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Any unofficial case summaries below are prepared by the clerk's office as a courtesy to the reader. They are not part of the opinion of the court. |
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[ January 31, 2017 ]
153575P.pdf 01/31/2017 Rodney Raymond v. Board of Regents of the U of M U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 15-3575 U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - Minneapolis [PUBLISHED] [Strand, Author, with Benton and Shepherd, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Civil rights. In action alleging plaintiff was deprived of liberty and property interests without due process when his employment with the University of Minnesota was terminated, the allegations of plaintiff's complaint fail to state a claim of a pre-termination due process violation and because he did not sufficiently plead such a due process violation, exhaustion of remedies is required to proceed on his post-termination claim; plaintiff failed to establish that proceeding in the post-termination process would have been futile, and his claim was properly dismissed because he failed to exhaust available state remedies. Judge Shepherd, concurring. 153936P.pdf 01/31/2017 Hiland Partners GP Holdings v. National Union Fire Insurance U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 15-3936 U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota - Bismarck [PUBLISHED] [Murphy, Author, with Kelly, Circuit Judge, and Montgomery, District Judge] Civil case - Insurance. The district court did not err in finding the insurer was relieved of its duty to defend and indemnify by reason of the pollution exclusion in the underlying policy as the injury giving rise to the claim was caused by the explosion of condensate, a contaminant and pollutant covered by the pollution exclusion. 161742U.pdf 01/31/2017 United States v. Nefer Ariza U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1742 U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - St. Paul [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Loken, Bowman and Kelly, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Criminal law. Anders case. Defendant knowingly and voluntarily executed an appeal waiver as part of his guilty plea, and the appeal is dismissed. 161853P.pdf 01/31/2017 United States v. Frank Russell McCoy U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1853 U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - St. Paul [PUBLISHED] [Benton, Author, with Shepherd, Circuit Judge, and Ebinger, District Judge] Criminal case - Criminal law and sentencing. The conditions of defendant's supervised release authorized the search of his computers which led to the seizure of child pornography; the search was within the scope of the conditions of release and the search and seizure were reasonable; evidence was sufficient to support defendant's conviction for possession of child pornography; defendant's conviction for transporting obscene materials in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1462 triggered an enhanced penalty in this case as the materials involved in the earlier conviction related to sexual assault and child pornography; while defendant suffered from prostate cancer, such a condition did not qualify for a downward departure under Guidelines Sec. 5H1.4 as the court found it unlikely that defendant would require special care the BOP could not provide or that his physical condition would impair his ability to function; as a result, the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying the departure based on health as it did not have an unconstitutional motive and knew of its authority to grant a departure. 163080U.pdf 01/31/2017 Scott Family Properties v. Missouri Highways and Trans U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-3080 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri - St. Louis [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Wollman, Murphy and Melloy, Circuit Judges] Civil case. Since plaintiff's claims were not ripe, the district court lacked jurisdiction over them and it should have remanded plaintiff's state law claims to state court rather than dismissing them. [ January 30, 2017 ]
161858U.pdf 01/30/2017 Berta Lopez-Morales v. Loretta E. Lynch U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1858 Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Loken, Bowman and Kelly, Circuit Judges] Petition for Review - Immigration. Petitioner failed to show that her proposed particular social group - witnesses to gang violence who have been targeted because of perceived cooperation with the police - was socially distinct or identifiable within Guatemalan society, and the group was not cognizable as a particular social group; as petitioner failed to demonstrate eligibility for asylum, her petitions for withholding of removal and CAT relief necessarily fail. 162246U.pdf 01/30/2017 Michelle Anderson v. Andy Neyrinck U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-2246 U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Davenport [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Gruender, Benton and Shepherd, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Civil rights. The district court did not err in denying defendant Nyerinck's motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity on plaintiff's unlawful-arrest claim; the court erred in denying defendants Crowe and Neyrinck summary judgment based on qualified immunity on plaintiff's excessive-force claim as his claim failed as a matter of law. 162615U.pdf 01/30/2017 Fred Haywood v. C.V. Rivera U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-2615 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas - Helena [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Loken, Bowman and Kelly, Circuit Judges] Prisoner case - Habeas. Dismissal of Haywood's Section 2241 petition affirmed without comment. [ January 27, 2017 ]
161736P.pdf 01/27/2017 ACI Worldwide Corporation v. Churchill Lane Associates, LLC U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1736 U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska - Omaha [PUBLISHED] [Gruender, Author, with Colloton and Beam, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Contracts. Plaintiff validly terminated the License Agreement in accordance with the termination provision and does not owe Churchill royalties on any sublicenses it has granted since the date of termination or that it will grant in the future; however, because the post-termination royalties provision was not validly amended before termination, plaintiff continues to owe Churchill royalties on any sublicenses granted before the termination date; reversed in part, affirmed in part and remanded for further proceedings. Judge Beam, concurring in part and dissenting in part. 162198U.pdf 01/27/2017 United States v. Ishmael Kosh U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-2198 U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - St. Paul [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Benton and Shepherd, Circuit Judges, and Strand, District Judge] Criminal case - Criminal law. In an appeal raising a claim regarding the sufficiency of the evidence, defendant did not renew his Rule 29 motion as to the counts on appeal at the close of all evidence, and review is for plain error, not for sufficiency alone; defendant's consistent pattern of false reporting supports the verdict that defendant was guilty of filing false and fraudulent tax returns in violation of 26 U.S.C. Section 7206(2). 162730P.pdf 01/27/2017 Mark Christeson v. Don Roper U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-2730 U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Kansas City [PUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Loken, Murphy and Colloton, Circuit Judges] Prisoner case - Habeas - Death Penalty. The district court did not err in denying Christeson's motion to reopen a final judgment dismissing his habeas corpus application as untimely; tolling based on counsel's failure to satisfy AEDPA's statute of limitations is available only for serious instances of attorney misconduct, and whether original counsel's miscalculation of the filing deadline was reasonable based on then-existing law or was the result of negligence, it is well settled that attorney negligence in calculating a deadline is not sufficient to warrant equitable tolling of a statutory time limit; nor is original counsel's miscalculation an extraordinary circumstance that justifies reopening a judgment. Judge Murphy, concurring. 162783U.pdf 01/27/2017 United States v. Rocky Thomas Mayfield U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-2783 U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota - Bismarck [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Kelly and Murphy, Circuit Judges, and Magnuson, District Judge] Criminal case - Criminal law. The district court's determination that the arresting officer was credible when he testified that he smelled marijuana during a traffic stop was not clearly erroneous or contrary to external evidence, and the smell of marijuana gave the officer probable cause to conduct the search which led to the seizure of the drugs at issue. [ January 26, 2017 ]
161065P.pdf 01/26/2017 Philip Sieden v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1065 U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - Minneapolis [PUBLISHED] [Stand, Author, with Benton and Shepherd, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Employment discrimination. Assuming plaintiff made a prima facie case on his reprisal claim under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, defendant established a legitimate, performance-based ground for plaintiff's discharge, and plaintiff failed to show the ground was a pretext. 161435U.pdf 01/26/2017 Kenneth M. Njema v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1435 U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - Minneapolis [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Colloton, Murphy and Gruender, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Foreclosure. Defendant's summary judgment on plaintiff's claims for breach of contract and various torts affirmed without comment. 162149U.pdf 01/26/2017 United States v. Clayton High Wolf U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-2149 U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota - Rapid City [UNPUBLISHED] [Magnuson, Author, with Kelly and Murphy, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Criminal law. The assessment of a witness's credibility is within the province of the trial court and is virtually unreviewable on appeal; having viewed the video which corroborated the police officer's testimony that the license plate light on defendant's vehicle was not visible, the court did not clearly err in crediting the officer's testimony and concluding there was probable cause for the traffic stop which led to the seizure of the weapon which served as the basis for defendant's felon-in-possession charge. 163785U.pdf 01/26/2017 United States v. Rodney Tracy U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-3785 U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa - Dubuque [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Smith, Arnold and Colloton, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Criminal law and sentencing. The district court did not err in finding defendant had violated the conditions of his supervised release, and the sentence the court imposed when it revoked defendant's supervision was not substantively unreasonable. [ January 25, 2017 ]
161182U.pdf 01/25/2017 United States v. Robert Hertz U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1182 U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa - Cedar Rapids [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam. Before Murphy, Benton, and Shepherd, Circuit Judges] Criminal Case - Armed Career Criminal Act. With the concession of the government, Hertz's second degree burglary in violation of Revised Code of Washington 9A.52.030(1) is not a violent felony, as it is over inclusive than generic burglary under the ACCA. Thus, the sentence is vacated and the case remanded for resentencing. 161834P.pdf 01/25/2017 Randall Ehlers v. Scott Dirkes U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1834 and No: 16-1835 U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota - Rapid City [PUBLISHED] [Gruender, Author, with Colloton and Beam, Circuit Judges] Civil Rights - qualified immunity. After observing officers arresting his son, Ehlers questioned officers and initially refused to back away or place his hands behind his back. Officers then wrestled Ehlers to the ground, discharged a taser, and arrested him for obstructing a police officer and resisting arrest. In Ehler's civil rights action against the officers, the officers appeal from the district court's denial of qualified immunity. Because officers had arguable probable cause to arrest Ehlers for obstructing a police officer and assisting officer could rely on the probable cause determination, officer is entitled to qualified immunity on unlawful arrest claim; officer did not violate a constitutional right by executing a takedown or using a taser. Law is not clearly established that officer's use of arm bar under circumstances constituted excessive force. Thus denial of summary judgment on basis of qualified immunity is reversed. [ January 24, 2017 ]
161218P.pdf 01/24/2017 United States v. Ricky Funke U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1218 U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, Waterloo [PUBLISHED] [Benton, Author, with Murphy and Shepherd, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Sentencing. Defendant's sentence was not substantively unreasonable; the amount of restitution ordered in this child pornography case for the victim known as "Vicky" is affirmed as the district court properly applied the Paroline factors and did not abuse its discretion in determining the amount. 161642U.pdf 01/24/2017 Aaron Olson v. Christopher Kopel U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1642 U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - Minneapolis [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Gruender, Benton and Shepherd, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Civil rights. the district court did not err in determining plaintiff's claims were barred by res judicata, and the dismissal order is affirmed without further comment. 166028P.pdf 01/24/2017 Todd Crabtree v. Daniel McDermott U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-6028 U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Minnesota - Fergus Falls [PUBLISHED] [Nail, Author, with Federman, Chief Judge, and Saladino, Bankruptcy Judge] Bankruptcy Appellate Panel. Section 522(o) requires the bankruptcy court to determine the extent to which the improvements debtors make to their homestead increased the value of debtors' interest in their homestead; here, the bankruptcy court failed to do so, and the matter is remanded to allow the bankruptcy court to make this determination. [ January 23, 2017 ]
161893U.pdf 01/23/2017 United States v. Julian Rivera U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1893 U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas - Fayetteville [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Gruender, Benton and Shepherd, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Sentencing. Anders case. Defendant's sentence was substantively reasonable; challenge to guilty plea is not cognizable because defendant failed to move to withdraw the plea in the district court; no error in imposing an enhancement under Guidelines Sec. 4B1.5(b)(1); this direct criminal appeal is not the proper mechanism to raise a claim that the prosecutor's comments at sentencing defamed defendant. 162791P.pdf 01/23/2017 Diversified Ingredients v. Joseph Testa U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-2791 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri - St. Louis [PUBLISHED] [Loken, Author, with Beam and Benton, Circuit Judges] Civil case - State tax. The Ohio Revenue Code provided plaintiff with a mechanism to challenge the state tax at issue in this matter, and the Tax Injunction Act deprived the federal court of subject matter over this claim. 163205U.pdf 01/23/2017 United States v. Jason Petersen U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-3205 U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Davenport [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Gruender, Benton and Shepherd, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Sentencing. Anders case. No error in applying a five-level enhancement for distribution of child pornography in exchange for a thing of value as defendant exchanged videos, and this exchange was not fully accounted for in his underlying distribution offense; challenge to guilty plea was not cognizable on appeal where defendant failed to move in the district court to withdraw the plea; claim of ineffective assistance of counsel would not be considered on direct appeal. [ January 20, 2017 ]
152694P.pdf 01/20/2017 United States v. Christopher Brackett U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 15-2694 U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska - Omaha [PUBLISHED] [Wollman, Author, with Loken and Benton, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Criminal law. Under Nebraska state law, the facts set forth in the search warrant application for defendant's home were sufficient to establish probable cause that officers would find evidence of the prohibited images of the minor victim at the residence; the district court did not err in denying defendant's request for a Franks hearing. [ January 19, 2017 ]
161560P.pdf 01/19/2017 John Montin v. Y. Moore U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1560 U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska - Lincoln [PUBLISHED] [Riley, Author, with Beam and Loken, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Medical malpractice. In action by person held for 20 years following a jury finding that he was not responsible for his crimes by reason of insanity, plaintiff's state law malpractice claim was improperly filed in federal court under the Nebraska State Tort Claims Act; if the court assumes that Nebraska has waived its sovereign immunity in this instance, any waiver of that immunity does not extend to actions brought in federal court as the Act specifically requires that the claim be brought in the state district court of the county in which the act or omission occurred; with respect to plaintiff's claim that he was unnecessarily confined, the actions alleged were negligence or, at worst, gross negligence, and such claims were properly dismissed as they do not implicate the protections of the Due Process Clause; plaintiff failed to address the dismissal of his retaliation in his appellate brief, and the district court order dismissing the claim is affirmed. 161760P.pdf 01/19/2017 Justin Guenther v. Griffin Construction Company U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1760 U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas - Fayetteville [PUBLISHED] [Riley, Author, with Murphy and Smith, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Employment discrimination. The district court erred in determining this action for compensatory damages for employment discrimination under the Americans with Disability Act abated upon the death of the aggrieved party; federal common law does not incorporate state law to determine whether an ADA claim for compensatory damages survives the death of the aggrieved party, and the individual's estate may bring and maintain a suit for compensatory damages under the ADA in place of the aggrieved party. 161873U.pdf 01/19/2017 United States v. David Zouck U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1873 U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Springfield [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Loken, Benton and Kelly, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Criminal law and sentencing. Defendant could not challenge the voluntariness of his plea as he failed to move in the district court to withdraw his guilty plea; district court did not err in relying on unobjected-to portions of the PSR in setting defendant's offense level; sentence was not an upward-departure and notice of intent to depart was not required; sentence did not exceed the statutory maximum; within-guidelines sentence was substantively reasonable; claims of ineffective assistance would not be considered on direct appeal. 162006P.pdf 01/19/2017 Missouri Broadcasters Assoc. v. Lafayette Lacy U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-2006 U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Jefferson City [PUBLISHED] [Riley, Author, with Wollman and Kelly, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Constitutional law. Plaintiffs' complaint, alleging Mo Rev. Stat. Sec 311.070.4(1) and Mo. Code Regs. Ann. tit. 11. Sec. 70-2.240(5)(G), (I) detailing the information alcohol manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers can include in their advertisements, violate plaintiffs' freedom of speech under the First Amendment, stated a claim upon which relief can be granted, and the district court erred in granting defendants' motion to dismiss; on its face, plaintiffs' amended complaint plausibly demonstrates the challenged provisions do not directly advance the government's asserted substantial interest of promoting responsible drinking, are more extensive than necessary and unconstitutionally compel speech and association. 162016U.pdf 01/19/2017 Ramon Tomas v. Loretta E. Lynch U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-2016 Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Smith, Arnold and Colloton, Circuit Judges] Petition for Review - Immigration. Substantial evidence supports the decision to deny withholding of removal and CAT relief, and the decision is affirmed without further comment. 162793U.pdf 01/19/2017 David James Carlson v. County of Ramsey U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-2793 U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - Minneapolis [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Loken, Bowman and Kelly, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Civil rights. Dismissal of Section 1983 complaint affirmed without comment. [ January 18, 2017 ]
162730P.pdf 01/18/2017 Mark Christeson v. Don Roper U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-2730 U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Kansas City [PUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Colloton, Loken, Murphy, Circuit Judges] Prisoner Habeas Corpus [ January 17, 2017 ]
161046P.pdf 01/17/2017 Fineola Ingram v. Cole County U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1046 U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Jefferson City [PUBLISHED] [Smith, Author, with Riley, Chief Judge, and Murphy, Circuit Judge] Prisoner case - Prisoner Civil Rights. Plaintiffs' challenge to the laundry policy at the Cole County Detention Center which leaves pretrial detainees naked, with only a sheet and a blanket for cover, every four nights for women and every two-to-three nights for men, alleges more than de minimis deprivation that is not related to a legitimate governmental purpose, and the district court erred in dismissing their complaint; because the district court based its qualified-immunity ruling on the perceived lack of a constitutional violation, that ruling is also reversed. Judge Murphy, concurring in part and concurring in the judgment. 161095P.pdf 01/17/2017 United States v. Joseph McGrew U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1095 U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Des Moines [PUBLISHED] [Smith, Author, with Riley, Chief Judge, and Murphy, Circuit Judge] Criminal case - Sentencing Guidelines. As the district court founded its sentence upon its determination that the statutory maximum was the appropriate sentence and that no sentence within any argued Guidelines range would suffice, any error it may have made in calculating defendant's Guidelines range was harmless; when a sentencing court adequately justifies setting a defendant's sentence based on the maximum statutory penalty, quibbles about the application of Guidelines enhancements or departures become moot. [ January 13, 2017 ]
153804P.pdf 01/13/2017 Schnuck Markets, Inc. v. First Data Merchant, etc. U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 15-3804 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri - St. Louis [PUBLISHED] [Wollman, Author, with Arnold and Kelly, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Contracts. Under the provisions of the contract governing defendant's processing of plaintiff's credit card transactions, plaintiff's liability for a data breach which compromised cardholder data was limited to $500,000; the district court did not err in limiting plaintiff's loss to that amount and ordering defendant to return funds held in excess of the cap; district court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendants' motion for reconsideration or leave to amend under Rule 54(b). 161702U.pdf 01/13/2017 United States v. Joel John Virtue U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1702 U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - St. Paul [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Colloton, Murphy and Gruender, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Sentencing. Anders case. Defendant's sentence is not substantively unreasonable; defendant's innocence argument is refuted by statements he made at his change-of-plea hearing; defendant's direct appeal is not the proper mechanism for obtaining return of seized property. 161863U.pdf 01/13/2017 United States v. Leonard Cosimo U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1863 U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Des Moines [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Riley, Chief Judge, and Loken and Benton, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Sentencing. The sentence imposed was not substantively unreasonable. 162092U.pdf 01/13/2017 United States v. Lisa Gray U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-2092 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas - Little Rock [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Riley, Chief Judge, and Loken and Benton, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Sentencing. The sentence imposed was not substantively unreasonable. [ January 12, 2017 ]
153573P.pdf 01/12/2017 Barbara Williams v. Employers Mutual Casualty Co. U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 15-3573 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri - St. Louis [PUBLISHED] [Kelly, Author, with Wollman and Arnold, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Insurance. The consent judgment in this matter was a final decision because it unconditionally disposed of the last of plaintiff's unresolved claims, and the court had jurisdiction over the appeal of the consent judgment; plaintiff had not waived her right to appeal the consent judgment; earlier judgment on the pleadings did not end the case and the matter was not final for purposes of appeal until the consent judgment was entered; it is clear from the face of plaintiff's complaint that she sought relief on behalf of the class of the residents of the Collier mobile home park, and the district court did not err in determining that the matter was a class action and that it had jurisdiction under CAFA; the district court did not err in determining the insurers did not have a duty to defend or indemnify Collier in the original action brought by plaintiffs; the plaintiffs' claims concerning contaminated drinking water were covered by pollution exemptions in the policies as there was no dispute that the contaminants in the water - radium and coliform bacteria - were pollutants within the meaning of the policies; the claim that Collier failed to build certain promised amenities at the mobile home park states a claim for breach of contract and none of the policies at issue covered damages from breach of contract; because the insurers had no duty to defend, under Missouri law they had no duty to indemnify. 161109P.pdf 01/12/2017 United States v. Dennis Yorgensen U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1109 U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa - Sioux City [PUBLISHED] [Loken, Author, with Gruender and Benton, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Criminal law. The district court erred in suppressing defendant's post-arrest statements as there was not a sufficient nexus between the constitutional violation requiring suppression of a search (a recklessly untrue warrant affidavit) and defendant's statements two days later; among the factors supporting that conclusion are the facts that defendant received Miranda warnings, two days had passed, the agent who took the statements was from a separate law enforcement agency not connected to the violation and the initial violation was unintentional. [ January 11, 2017 ]
153292P.pdf 01/11/2017 Pharmaceutical Care Management v. Nick Gerhart U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 15-3292 U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Des Moines [PUBLISHED] [Perry, Author, with Murphy and Shepherd, Circuit Judges] Civil case - ERISA. ERISA expressly preempts section 510B.8 of the Iowa Code which regulates how pharmacy benefits managers establish generic drug pricing and requires that certain disclosures on their drug pricing methodology be made to their network pharmacies and to Iowa's insurance commissioner; the case is remanded for entry of judgment in favor of plaintiff on the issue of express preemption. 153324P.pdf 01/11/2017 Jerry's Enterprises, Inc. v. U.S. Specialty Insurance Co. U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 15-3324 U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - Minneapolis [PUBLISHED] [Shepherd, Author, with Beam and Gruender, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Insurance. Under the provisions of the directors' and officers' liability policy defendant issued to plaintiff, the underlying suit by a former director of the company and her daughters was an action by an insured person (the former director) and the "insured v. insured' exclusion of the policy applied to her claims; the district court correctly determined that the exclusion applied to the daughters' claims, as well, since the action was brought by their mother, the former director, and any loss associated with the suit would be due to the presence of a former director as an active participant; the policy's allocation clause does not restore coverage for any part of the suit; while there may be some tension between the insured v. insured exclusion and the allocation clause, the insured v. insured exclusion speaks directly to lawsuits brought with the participation of insured persons while the allocation clause only speaks generally to any claim brought with covered and uncovered matters; under Minnesota law, specific contract language controls over general language, and the insured v. insured clause controls. [ January 10, 2017 ]
153739P.pdf 01/10/2017 United States v. John Winston U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 15-3739 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas - Little Rock [PUBLISHED] [Colloton, Author, with Melloy and Shepherd, Circuit Judges] Criminal Case - sentence. District court properly counted Winston's prior Arkansas conviction for second-degree battery under Ark.Code Ann. 5-13-202(a)(2) (1997) as a violent felony and concluded he had at least three violent felonies or serious drug offenses to be subject to enhanced punishment as an armed career criminal. Winston's contention that physical injury is not the equivalent of physical force and the battery offense did not contain element he used physical force is rejected. 153787P.pdf 01/10/2017 United States v. Jason Schultz U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 15-3787 U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa - Ft. Dodge [PUBLISHED] [Shepherd, Author, with Colloton and Melloy, Circuit Judges] Criminal Case - supervised release conditions. District court did not plainly err in prohibiting defendant from owning or possessing pornographic materials or entering place where materials can be obtained or viewed based on defendant's pattern of inappropriate behavior towards minors or plainly err in allowing probation office to search or monitor computer and electronic devices. Restrictions were reasonably necessary based on prior noncompliance. The court did not abuse its discretion in prohibiting contact with minor children without written consent from the probation officer based on history of prior sexual abuse and violations of no-contact orders. The district court made individualized findings and narrowly tailored the restriction to address his family situation. 161897U.pdf 01/10/2017 United States v. Michael Watson U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1897 U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Joplin [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam. Before Shepherd, Arnold, and Kelly, Circuit Judges] Criminal Case - Anders. Challenge to the career-offender enhancement was waived when Watson raised and then withdrew his objection in the district court. Appeal waiver is enforced as to other arguments on appeal. 161910U.pdf 01/10/2017 Daniel Scott v. Mary Benson U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1910 U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa - Sioux City [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam Before Shepherd, Arnold, and Kelly, Circuit Judges] Civil Case civil rights. The district court's conclusion that the medical care provided to appellant did not rise to the level of deliberate indifference is summarily affirmed. 162199U.pdf 01/10/2017 United States v. Richard English U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-2199 U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - St. Paul [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam. Before Benton and Shepherd, Circuit Judges, and Epinger, District Judge] Criminal Case - conviction. Evidence was sufficient to support jury's verdict of conspiracy to distribute heroin. It is within the province of the jury to make credibility assessments and resolve conflicting evidence; the verdict may be based solely on testimony of cooperating witnesses. [ January 09, 2017 ]
161430U.pdf 01/09/2017 David Zanders, Jr. v. U.S. Bank U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1430 U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Des Moines [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Shepherd, Arnold and Kelly, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Employment discrimination. Defendant's summary judgment in this Title VII case is affirmed without comment. 162193U.pdf 01/09/2017 Bhawanee Persaud v. Carolyn W. Colvin U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-2193 U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - Minneapolis [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Shepherd, Arnold and Kelly, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Social Security. Substantial evidence supports the ALJ's determination that claimant was engaged in substantial gainful activity and was no longer eligible for disability benefits. [ January 06, 2017 ]
153723P.pdf 01/06/2017 Star City School District v. ACI Building Systems, LLC U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 15-3723 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas - Pine Bluff [PUBLISHED] [[Wollman, Author, with Arnold and Kelly, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Contracts. In action alleging defendant had installed a defective roof and had failed to repair or replace it as promised, the district court did not err in dismissing plaintiff's claims for fraud and constructive fraud, as defendant's representations were as to future event - repairing or replacing the roof - rather than a past event or a present circumstance and the representations could not serve as the basis for a fraud claim under Arkansas law; additionally, the complaint failed to plead actual reliance on the alleged misrepresentations; with respect to plaintiff's claims for breach of warranty, breach of contract and negligence, the district court did not err in finding that the claims were time-barred under Arkansas's Stature of Repose - Ark. Code Sec. 16-56-112(a); the statute was not tolled while defendant attempted to repair the roof as there is no evidence that defendant fraudulently concealed the roof's defects. 161260P.pdf 01/06/2017 United States v. Darrell Lussier U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1260 U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - St. Paul [PUBLISHED] [Wollman, Author, with Riley, Chief Judge, and Benton, Circuit Judge] Criminal case - Criminal law. No error in the court's jury instructions on the offense of assault resulting in serious bodily injury; because defendant did not testify, he failed to preserve his claim that the court erred in ruling it would admit impeachment evidence of his prior conviction for assault resulting in serious bodily injury; evidence was sufficient to support defendant's kidnapping convictions, where it showed defendant beat the three victims and then confined them in a crawl space where they could not be readily found. 162269U.pdf 01/06/2017 United States v. Shawn Williams U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-2269 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri - Cape Girardeau [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Colloton, Murphy and Gruender, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Sentencing. Anders case. Sentence was not substantively unreasonable. 166023P.pdf 01/06/2017 Sheri L. Hanson v. Randall L. Seaver U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-6023 U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Minnesota - Minneapolis [PUBLISHED] [Saladino, Author, with Federman, Chief Judge, and Nail, Bankruptcy Judge] Bankruptcy Appellate Panel. The bankruptcy court did not err in holding that a Minnesota property tax refund under Minn. Stat. Ann. Section 290A.04 was not exempt under Section 550.37 (Subd. 14) of the Minnesota statutes as "government assistance not based on need;" the Panel's decision in Manty v. Johnson, 509 B.R. 213 (B.A.P. 8th Cir. 2014) was not overruled by the Eighth Circuit in In Re Hardy, 787 F.3d 1189 (2015); Hardy dealt with Additional Child Tax Credits and has no bearing on the Minnesota property tax refund statute at issue in this case and in Johnson. 166024P.pdf 01/06/2017 U.S. Department of Labor v. Michael Harris U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-6024 U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Minnesota - Minneapolis [PUBLISHED] [Federman, Author, with Saladino and Nail, Bankruptcy Judges] Bankruptcy Appellate Panel. The bankruptcy court did not err in finding debtor's debt to the U.S. Department of Labor based on a pre-bankruptcy judgment in federal court which found, under ERISA, that debtor breached his fiduciary duty when the company of which he was CEO failed to remit funds withheld from its employee's paychecks for their health insurance plan; the premiums had been held in trust by the employer, debtor was the fiduciary of the trust within the meaning of 11 U.S.C. Sec. 523(a)(4), and his decision not to remit the withheld wages was a defalcation within the meaning of the statute. [ January 05, 2017 ]
161215U.pdf 01/05/2017 Dee Schwyhart v. Carolyn W. Colvin U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1215 U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas - Fayetteville [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Shepherd, Arnold and Kelly, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Social Security. Decision to deny benefits was supported by substantial evidence and is affirmed without further comment. 161478U.pdf 01/05/2017 United States v. Marcus Chiles U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1478 U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska - Omaha [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Shepherd, Arnold and Kelly, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Sentencing. Anders case. Defendant waived his right to appeal as part of his plea agreement, and the appeal is dismissed. 161505U.pdf 01/05/2017 Randal Mauderer v. Iowa Department of Corrections U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1505 U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa - Cedar Rapids [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Shepherd, Arnold and Kelly, Circuit Judges] Prisoner case - Prisoner civil rights. Defendants' summary judgment on plaintiff's deliberate-indifference and retaliatory-transfer claims affirmed without comment. 162173U.pdf 01/05/2017 United States v. Edward Penn U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-2173 U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Springfield [UNPUBLISHED] [[Per Curiam - Before Shepherd, Arnold and Kelly, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Sentencing. Anders case. Defendant waived his right of appeal as part of his plea agreement, and the appeal is dismissed. [ January 04, 2017 ]
153103P.pdf 01/04/2017 Eluid Villatoro-Ochoa v. Loretta E. Lynch U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 15-3103 Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals [PUBLISHED] [Melloy, Author, with Colloton and Shepherd, Circuit Judges] Petition for Review - Immigration. The BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying petitioner's motion to reopen based on its determination that his evidence was insufficient to establish a material change in country conditions in Guatemala. 153445P.pdf 01/04/2017 United States v. Christopher Payne-Owens U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 15-3445 U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Des Moines [PUBLISHED] [Riley, Author, with Murphy and Smith, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Criminal law. Evidence indicating defendant was a member of a gang, such as Facebook posts, was properly admitted as it helped provide the jury with a total picture concerning defendant's possession of a firearm and included evidence of threats of violence which showed his intent to possess a real firearm; further, the district court twice gave the jury detailed limiting instructions concerning the evidence and its use, and this helped reduce the risk of prejudice; government's reference to the material in its closing argument, while presenting a closer question, was not a reversible error; evidence was sufficient to support defendant's conviction for being a felon in possession. 153784P.pdf 01/04/2017 United States v. Julilath Kouangvan U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 15-3784 U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Des Moines [PUBLISHED] [Riley, Author, with Murphy and Smith, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Sentencing. The district court's sentencing decision was not influenced by the race or national origin of the defendant and her victims, nor by her immigration to the U.S. or her inability to pay restitution; references by the government and the court to defendant's having duped her fellow Laotians were an explanation of the nature and circumstances of the offense and the severity of her misconduct; there was nothing in the court's comments to signal that it was increasing defendant's sentence because it was unlikely she would ever repay a significant portion of the more than $500,000 she stole from investors in her scheme and the nearly $200,000 she owed in unpaid taxes. 153985P.pdf 01/04/2017 John Dunn v. Bank of America N.A. U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 15-3985 U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas - Fayetteville [PUBLISHED] [Riley, Author, with Murphy and Smith, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Truth in Lending Act. The loan in question was a residential mortgage loan exempted from TILA's right of rescission, see 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1635(e). 161524P.pdf 01/04/2017 United States v. Terrell Lewis U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1524 U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Kansas City [PUBLISHED] [Riley, Author, and Smith and Kelly, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Criminal law. The government dismissed four counts of defendant's 2010 indictment before a jury was empaneled on the counts, and jeopardy did not attach; as a result, the district court correctly denied defendant's motion to dismiss on double jeopardy grounds; similarly, the court properly denied defendant's collateral estoppel arguments; the court is without jurisdiction to hear an interlocutory appeal from a pretrial order denying a motion to dismiss an indictment based on an alleged breach of a plea agreement. 161592U.pdf 01/04/2017 Kirk Nelson v. Steve Maples U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1592 U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Springfield [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Colloton, Murphy and Gruender, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Civil rights. Dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction affirmed without comment. 161614U.pdf 01/04/2017 Avera Cunningham v. City of Kansas City, Missouri U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1614 U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Kansas City [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Smith, Bowman and Benton, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Employment discrimination. Defendant's summary judgment affirmed without comment. 161881U.pdf 01/04/2017 Thomas Ginn v. C.V. Rivera U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1881 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas - Helena [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Colloton, Murphy and Gruender, Circuit Judges] Prisoner case - Habeas. Denial of habeas relief affirmed without comment. 161979U.pdf 01/04/2017 Erin Jessica Eiler v. Avera McKennan Hospital U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1979 U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota - Sioux Falls [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Colloton, Murphy and Gruender, Circuit Judges] Civil case. Dismissal for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction affirmed without comment. 162525U.pdf 01/04/2017 United States v. Carlton Samuels, Jr. U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-2525 U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Kansas City [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Colloton, Murphy and Gruender, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Sentencing. Anders case. Defendant's sentence was not substantively unreasonable; application of a four-level increase under Guidelines Sec. 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) was supported by the record; claim of ineffective assistance of counsel would not be considered in this direct appeal. [ January 03, 2017 ]
153485P.pdf 01/03/2017 Kevin Scott Karsjens v. Emily Johnson Piper U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 15-3485 U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - Minneapolis [PUBLISHED] [Shepherd, Author, with Murphy and Colloton, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Civil rights: Minnesota Civil Commitment and Treatment Act. In action by civilly committed sex offenders raising a facial and an as applied challenge under Section 1983 claiming their substantive due process rights have been violated by the Act and by the actions and practices of the managers of the Minnesota Sex Offender Program, the district court erred in finding substantive due process violations and in entering an expansive injunctive order; claim of judicial bias rejected; challenge to the district court's jurisdiction rejected, as plaintiffs had standing to challenge the Act and the action was not barred by Heck v. Humphrey or the Rooker-Feldman doctrine; the proper standard of scrutiny to be applied to plaintiffs' facial due process challenge was whether the Act bore a rational relationship to a legitimate government purpose, and not the strict scrutiny standard applied by the district court; the Act is facially constitutional because it is rationally related to Minnesota's interests in protecting its citizens from harm causes by sexually dangerous persons or persons with a sexual psychopathic personality; with respect to the plaintiffs' as-applied due process challenge, the court must determine both whether the state defendants' actions were conscience-shocking and if those actions violated a fundamental liberty interest; to determine if the actions were conscience-shocking, the district court must consider whether the actions were egregious or outrageous; none of the six grounds upon which the district court determined the state defendants violated the class plaintiffs' substantive due process rights in an as-applied context satisfy the conscience-shocking standard; the class plaintiffs failed to demonstrate that any of the identified actions of the state defendants or arguable shortcomings of the Program were egregious, malicious or sadistic as is necessary to meet the conscience-shocking standard; the finding of a constitutional violation is reversed, and the court's injunctive order is vacated; remanded for further proceedings on the remaining claims in the class plaintiffs' Third Amended Complaint. 153731P.pdf 01/03/2017 United States v. Rahmad Geddes U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 15-3731 and No: 16-3898 U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - St. Paul [PUBLISHED] [Shepherd, Author, with Murphy and Gruender, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Criminal law. The district court did not abuse its discretion by denying defendant's motion to sever a firearms count from the sex trafficking counts in the case, as the conduct took place over a short period of time on trip the defendant took with the victim and she would have been able to testify about the gun-related facts in a trial of the sex trafficking counts; in any event, there was little probability of prejudice given the relatively straightforward facts in the case; no error in permitting defendant's former girlfriend to testify about an incident in 2010 where defendant threatened her, as the jury was properly instructed on use of the testimony and the evidence's probative value outweighed any possible unfair prejudice; no error in permitting testimony from an expert in human trafficking; evidence was sufficient to support defendant's convictions on the sex trafficking counts. 161079U.pdf 01/03/2017 Gustavo Mendoza v. Loretta E. Lynch U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-1079 Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Smith, Bowman and Benton, Circuit Judges] Petition for Review - Immigration. Decision denying petitioners' applications for asylum and withholding of removal affirmed without comment. 162257U.pdf 01/03/2017 United States v. Erasmo Flores, Jr. U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-2257 U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - St. Paul [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Smith, Bowman and Benton, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Sentencing. Anders case. Defendant signed a valid and enforceable appeal waiver as part of his plea agreement, and the waiver prevents consideration of his claim that his sentence is substantive unreasonable; the appeal is dismissed. 162545U.pdf 01/03/2017 United States v. Jamane Smith U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 16-2545 U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Kansas City [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Smith, Bowman and Benton, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Sentencing. Anders case. Defendant signed a valid and enforceable appeal waiver as part of his plea agreement, and the waiver prevents consideration of his claim that his sentence is substantively unreasonable; the appeal is dismissed.