustee sought an order from the bankruptcy court authorizing the sale of the home Wolk owned as a tenant in common with his wife, Kathryn Tennyson. After several…
Date: July 30, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2901
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of her employer, G4S Youth Services, LLC, and her supervisor, Todd Speight (Appellees), on Appellant's claims that they terminated her employment…
Date: July 30, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3397
Justia Opinion Summary: Contractor contracted to build a restaurant in Minnesota, promising to pay each subcontractor, upon receipt of payment from the owner, the amount to which the subcontractor was entitled. Appellant became the…
Date: July 27, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2083
Justia Opinion Summary: Art Etc., LLC sought a declaratory judgment that the sale of inventory purchased from Angel Gifts, Inc. and Donald Schmit would amount to copyright infringement in violation of the United States Copyright Act. Angel…
Date: July 27, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2091
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant brought a civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. 1983 against two deputy sheriffs in Benton County, Arkansas, alleging that they unlawfully entered his home, detained him, employed excessive force against him, and…
Date: July 27, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3227
Justia Opinion Summary: Before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals was Defendant's second federal habeas petition. Defendant was convicted of vehicular homicide and vehicular battery by a South Dakota jury and was sentenced to twenty-five years…
Date: July 26, 2012
Docket Numbers: 11-1809, 11-1815
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs developed breast cancer after taking Prempro, a drug manufactured by Defendant. Plaintiffs filed separate lawsuits against Wyeth, alleging that the use of Prempro increased the risk of breast cancer and that…
Date: July 26, 2012
Docket Numbers: 11-1815, 11-1809
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs developed breast cancer after taking Prempro, a drug manufactured by Defendant. Plaintiffs filed separate lawsuits against Wyeth, alleging that the use of Prempro increased the risk of breast cancer and that…
Date: July 26, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2476
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant initiated an arbitration against his former investment advisor, Fisher Investments, Inc. During the arbitration, the arbitrator (1) dismissed Appellant's Missouri statutory claims based on the arbitration…
Date: July 26, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2494
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty, pursuant to a plea agreement, to conspiracy to manufacture over 500 grams of methamphetamine mixture and fifty grams of methamphetamine. The district court initially sentenced Defendant to 240…
Date: July 26, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2561
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant brought this action under 42 U.S.C. 1983 against the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners and its members, the chief of police, and certain police officers, alleging constitutional violations under the…
Date: July 26, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2695
Justia Opinion Summary: Patrick McGinness, driving a vehicle owned by his adult daughter, negligently struck and injured Marie DeMeo. DeMeo obtained a $350,000 state-court judgment against McGinness. McGinness's daughter's insurer, American…
Date: July 26, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2846
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. The court sentenced him to the statutory minimum of 180 months' imprisonment. Defendant subsequently moved to set aside his conviction and…
Date: July 26, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3515
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The district court sentenced Defendant to 327 months' imprisonment. Defendant appealed, contending that evidence of the firearm should have been…
Date: July 25, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3737
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to possessing five or more grams of crack cocaine. The offense occurred on October 6, 2009. On August 3, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Fair Sentencing Act (FSA), which eliminated the…
Date: July 25, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1900
Justia Opinion Summary: Chapter 11 Debtor, an LLC, held certain parcels of undeveloped land that were included within property-owners' improvement districts (the Districts) formed in accordance with Arkansas law. After Debtor entered into…
Date: July 25, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3383
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, successors in title to land located in Arkansas, brought a declaratory judgment action in Arkansas state court against AgriBank, FCB, seeking to quiet title to oil and gas rights that AgriBank held in…
Date: July 25, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3429
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted on two counts of distribution of cocaine base, one count of possession of cocaine base with intent to distribute, and one count of possession of marijuana with intent to…
Date: July 25, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3563
Justia Opinion Summary: While serving a sentence of 148 months for conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine, Defendant moved for a sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(2) based on a retroactive amendment to the sentencing guidelines.…
Date: July 24, 2012
Docket Numbers: 09-3362, 09-3231, 09-3233
Justia Opinion Summary: The Governor and Attorney General of South Dakota, along with two intervening crisis pregnancy centers and two of their personnel appealed the district court's permanent injunction barring enforcement of a South Dakota…
Date: July 24, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1284
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was the mother of T.A., whom Plaintiff alleged suffered irreparable brain damage after T.A.'s oxygen saturation plummeted from ninety-four percent to fifty percent following surgery. Plaintiff brought a medical…
Date: July 24, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1562
Justia Opinion Summary: Robert and Ethel Youngs' home and personal property were insured under a policy issued by Allstate Insurance Company. The policy provided that Allstate would "not cover any loss or occurrence in which any insured person…
Date: July 24, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1802
Justia Opinion Summary: Flowers Bakeries Brands, Inc. brought suit against Interstate Bakeries Corporation (IBC) for trademark infringement, among other claims, alleging that IBC'S NATURE'S PRIDE and NATURE'S CHOICE trademarks in connection…
Date: July 24, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2977
Justia Opinion Summary: This negligence action grew out of a highway collision. Kala Holtkamp was driving at night with her fiance, Christopher Davis, and her two-year-old son, K.H., when she collided with the rear of a semi truck driven by…
Date: July 24, 2012
Docket Numbers: 11-3103, 11-3139
Justia Opinion Summary: The Northern Pacific Center incurred costs to reduce pollution on a property it owned in Minnesota, which had formerly been owned by BNSF Railway and used as a railcar construction and maintenance facility. The Center…
Date: July 24, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3295
Justia Opinion Summary: Aetna Life Insurance Company, as the plan administrator, determined Sharon Wade was no longer disabled and stopped paying long-term disability benefits from Wade's former employer's welfare benefit plan. Wade sought…
Date: July 24, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3677
Justia Opinion Summary: A grand jury indicted Defendant for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and for an immigration violation. Defendant conditionally pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture containing…
Date: July 23, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2404
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of conspiring to manufacture methamphetamine. The district court sentenced Defendant to 240 months' imprisonment, the applicable mandatory minimum because it found Defendant had a prior felony…
Date: July 23, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2458
Justia Opinion Summary: A warrant search of Defendant's vehicle and computer yielded a video of Defendant positioning W.D., a twelve-year-old girl, while he filmed her nude body, and CDs containing images of child pornography. After Defendant…
Date: July 23, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2938
Justia Opinion Summary: In this core adversary proceeding, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy Trustee appealed an order of the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (BAP) denying his turnover action on the ground that an unjust enrichment claim exceeds the scope of…
Date: July 20, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2688
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Barbara Norris, an organizational payee with the Social Security Administration, pled guilty to social security representative payee fraud. The district court sentenced Defendant to eighteen months in prison,…
Date: July 20, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3743
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Yonis Ahmed Ali, a native and citizen of Somalia, applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). An immigration judge (IJ) denied Petitioner's…
Date: July 19, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1675
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud. Defendant subsequently filed a motion for a competency hearing and evaluation pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 4241. The district court denied the motion and sentenced Defendant…
Date: July 19, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2298
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Patrick Pierce was charged with and pled guilty to being a felon in possession of ammunition. Defendant was subsequently sentenced to a term of imprisonment. Defendant later filed 28 U.S.C. 2255 motion for…
Date: July 19, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2753
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was terminated from his employment with the City of Victoria, Minnesota. Plaintiff bought an action against his former employer, alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age…
Date: July 19, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3022
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the sentence he received after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. The district court imposed a traditional upward departure based upon Defendant's understated criminal history…
Date: July 19, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3090
Justia Opinion Summary: Before his latest conviction for unlawful possession of a short shotgun, Defendant had been convicted of attempted robbery, robbery, and possession of a short shotgun. The Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) imposes a…
Date: July 19, 2012
Docket Numbers: 12-6004, 12-6005, 12-6006, 12-6007
Justia Opinion Summary: These four adversary proceedings involved suits by Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustees against the Lower Sioux Indian Community (the Tribe) and its subsidiary, Dakota Finance Corporation (together, Defendants). In three of the…
Date: July 19, 2012
Docket Numbers: 12-6005, 12-6006, 12-6007, 12-6004
Justia Opinion Summary: These four adversary proceedings involved suits by Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustees against the Lower Sioux Indian Community (the Tribe) and its subsidiary, Dakota Finance Corporation (together, Defendants). In three of the…
Date: July 19, 2012
Docket Numbers: 12-6006, 12-6007, 12-6005, 12-6004
Justia Opinion Summary: These four adversary proceedings involved suits by Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustees against the Lower Sioux Indian Community (the Tribe) and its subsidiary, Dakota Finance Corporation (together, Defendants). In three of the…
Date: July 19, 2012
Docket Numbers: 12-6007, 12-6006, 12-6005, 12-6004
Justia Opinion Summary: These four adversary proceedings involved suits by Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustees against the Lower Sioux Indian Community (the Tribe) and its subsidiary, Dakota Finance Corporation (together, Defendants). In three of the…
Date: July 18, 2012
Docket Numbers: 11-2113, 11-1529
Justia Opinion Summary: Torrance Bunch and Fernando Sanchez-Garcia were each convicted by a jury of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. The jury also found Bunch guilty of three counts of…
Date: July 18, 2012
Docket Numbers: 11-2113, 11-1529
Justia Opinion Summary: Torrance Bunch and Fernando Sanchez-Garcia were each convicted by a jury of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. The jury also found Bunch guilty of three counts of…
Date: July 17, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3628
Justia Opinion Summary: The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) imposed a civil money penalty on Greenbrier Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, a skilled nursing facility in Arkansas, for noncompliance with Medicare…
Date: July 17, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1339
Justia Opinion Summary: Nathan Reuter filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and proposed a Chapter 11 plan that would settle nine creditors' claims. The nine creditors in turn objected to the Chapter 11 plan and filed an adversary proceeding…
Date: July 17, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1504
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted for conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding and aiding and abetting evidence tampering. The Eighth District Court of Appeals affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not err either by…
Date: July 17, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2068
Justia Opinion Summary: The government commenced removal proceedings against Defendant, who was born in Guatemala. Defendant submitted an application for asylum or withholding of removal, basing his asylum application on his membership in a…
Date: July 17, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2327
Justia Opinion Summary: Four named plaintiffs filed three separate class action lawsuits in state court alleging, inter alia, that three Missouri credit unions, by participating in a subprime motor vehicle lending and investment program…
Date: July 17, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2528
Justia Opinion Summary: The United States Tax Court assessed income tax deficiencies and penalties against DKD Enterprises, Inc. (DKD) and Debra Dursky for the years 2003 to 2005. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals (1) affirmed the tax court's…
Date: July 17, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2613
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury convicted Defendant of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Defendant appealed, arguing that the jury instructions constructively amended Count II of the superceding…
Date: July 17, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2994
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant entered a plea of guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm conditioned on his right to appeal the district court's denial of his motions to suppress evidence. On appeal, the Eighth Circuit Court of…
Date: July 17, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3106
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was found guilty of aiding and abetting the use and carrying of a firearm during a crime of violence and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Prior to trial, Defendant had also pled guilty to bank…
Date: July 17, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3307
Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved a wire transfer from Plaintiff's bank account to Defendant's wife. Plaintiff claimed that Defendant, a former employee of Plaintiff, initiated the transfer unlawfully. Defendant moved for summary…
Date: July 16, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2738 Criminal case - Sentencing. Sentence was not substantively unreasonable.
Date: July 16, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3084
Justia Opinion Summary: This declaratory judgment action concerned a controversy over the limits of an insurance policy issued by Insurer to Insured. A livestock company (Company) brought suit in Minnesota state court against Insured after…
Date: July 16, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3374
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was arrested for possessing a firearm. Defendant moved to suppress the firearm obtained from the vehicle he was riding in, arguing (1) the officer lacked probable cause or reasonable suspicion to stop the…
Date: July 16, 2012
Docket Number: 12-6016
Justia Opinion Summary: Debtor filed a voluntary petition for Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief. Subsequently, Trustee filed an adversary proceeding against Debtor seeking denial of Debtor's discharge under 11 U.S.C. 727(a)(2)(B) and (a)(4)(A),…
Date: July 13, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2723
Justia Opinion Summary: Textbook publishers Pearson Education, Cengage Learning, and The McGraw-Hill Companies (collectively, Publishers) made successful copyright infringement claims against the bankruptcy estate of Joel Almgren. The…
Date: July 13, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2788
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm after a pat-down by law enforcement officers revealed that Defendant was in possession of a firearm, drugs, and drug paraphernalia. The district court…
Date: July 13, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2996
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Vincente Carrasco Espinoza appealed his conviction for one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine. The…
Date: July 13, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3181
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered a conditional plea agreement and pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine. As allowed by his conditional…
Date: July 12, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3858
Justia Opinion Summary: Dr. Lee Davis, an African-American cardiologist, obtained medical-staff privileges at Jefferson Regional Medical Center (JRMC). Later, JRMC's Board of Directors voted to revoke Davis's medical-staff privileges for poor…
Date: July 12, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2557
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury convicted Appellant of one count of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and two counts of distributing methamphetamine. Defendant appealed his conviction. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, holding…
Date: July 12, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2590
Justia Opinion Summary: The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission entered an order requiring Qwest Corporation, a successor Bell operating company, to submit for review and approval a price list and supporting rationale for certain…
Date: July 12, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2612
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff had active tuberculosis at the time he was admitted to the Ramsey County Correctional Facility to serve fifty-six days for fifth degree assault. Plaintiff's condition worsened, and he was transferred to a…
Date: July 12, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2646
Justia Opinion Summary: Homeowners filed this lawsuit in Minnesota state court against Lender seeking legal and equitable relief from Lender's foreclosure and sale of their home. Lender removed the case to federal court and subsequently moved…
Date: July 12, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3016
Justia Opinion Summary: Karen Anthony, a Nebraskan citizen, filed in federal district court an action against The Cattle National Bank & Trust Company (the Bank), a national bank headquartered in Nebraska, alleging fraud. Anthony asserted…
Date: July 12, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3600
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered a conditional guilty plea to charges that he conspired to distribute at least five kilograms of cocaine and 100 kilograms of marijuana and possessed a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.…
Date: July 11, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1560
Justia Opinion Summary: After JPMorgan Chase Bank (Chase) initiated foreclosure proceedings on Appellants' home and subsequently bought the property at a sheriff's sale, Appellants filed suit against Chase, doing business as Washington Mutual,…
Date: July 11, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2348
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted for being a felon in possession of a firearm and sentenced to 235 months' incarceration. Appellant appealed his conviction and sentence. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, holding (1)…
Date: July 10, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2228
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant David Gamble appealed from his sentence of 188 months' imprisonment for conspiracy to distribute at least five grams of cocaine base, arguing that the district court erred in not applying the Fair Sentencing…
Date: July 10, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2505
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Kayla Nemmers filed a products liability action against Defendant Ford Motor Company, alleging that a lap-only seatbelt installed in the front-center seat of a 2002 Ford pickup failed to restrain her torso…
Date: July 10, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3376
Justia Opinion Summary: Officer John Cook fatally shot David Morgan after responding to a domestic disturbance at Morgan's residence in Missouri. Morgan's estate sued Cook pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging Cook used excessive force in…
Date: July 10, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3695
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury convicted Defendant of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Defendant appealed, asserting that the district court erroneously denied his motion to suppress and excluded prior convictions of a government…
Date: July 9, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2215
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury convicted Defendant of aggravated sexual abuse of a child. The district court denied Defendant's motion for a new trial and sentenced him to 360 months' imprisonment, followed by a lifetime of supervised release.…
Date: July 9, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2802
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of attempting to manufacture methamphetamine, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and attempting to escape from a correctional institution. The district court sentenced Defendant to 264…
Date: July 9, 2012
Docket Number: 12-6020
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Erik Nielsen appealed from an order of the bankruptcy court finding his student loan obligations to Educational Credit Management Corporation (ECMC) to be nondischargeable. Nielsen and his spouse filed a joint…
Date: July 6, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2729
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Jose Villa-Madrigal was charged with possession of five kilograms of cocaine with intent to distribute. Defendant filed a motion to suppress evidence discovered during a search of the vehicle he was driving…
Date: July 5, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3861
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellees entered into performance and stock agreements with their employer, appellant ONEOK, Inc. The agreements required Appellees to continue their employment for three years (performance period) in order to receive…
Date: July 5, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1546
Justia Opinion Summary: Following a jury trial, Appellant Thomas Frederick was convicted of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor, sexual contact with a minor, and tampering with a witness. The district court sentenced Frederick to 145 months in…
Date: July 5, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2482
Justia Opinion Summary: Rogers Group, Inc. brought suit in district court against the City of Fayetteville, seeking to prevent the enforcement of the City's ordinance regulating rock quarries in or near the City's corporate limits. The district…
Date: July 5, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2602
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to unauthorized access to a protected computer, aggravated identity theft, threats to the Vice President of the United States, possession of child pornography, and distribution of child pornography.…
Date: July 3, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3193
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Kirby David pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. The district court sentenced David to 72 months' imprisonment. David appealed, arguing that his sentence was substantively unreasonable and…
Date: July 3, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3494
Date: July 2, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2057
Justia Opinion Summary: After a seven-day trial, a jury found Troy Solomon and Dr. Christopher Elder guilty of conspiring to dispense and distribute and aiding and abetting the distribution of hydrocodone, alprazolam, and promethazine from a…
Date: July 2, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2294
Justia Opinion Summary: Dr. Leonard Onyiah, a black man born in Nigeria, sued St. Cloud State University and the Board of Trustees of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (collectively, the University) for wage discrimination based on…
Date: July 2, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2933
Justia Opinion Summary: Jason McCann was involved in an automobile accident with Jeffrey Kreml. McCann's insurer, Auto Club Insurance Association, defended McCann against Kreml's personal injury action. After Kreml and McCann settled, Auto Club…
Date: July 2, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3002
Justia Opinion Summary: United States Steel Corporation (U.S. Steel) operated an iron ore plant in Minnesota. After the economic downturn, U.S. Steel idled operations at the plant and laid off 313 workers represented by the United Workers of…
Date: July 2, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3188
Justia Opinion Summary: After Defendant pled guilty to one count of possessing child pornography, Defendant pled guilty to failure to appear (FTA). The district court imposed two concurrent terms of supervised release, which the court…
Date: July 2, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3214
Justia Opinion Summary: On February 27, 2010 and March 25, 2010, Defendant sold cocaine base to a confidential informant. Pursuant to a plea agreement, Defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of distribution of at least five grams of cocaine…
Date: June 29, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3169
Justia Opinion Summary: Sandra Emas owned a life insurance policy issued by ReliaStar. The policy named her estate as the beneficiary. When Emas died intestate, she left her son, Jaysen McCleary, as her only heir. McCleary was appointed the…
Date: June 29, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3182
Justia Opinion Summary: After law enforcement officers entered Defendant's property without a warrant, the officers obtained a state search warrant to search the property. The search revealed the presence of a marijuana growing operation.…
Date: June 28, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1774
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant challenged the sentence he received after pleading guilty to possessing with the intent to distribute more than five grams of a mixture or substance containing cocaine base. Defendant specifically challenged…
Date: June 28, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2279
Justia Opinion Summary: Wescott Agri-Products, Inc., a Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA)-licensed wholesale supplier of perishable agricultural commodities, sold produce to a company that later ceased business operations after…
Date: June 28, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2555
Justia Opinion Summary: This was Defendant's second appeal in this child pornography case. In the first appeal, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that Defendant's conviction for both receiving child pornography and possessing child…
Date: June 28, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2611
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury convicted Defendant of receipt of child pornography. Defendant was sentenced to 188 months' imprisonment. Defendant appealed, arguing that there was insufficient evidence for the conviction and that the district…
Date: June 27, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2127
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury convicted Defendant Jeroba Wright of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The district court sentenced Defendant as an armed career criminal to 180 months' imprisonment. Defendant appealed his conviction and…
Date: June 27, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3206
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon. The district court sentenced Defendant to eighty-four months' imprisonment, followed by three years' supervised release. Defendant challenged his sentence on…
Date: June 26, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1445
Justia Opinion Summary: Platte Valley Bank (PVB), a banking corporation, claimed a perfected security interest in certain equipment owned by Heggem Construction, Inc. In 2008, Heggem sold the equipment in a sale and leaseback transaction to…
Date: June 26, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1547
Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2255, Charles Watson filed a motion to vacate the 165-month sentence he received after he pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge. The district court summarily denied the motion because Watson…
Date: June 26, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2430
Justia Opinion Summary: Justin Deatherage pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography downloaded to his computer. After a two-day contested hearing, the district court sentenced Deatherage to seventy months in prison and ten years of…
Date: June 26, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3044
Justia Opinion Summary: After Juston Pohl was injured in an automobile accident in Furnas County, Pohl brought this negligence action against the County, alleging that the accident was caused by the County's failure to have a properly placed…
Date: June 26, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3286
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Javier Garcia-Hernandez was found guilty by a jury of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The Eighth…
Date: June 25, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3191
Justia Opinion Summary: Jason and Marian Aamodt sued the City of Norfolk, Arkansas, to enjoin the application of a 2008 zoning ordinance prohibiting the short-term rental of their property. The Aamodts also requested records under the Arkansas…
Date: June 22, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1178
Justia Opinion Summary: Troy Sampson committed suicide while detained at the Dodge County Jail (DCJ) in Nebraska. Sampson's mother, Sherry Luckert, acting as the personal representative of Sampson's estate, sued Dodge County and jail officials…
Date: June 22, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3415
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a Mexican citizen, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and re-entry as a previously removed alien. The district court imposed a 420-month sentence. Defendant appealed the denial of his…
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 10-1990
Justia Opinion Summary: Ray Dansby was convicted by a jury in Arkansas on two counts of capital murder and sentenced to death. The district court denied Dansby's application for a writ of habeas corpus. Dansby appealed on five claims covered by…
Date: June 18, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3753
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. 2671-2680, alleging that employees of the United States negligently caused significant delay in the proper treatment of leg injuries that he suffered…
Date: June 18, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3265
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and defendant subsequently appealed his sentence of 65 months imprisonment. The court concluded that the district court committed no procedural error and…
Date: June 15, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2937
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a Missouri inmate serving life sentences, filed a 42 U.S.C. 1983 action against various MDOC correction officials and medical staff, asserting claims of deficient medical care and treatment, retaliation, and…
Date: June 15, 2012
Docket Number: 12-6012
Justia Opinion Summary: Debtor appealed an order of the bankruptcy court sustaining the chapter 7 trustee's objection to debtor's claimed homestead exemption. The court concluded that the bankruptcy court identified debts debtor incurred prior…
Date: June 14, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1829
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff brought a 42 U.S.C. 1983 action, alleging that his federal and state constitutional rights were violated when defendants unlawfully seized, searched, and detained him. Defendants moved for summary judgment on…
Date: June 14, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2546
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to two counts of distributing five grams or more of cocaine base. Defendant was released pending sentencing and subsequently arrested for robbery. Defendant then appealed his sentence, arguing that…
Date: June 14, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3819
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to burglary in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1153 pursuant to a plea agreement. Defendant subsequently appealed his sentence. The court held that the district court did not err in crediting the sentencing…
Date: June 14, 2012
Docket Number: 12-6018
Justia Opinion Summary: The bank appealed the judgment of the bankruptcy court dismissing its complaint against debtor. At issue was whether the requisite elements of a claim of nondischargeability under 11 U.S.C. 523(a)(2)(A) have been…
Date: June 12, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2975
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant sought disability insurance benefits for his ongoing back pain, lower extremity problems, neck pain, sleep apnea, and anxiety. An ALJ upheld the Commissioner's denial of benefits after concluding that appellant…
Date: June 12, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2988
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of attempting to induce a child to engage in criminal sexual activities. On appeal, defendant challenged his conviction and sentence. The court held that the district court did not err in denying…
Date: June 8, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2027
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued her former employer after the company made public statements about her involvement in an incident in which a pernicious racial slur appeared on a return receipt that she handed to a customer. Plaintiff…
Date: June 6, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1476
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and conspiring to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine. Defendant moved under 28 U.S.C. 2255 to vacate his sentence, alleging…
Date: June 6, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2220
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. 922(g) and 924(a)(2). Defendant appealed his sentence, challenging the district court's application of the Sentencing Guidelines and…
Date: June 6, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2758
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, an advanced practical nurse at the University, sued the Board of Curators, alleging a violation of the Equal Pay Act, 29 U.S.C. 206(d), claiming that she was paid less than a male who performed substantially…
Date: June 5, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1716
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the district court's grant of the City's motion for summary judgment on his Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq., and Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA), Minn. Stat 636A,…
Date: June 5, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2018
Justia Opinion Summary: Debtor borrowed from Arvest to purchase a newly-constructed home, executing a promissory note and mortgage. After debtor filed a voluntary petition for Chapter 13 bankruptcy relief, Arvest then purchased the mortgaged…
Date: June 5, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2771
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of Kenya, petitioned for review of the BIA's decision to affirm the IJ's denial of her application for cancellation of removal as a battered spouse of a United States citizen. The court…
Date: June 5, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3333
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his sentence of 24 months in prison after he admitted to violating two conditions on supervised relief. Defendant argued that the district court violated Tapia v. United States by imposing a prison…
Date: June 4, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3402
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, groups of investors who purchased the securities of KV, brought this class action lawsuit alleging that KV and some of its individual officers committed securities fraud. Plaintiffs alleged that KV made false…
Date: June 4, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1682
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants appealed from the district court's denial of summary judgment on the basis of qualified immunity. Plaintiff, an Intake and Placement Director in the Arkansas Department of Human Services, Division of Youth…
Date: June 4, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3014
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant entered a conditional plea to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. On appeal, defendant argued that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence. The court affirmed,…
Date: June 4, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3395
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued the attorney handling his father's estate, asserting diversity jurisdiction and alleging malpractice and constructive fraud. The court affirmed the district court's holding that the matter was not ripe…
Date: June 4, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3512
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was found guilty of twelve counts of providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and one count of conspiring to do so. During trial, the district court cited defendant for criminal…
Date: June 4, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3775
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and use of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime. Defendant subsequently appealed. The court held that…
Date: June 4, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3844
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Defendant appealed the finding that he managed or supervised the conspiracy. The court held that the district court did not clearly err in enhancing…
Date: June 1, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1975
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant entered a conditional plea of guilty for failing to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), 18 U.S.C. 2250(a), (c); 42 U.S.C. 16911, 16913. On appeal,…
Date: May 31, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2606
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against BIP alleging tort claims based upon BIP's marketing and sales of pramiprexole, a drug commonly prescribed as Mirapex. Plaintiff took Mirapex from 2002 to 2007 to treat symptoms of Restless…
Date: May 30, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2564
Justia Opinion Summary: S&A sued Farms.com alleging that Farms.com violated the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), 7 U.S.C. 1 et seq., breached its fiduciary duty, committed negligence, and made misrepresentations. The district court granted…
Date: May 30, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3100
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants appealed from the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of American Standard. The district court concluded that appellants were not entitled to recover underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage…
Date: May 29, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1590
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of Canada, petitioned for review of the BIA's decision affirming the IJ's order of removal because petitioner's previous convictions were for crimes involving moral turpitude. Petitioner…
Date: May 29, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2160
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued his former employer under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. 621 et seq., the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq., and the Nebraska Fair Employment…
Date: May 25, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3214
Justia Opinion Summary: In this Establishment Clause suit, at issue was whether a city commission's adoption of an initiated ordinance that in effect countermanded the commission's earlier decision to remove from municipal property a Ten…
Date: May 25, 2012
Docket Numbers: 11-1568, 11-1683
Justia Opinion Summary: FNB South Dakota and its affiliates appealed from the district court's entry of a permanent injunction against them as a remedy for trademark infringement and unfair competition claims brought by FNB Sioux Falls. FNB…
Date: May 24, 2012
Docket Numbers: 10-3353, 11-1300
Justia Opinion Summary: LINA appealed the district court's ruling that LINA abused its discretion in denying death benefits to Dawn McClelland based upon her husband's life insurance policy. LINA also appealed the district court's award of…
Date: May 22, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2599
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to three counts of knowingly and intentionally distributing a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine base. On appeal, defendant argued that it was error to sentence him as…
Date: May 21, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1943
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff brought suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 against officials who seized numerous dogs from a kennel she ran on her property. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of defendants on plaintiff's claims and…
Date: May 21, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2218
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit in Minnesota state court against her mortgage lender, seeking legal and equitable relief from the lender's foreclosure and sale of her home. The court held that, because there was no dispute as to…
Date: May 18, 2012
Docket Numbers: 11-1447, 11-1448
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to one count of illegal remuneration and two counts of false statements after being charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, aiding and abetting health care fraud, and illegal…
Date: May 18, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2474
Justia Opinion Summary: E-Shops filed a class action complaint, after receiving a number of chargebacks resulting from fraudulent use of U.S. Bank credit cards, alleging that U.S. Bank knowingly allowed itself to be an instrument of the fraud,…
Date: May 18, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2687
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The court held that the evidence was sufficient for a reasonable jury to conclude that defendant was guilty of being a felon in possession of a…
Date: May 18, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3506
Justia Opinion Summary: While defendant was on pretrial release awaiting trial, the government petitioned the district court to have him committed to the custody of the BOP for an inpatient competency evaluation. In response, defendant's…
Date: May 17, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2591
Justia Opinion Summary: In an earlier appeal, the court held that the government failed to prove a prior Arizona conviction qualified as a crime of violence pursuant to U.S.S.G. 2K2.1(a)(4)(A). The court remanded for resentencing and expressly…
Date: May 17, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3023
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his convictions for two counts of possessing firearms and ammunition by a prohibited person in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). On appeal, defendant contended that the district court erred in…
Date: May 15, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1822
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, as the administratrix of Brenda Shelton's estate, appealed the district court's dismissal of her civil action against several public officials and health officials. The complaint alleged shortcomings in the…
Date: May 14, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1999
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine in violation of federal law. On appeal, defendant challenged the district court's denial of his motion to…
Date: May 14, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2069
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of one count of knowingly making false statements in connection with a loan offered for insurance by HUD in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1010 and three counts of knowingly making false statements for…
Date: May 14, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3066
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute more than 280 grams of cocaine base pursuant to a plea agreement. On appeal, defendant argued that the district court committed reversible error by sentencing him as a…
Date: May 14, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3495
Justia Opinion Summary: After plaintiff was denied long-term disability benefits by Standard, he sought review of Standard's determination under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. 1001 et seq. The court…
Date: May 14, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3619
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), 18 U.S.C. 2250(a). On appeal, defendant challenged the district court's sentence, arguing that it was grossly…
Date: May 11, 2012
Docket Numbers: 11-1277, 11-1741
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal arose from an insurance coverage dispute where the City sought coverage from Genesis for 42 U.S.C. 1983 claims in the nature of malicious prosecution. Genesis filed suit against the City, seeking a…
Date: May 11, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2070
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued Hartford seeking coverage under his life insurance policy for accidental dismemberment benefits after he suffered serious injuries to his eyes when a can of oven cleaner exploded in his face. The district…
Date: May 10, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1383
Justia Opinion Summary: After defendant pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, a jury convicted him of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking violation. At…
Date: May 10, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1735
Justia Opinion Summary: This case stemmed from FNS's permanent denial of an application from J&K to participate in the government's food stamp program, SNAP. The court held that the imposition of permanent ineligibility to participate in SNAP,…
Date: May 10, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2264
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the district court's order granting summary judgment to defendants on various claims arising from plaintiff's unsuccessful application for appointment as director of the City's Department of Human…
Date: May 10, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3116
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the district court's denial of qualified immunity on an excessive-force claim in plaintiff's 42 U.S.C. 1983 action. In this interlocutory appeal, at issue was whether the conduct that the district…
Date: May 8, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2839
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants, Missouri state prisoners convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death, filed suit seeking, inter alia, a declaration that Missouri's lethal-injection protocol violated the Controlled Substances Act…
Date: May 8, 2012
Docket Number: 11-6083
Justia Opinion Summary: Debtor appealed an order of the bankruptcy court granting relief from the automatic stay to Bank of the West. At issue was whether the bankruptcy court properly granted relief from the automatic stay to Bank of the West…
Date: May 7, 2012
Docket Numbers: 11-1285, 11-1333
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Gayekpar and Boe were convicted by a jury of conspiracy to possess altered currency with intent to defraud. Boe was also found guilty on two counts of possession of altered currency with intent to defraud. On…
Date: May 7, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1421
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury convicted defendant of being a felon in possession of a firearm, the district court sentenced defendant to 115 months' imprisonment and 36 months' supervised release, imposing several special conditions. On…
Date: May 7, 2012
Docket Numbers: 11-1817, 11-3253
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, as counsel for a group of 64 retired city firefighters and their families, appealed the district court's approval of a class-action settlement agreement between the city and a certified class of active and…
Date: May 7, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2388
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitioned for review of an order of the BIA denying his motion to reopen his immigration proceeding based upon new evidence. The court held that the BIA was within its…
Date: May 4, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2910
Date: May 3, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1952
Justia Opinion Summary: Sinan Cingilli, a student at the University of Minnesota, and TCA, a non-profit corporation that provided information about the nation of Turkey and Turkish-Americans, appealed the district court's dismissal of their…
Date: May 3, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2108
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff brought an action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983 against a sheriff's deputy, individually and in his capacity as deputy, alleging that the deputy violated plaintiff's Fourth Amendment right to be free from…
Date: May 3, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2586
Justia Opinion Summary: Upon defendant's second revocation of his supervised release, the district court sentenced him to 90 days' imprisonment to be followed by 57 months' supervised release. Defendant contended that his sentence exceeded the…
Date: May 3, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2708
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff brought this action under 42 U.S.C. 1983 against officers of the St. Charles County Sheriff's Department, claiming the officers unlawfully entered her home and detained her in violation of the Fourth and…
Date: May 3, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3134
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his sentence after pleading guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The court rejected defendant's contention that the district court impermissibly considered factors unrelated to his…
Date: May 3, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3323
Justia Opinion Summary: HUD debarred plaintiff from obtaining federal government contracts in 1990 after he failed to make required payments to the agency. Twenty years after HUD had sent him notice of debarment, plaintiff brought this action…
Date: May 2, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3227
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty in Arkansas state court to sexual indecency with a child and later filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2254, challenging the constitutionality of the statute under…
Date: May 2, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1180
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, an Arkansas inmate, sued officials of the Arkansas Department of Corrections under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), 42 U.S.C. 2000cc-1 et seq., and 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging…
Date: May 2, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2192
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of Romania, petitioned for review of an order of the BIA determining that his state conviction for possession of drug paraphernalia in a motor vehicle rendered him ineligible for waiver…
Date: May 2, 2012
Docket Number: 12-6009
Justia Opinion Summary: Debtors appealed from a bankruptcy court order dismissing their chapter 13 case without prejudice. The court held that, while the final order dismissing the case was timely appealed and was properly before the court,…
Date: May 1, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1037
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiring to commit honest-services mail fraud. Defendant's conviction stemmed from his participation in defrauding his employer, Best Buy, by assisting one of Best Buy's…
Date: May 1, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1744
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the dismissal of his petition for habeas corpus where the district court determined that the petition was filed after the expiration of the one-year statute. Defendant's first petition was untimely and…
Date: May 1, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2490
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant entered a conditional guilty plea to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute controlled substance. On appeal, defendant challenged the district court's denial of his motion to suppress…
Date: May 1, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2714
Justia Opinion Summary: This case stemmed from a dispute between Ghana and Balkan Energy Company where Balkan contracted with Ghana to refurbish and recommission a 125 megawatt power barge. Ghana filed an application for discovery pursuant to…
Date: April 30, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3600
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs sued various defendants, including police officers Larsen and Brown, under 42 U.S.C. 1983 and 1985, as well as state law, claiming that defendants violated their rights under the Iowa state investigation and…
Date: April 30, 2012
Docket Numbers: 11-1135, 11-1172, 11-1173
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants were convicted of conspiring to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana and aiding and abetting in the possession with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana. Defendant Benavente-Zubia…
Date: April 30, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2439
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, trustee for the deceased, brought this 42 U.S.C. 1983 action alleging that an officer had used excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment when he shot the deceased as he was driving away from a…
Date: April 30, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2749
Justia Opinion Summary: Mortenson brought this action to compel arbitration with Saunders concerning a dispute arising out of a wind turbine project. The district court granted the motion and Saunders appealed. The court affirmed, concluding…
Date: April 27, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1390
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of price fixing and one count of bid rigging in violation of 15 U.S.C. 1. Defendant subsequently appealed his sentence, contending that the district court abused its discretion by…
Date: April 27, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1985
Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved the property rights to coal bed methane gas (CBM) produced from certain lands located in Sebastian County, Arkansas. The original holder of fee simple absolute title to the lands (Grantor) conveyed…
Date: April 27, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2168
Justia Opinion Summary: T.B.'s parents, on behalf of their autistic child, appealed the district court's finding that the school district did not violate the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq., by failing…
Date: April 27, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2744
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a lawsuit against Comcast claiming that the company interfered with his ability to request an excused absence under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), 29 U.S.C. 2601-54, and that his termination from…
Date: April 26, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3648
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed from the district court's denial of his motion to suppress evidence obtained during a hotel room raid by officers. Viewed objectively, the government failed to establish that it was reasonable for the…
Date: April 26, 2012
Docket Number: 11-6057
Justia Opinion Summary: Debtor appealed an order of the Bankruptcy Court directing that a third party receive a portion of a check made payable jointly to the third party and debtor for rent of debtor's property. At issue was whether the third…
Date: April 20, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2037
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a well-known civil rights activist, filed a thirteen-count complaint against defendants after his arrest when he refused to leave a public meeting of the St. Louis School Board. Plaintiff was charged with…
Date: April 19, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2748
Justia Opinion Summary: While serving a state sentence for first degree criminal sexual conduct, appellant sued two Department of Corrections officials under 42 U.S.C. 1983 for unlawfully imprisoning him 375 days beyond the date on which he…
Date: April 18, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1549
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed from the district court's order adopting the findings and supplemental findings and recommendations of the magistrate judge granting defendants' motions to suppress evidence obtained as a result of a…
Date: April 18, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1779
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to one count of possession of pseudoephedrine, knowingly and having reasonable cause to believe it would be used to manufacture methamphetamine. On appeal, defendant argued that the district…
Date: April 17, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1489
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued Jessica J. Wright and her insurers for equitable garnishment to collect a state court judgment. Wright had hacked into plaintiff's voicemail and Facebook services, sending disparaging letters and emails…
Date: April 17, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2437
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine. The court held that the search warrant application in this case supported a finding of probable cause;…
Date: April 16, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3636
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff brought suit against BNSF, alleging common law negligence and seeking compensation for injuries he suffered when the automobile he was driving hit a BNSF railcar that was stopped at a railroad crossing. The…
Date: April 16, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2158
Justia Opinion Summary: This case addressed the effect of a pooled special-needs trust created by an over-65-year-old beneficiary on his medicaid benefits. The Center for Special Needs Trust Administration appealed a summary judgment in favor…
Date: April 16, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2692
Justia Opinion Summary: After defendant escaped from prison, defendant plead not guilty by reason of insanity. Nonetheless, a jury convicted defendant of escape and the district court sentenced him to 30 months imprisonment. Defendant appealed,…
Date: April 12, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3179
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs sought to establish a nationwide class of thousands of borrowers who allegedly paid inflated appraisal fees in connection with real estate transactions financed by Wells Fargo. Plaintiffs subsequently appealed…
Date: April 12, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1925
Justia Opinion Summary: The United States sued defendants, alleging they engaged in a pattern or practice of sex discrimination in the rental of housing. After a jury found for defendants, the district court granted in part defendants' motion…
Date: April 12, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2603
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was found guilty of witness tampering when she confronted the husband of a cooperating witness in a federal criminal case against three of defendant's children. Defendant appealed her conviction and sentence.…
Date: April 11, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1664
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant sought judicial review of the Commissioner's notice of determination sustaining a proposed levy to collect his delinquent income tax liabilities for 1996-2002 and a tax-lien filing for 1998 and 2000-2002 tax…
Date: April 10, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1758
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of one count of attempted sex trafficking of a minor and one count of coercing and enticing a minor to commit a sexual act. Defendant subsequently appealed. The court held that the district court…
Date: April 10, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2960
Justia Opinion Summary: After failing to appear at his revocation hearing, defendant pleaded guilty to criminal contempt of court. On appeal, defendant argued that the petition for contempt should have been dismissed and, alternatively, that…
Date: April 9, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1374
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed a complaint and moved for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, alleging section 16, article V, of the Iowa Constitution, as implemented by Iowa Code sections 46.2, 46.4-46.10, and…
Date: April 9, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1730
Justia Opinion Summary: Northwest and the Pilots Association filed a complaint seeking a declaratory judgment that their post-bankruptcy retirement benefit plan (MP3) complied with the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29…
Date: April 9, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2293
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of one count of knowingly possessing child pornography. On appeal, defendant challenged two special conditions of supervision. The court held that the district court imposed the two conditions…
Date: April 9, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2449
Justia Opinion Summary: Debtor appealed the BAP's decision affirming a bankruptcy court order that her homestead was not exempt from the Bank's antecedent debts. The court agreed with the bankruptcy court and the BAP that the plain language of…
Date: April 9, 2012
Docket Number: 11-6067
Justia Opinion Summary: Debtors appealed from the Bankruptcy Court's Order Granting the Trustee's Motion for Approval of Compromise or Settlement of Controversy, relating to claims that they asserted against the Bank for lender liability and…
Date: April 6, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2217
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose when the Yankton Sioux Tribe requested that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) acquire 39 acres of land located in Charles Mix County in trust for the tribe pursuant to section 5 of the Indian…
Date: April 6, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2502
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose when plaintiff decided to develop some of the Indian trust land he owned on the Sisseton Wahpeton Reservation in a project planned with his cousin. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) subsequently denied a…
Date: April 5, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1243
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued his employer, alleging that his termination was the result of interference with and retaliation for his exercise of his rights under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), 29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq., and racial…
Date: April 5, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1992
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana. On appeal, defendant appealed the district court's denial of his request for…
Date: April 5, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2049
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of "assault resulting in serious bodily injury." On appeal, defendant raised issues related to the sufficiency of the evidence; the district court's application of U.S.S.G. 3C1.1 for obstruction…
Date: April 5, 2012
Docket Number: 12-6008
Justia Opinion Summary: This was an appeal by Triology from an order of the bankruptcy court holding that certain funds held by Trilogy constituted sale proceeds which were subject to the mechanic liens of J.E. Dunn. The court held that the…
Date: April 4, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1429
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs sued defendants, seeking indemnification and reformation of a workers' compensation insurance policy. The district court granted summary judgment to defendants. The court concluded that Cascades' gratuitous…
Date: April 4, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1520
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose when Alltel sued a former senior vice president in the Eastern District of Arkansas, alleging that the vice president breached the terms of a Separation Agreement by, inter alia, assisting the Oglala…
Date: April 4, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2338
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to one count of conspiring to commit drug trafficking offenses. On appeal, defendant contended that the district court erred in finding that he failed to qualify for safety valve relief under the…
Date: April 3, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3501
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of attempted escape from confinement, kidnapping, and armed criminal action. He appealed the district court's denial of his petition for habeas corpus relief on two grounds. The court affirmed the…
Date: April 3, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2059
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to transport cocaine, convert it to crack cocaine, and to distribute over thirty kilograms of cocaine base. Defendant appealed his sentence. The court held that…
Date: April 2, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1989
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner appealed the district court's dismissal of her petition seeking half the proceeds of the sale of stock that was ordered forfeited in her ex-husband's conviction for mail fraud and money laundering in…
Date: March 30, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1091
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs are shareholders of nine mutual funds that were registered investment companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (ICA), 15 U.S.C. 80(a)-35(b). The Funds were managed and distributed by affiliates of…
Date: March 30, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1415
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and of two counts of using a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. At issue was whether counsel was ineffective…
Date: March 29, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1911
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon and assault resulting in a serious bodily injury. The district court ordered defendant to pay restitution to South Dakota's Medicaid program and South Dakota's…
Date: March 29, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2259
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose when plaintiff and his two business entities commenced action against defendant, alleging statutory and constitutional violations under 42 U.S.C. 1983. In this interlocutory appeal, defendant appealed the…
Date: March 28, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1948
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty, pursuant to a plea agreement, to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor. In the plea agreement, the Government agreed to recommend a sentence at the low end of defendant's advisory sentencing…
Date: March 28, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2496
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the district court's order affirming the Commissioner's denial of his application for supplemental security income benefits. Specifically, he objected to the ALJ's finding, without considering the…
Date: March 28, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2782
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. At sentencing, the district court applied U.S.S.G. 2K2.1(a)(4)(A) to determine a base offense level and found a prior conviction for manslaughter…
Date: March 27, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1239
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to one count of structuring financial transactions and was sentenced to thirty months in prison. On appeal, defendant challenged the procedural and substantive reasonableness of his sentence. The…
Date: March 27, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1967
Justia Opinion Summary: Lowell Burris and his wife commenced a product liability action against Menard, Versa, and Versa's affiliate in Minnesota state court. After Menard removed the action to federal court, which had diversity jurisdiction,…
Date: March 26, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1777
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the district court's denial of his motion to suppress after entering a conditional plea of guilty to receiving and possessing child pornography. The court concluded that the totality of the…
Date: March 26, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1958
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. At his trial, the government called a previously undisclosed witness to testify that when police approached defendant's vehicle prior to arresting him,…
Date: March 23, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1046
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued her former employer for national-origin discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq., and the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA), Minn. Stat.…
Date: March 23, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1525
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with conspiracy knowingly to distribute cocaine base. The government appealed the district court's suppression of certain physical evidence and incriminating statements made by defendant. The court…
Date: March 23, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1718
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the district court's denial of his motion for judgment of acquittal and his motion for new trial following a jury trial and guilty verdict for enticing a minor under the age of 18 to engage in sexually…
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1372
Justia Opinion Summary: The district court granted defendant's motion to suppress evidence discovered on his person during an encounter with law enforcement officers at the bus depot. The government appealed contending that the evidence was…
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1531
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued her employer and its workers' compensation insurer for intentional obstruction of workers' compensation in violation of Minnesota statute 176.82. The employer and insurer moved for summary judgment, which…
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1904
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a licensed Iowa educator, filed suit in Iowa state court against his employer, school officials, and private citizens following his termination. Plaintiff alleged various state-law claims as well as violations…
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2414
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a federal inmate, appealed the district court's summary judgment in favor of defendants where his claims arose out of a delayed consultation for his jaw injuries which in turn delayed necessary jaw surgery.…
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 11-6068
Justia Opinion Summary: Debtor appealed an order of the bankruptcy court sustaining the objection of the Chapter 7 trustee to her claimed exemption of her interest in an annuity. The court concluded that res judicata applied to the debtor's…
Date: March 19, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3003
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, incarcerated in the South Dakota State Penitentiary (SDSP), where he practiced his Jewish faith, filed suit claiming that certain SDSP officials violated his Firth Amendment free exercise rights by denying his…
Date: March 16, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3142
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of second degree murder and use of a firearm during a crime of violence. On appeal, defendant argued that the district court erred in denying his habeas petition for a new trial due to ineffective…
Date: March 16, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3387
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was found guilty of being a felon in possession of ammunition and defendant appealed, raising several challenges. The court held that the district court did not err in determining that the search was a valid…
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