2013 Ninth Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law

Justia Opinion Summary: After filing for bankruptcy, plaintiff sought a discharge of his law student loans under 11 U.S.C. 523(a)(8). The bankruptcy court granted a partial discharge, but, on appeal, the district court reinstated the student…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of Panama, petitioned for review of the BIA's determination that he was not eligible for relief pursuant to former Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) 212(c), 8 U.S.C. 1182(c), because…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued Kohl's Department Store claiming that he bought merchandise from Kohl's that he would not have purchased had he not been misled by advertisements stating that the merchandise was marked down from a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Arizona House Bill 2036 (H.B. 2036), enacted in April 2012, forbids, except in a medical emergency, abortion of a fetus determined to be of a gestational age of at least twenty weeks. Arizona law separately prohibited…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a class action complaint against NoteWorld alleging, among other things, violations under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), 18 U.S.C. 1961 et seq., and Washington state…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a lawful permanent resident charged with removal based on his alleged conviction of two crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMTs), petitioned for review of the BIA's decision concluding that petitioner's…

Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal involved the USDA's regulation of Roundup Ready Alfalfa (RRA), a plant genetically modified by the Monsanto Company and Forage Genetics International to be resistant to the herbicide glyphosate (Roundup). At…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a former member of the Mexican military, petitioned for review of the BIA's denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). The court granted the petition with…

Justia Opinion Summary: Objectors appealed the district court's orders granting final approval to a class action settlement between HP and a nationwide class of consumers who purchased certain HP inkjet printers between certain dates. Under…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Tribe sought to set aside a decision of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) directing the Tribe to place the names of certain disenrolled individuals back on its membership roll. The BIA issued its decision pursuant…

Justia Opinion Summary: These are two appeals stemming from the government's immediate termination of a Medicare Part D services contract with a prescription drug insurance coverage provider, Fox. Fox subsequently filed actions in the district…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, father of Adolf Anthony Sanchez Gonzalez, sued officers and the City of Anaheim under 42 U.S.C. 1983 for violation of his Fourth Amendment right of familial association and Gonzalez's Fourth Amendment right to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, convicted of drug trafficking offenses and sentenced to 380 months imprisonment, brought a habeas petition requesting reconsideration of the Bureau of Prisons' (BOP) rejection of his application to the Second…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed separate copyright infringement suits against defendants for posting articles from the Las Vegas Review-Journal online without authorization. In consolidated appeals, the court agreed with the district…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction of attempted entry after deportation. The court concluded that defendant's prior conviction for unlawful sexual penetration in violation of California Penal Code 289(a)(1), for which he…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff spent 24 years in prison after being convicted for murder based largely upon the perjured testimony of an unreliable jailhouse informant, Edward Fink. Plaintiff filed this action under 42 U.S.C. 1983, claiming…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his drug-related convictions, arguing that his due process rights were violated by the government's destruction of evidence and that the trial judge erred in denying his motion to dismiss. In the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a Mexican citizen, petitioned for review of the BIA's order denying withholding of removal under 8 U.S.C. 1231(b) and returning him to Mexico. The BIA concluded that the social group petitioner proposed,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Amy and Vicky, child pornography victims, petitioned for a writ of mandamus pursuant to the Crime Victims Rights Act (CVRA), 18 U.S.C. 3771. The court concluded that the district court did not commit legal error or abuse…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed from the judgment dismissing his 42 U.S.C. 1983 claim against correctional officials at the Saguaro Correctional Center (SCC), asserting that the decision to house him in the same cell with a member of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was a dentist who was charged with crimes relating to cocaine possession and distribution. On appeal, defendant challenged his convictions and sentence imposed for one count of possession of cocaine with intent…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed an action under 8 U.S.C. 1503(a) seeking a declaratory judgment that he is a citizen of the United States. Plaintiff was born in the Philippine Islands and his father was a U.S. citizen who had lived his…

Justia Opinion Summary: Fitness Holdings, the debtor in this bankruptcy case, was a home fitness corporation. At issue was whether debtor's pre-bankruptcy transfer of funds to its sole shareholder, in repayment of a purported loan, could be a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with assault under a statute that provided for a maximum prison sentence of six months. On appeal, defendant argued that the possibility of being ordered to pay a substantial amount of money in…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for distribution, possession with intent to distribute, and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. The court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion by failing to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff brought suit against Boeing and BISS alleging breach of contract as well as several statutory and common law claims. At issue was the enforceability of a forum selection clause. The court held that the evidence…

Justia Opinion Summary: Clevo appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Hecny. Clevo, a Taiwan-based manufacturer of computer parts and accessories, and Amazon, a Brazilian entity, agreed that Clevo would manufacture…

Justia Opinion Summary: This dispute involved a revenue-sharing agreement between GCSD and SNW to build the Skywalk over the Grand Canyon on remote tribal land. GCSD filed suit against SNW seeking declaratory judgment that the Hualapai Tribe…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner challenged the district court's ruling that he was not a United States citizen pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 1252(b)(5). The court held that Lim v. Mitchell, which required de novo review, was no longer good law, and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs sued the Agencies, challenging changes to the Survey and Manage Standard (Standard) of the Northwest Forest Plan. Plaintiffs and the Agencies negotiated a settlement which the district court approved and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Commissioner appealed the tax court's determination related to a deficiency in petitioners' federal income tax involving distributions from petitioners' variable universal life insurance policy. The Commissioner…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was convicted of receiving stolen property. On appeal, the state challenged the district court's grant of his 28 U.S.C. 2254 habeas corpus petition based on Batson v. Kentucky. At issue was whether the…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case stemmed from plaintiffs' allegations that defendants issued consumer credit reports with negative entries for debts already discharged in bankruptcy. On appeal, plaintiffs and objectors challenged the district…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs claimed that PacifiCare was not entitled to any reimbursement payments out of the wrongful death benefits paid by an insurance policy to them. PacifiCare counterclaimed, arguing that it was entitled to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction pursuant to a conditional plea agreement for one count of felon in possession of a firearm. Defendant contended that the district court erroneously denied his motion to suppress the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for distribution of controlled substances. At issue was the denial of defendant's motion to suppress statements he made to FBI agents during a meeting with his parole officer. The court…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted under 18 U.S.C. 911 for making a false claim of citizenship. On appeal, defendant challenged the district court's denial of his motion for a new trial. Defendant argued that his misstatement was…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal, the court considered whether San Rafael's mobilehome rent regulation violated the park owners' substantive due process rights, constituted a regulatory taking under Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued Trump University for, among other things, deceptive business practices. Trump University counterclaimed against plaintiff for defamation based on the statements in letters and Internet postings plaintiff…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued several police officers and their employer, the City of Los Angeles, for false arrest, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution. Plaintiff was charged with attempted murder and was eventually…

Justia Opinion Summary: AGC sought declaratory and injunctive relief against Caltrans and its officers, on the grounds that Caltrans' 2009 Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program unconstitutionally provided race- and sex-based preferences to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted in 1993 of conspiracy to possess and of possessing with intent to distribute 2,915 kilograms of cocaine and was sentenced to 360 months imprisonment. The Sentencing Commission subsequently amended…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the district court's order granting summary judgment in favor of the County Defendants. Plaintiff claimed, among other things, that the County Defendants conspired to violate, and did violate, her…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellees are the named plaintiffs representing a certified class of non-citizens who challenged their prolonged detention, pursuant to certain federal immigration statutes, without individualized bond hearings and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants' convictions arose out of a series of events that took place while Defendant Robles was Treasurer of the City of South Gate, California. Robles, along with Defendant Garrido, a local businessman and friend,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the district court's order dismissing her putative class claims against Yahoo!, alleging that Yahoo! violated the Stored Communications Act (SCA), 18 U.S.C. 2701-2712, when it disclosed some of her…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs sued Integrity on behalf of a putative class of workers, claiming violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. 201 et seq., and Nevada labor laws. Plaintiffs alleged that Integrity violated…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs appealed from the district court's summary judgment in favor of defendants in an action alleging wrongful foreclosure and related claims that defendants had removed to federal court. Plaintiffs argued that…