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Case Summaries

Contracts

[05/16] US v. Citgo Asphalt Refining Company
In action by parties to apportion monetary liability for damages caused when a tanker stuck an abandoned ship resulting in an oil spill, judgment that the port owner was not liable is reversed, where: 1) the tanker, and its owner, were implied beneficiaries of the port owner's safe berth warranty; 2) the safe berth warranty is an express assurance of safety, and that the named port exception to that warranty does not apply to hazards that are unknown to the parties and not reasonably foreseeable; 3) it is unclear if this warranty was actually breached, as the district court made no finding as to the tanker's actual draft nor the amount of clearance actually provided; 4) if the district court finds the contractual warranty issue is satisfied, then the district court needs to resolve the appropriate standard of care required, whether the port owner breached that standard, and if so, whether any such breach caused the accident; but 5) there was no error with the district court's holding that the port owner's alleged misrepresentation as to the depth of its berth was geographically irrelevant to the ultimate accident; and 6) the government has waived reliance on a partial settlement agreement with the port owner that, the government contends, precludes the port owner from making certain equitable defenses to the government's subrogation claims.

[05/16] Corrie v. Soloway
The trial court's ruling in favor of defendants on plaintiff's probate petition, to enforce an option he held to purchase a portion of a property owned by a trust is reversed and remanded, where the trial court erred by finding the option agreement in effect at the time of trial void and unenforceable.

[05/14] One and Ken Valley Housing v. ME State Housing Authority
Judgment for defendant in breach of contract action in which plaintiff-landlords allege that defendant wrongfully refused to grant plaintiffs certain annual increases in their Section 8 payments that subsidize low-income housing, is affirmed, where the overall limitation clauses in each of the housing assistance payments contracts allow defendant to withhold otherwise-automatic annual adjustments in contract rents where defendant determines, based on the formula prescribed by HUD, that further adjustments would result in material differences between contract rents and market rates.

[05/14] Khavarian Enterprises v. Commline
Trial court's orders denying plaintiff's motion for attorney fees and costs and granting the motion to strike its cost memorandum in favor of defendants are reversed and remanded, where parties to a settlement agreement can validly specify that one party is potentially a prevailing party and reserve for later determination by the trial court whether that party did prevail, as well as other factual matters involved in making an award of statutory attorney fees.

[05/13] PHL Variable Insurance Company v. P. Bowie 2008 Irrevocable Trust
Summary judgment for plaintiff in its equitable action for rescission of a life insurance policy and special damages incident to the rescission of that policy is affirmed, where the court: 1) committed no errors of law; 2) did not err in finding that the plaintiff was a victim of a fraudulent insurance scheme; and 3) appropriately exercised its equity powers in allowing plaintiff to retain the Policy premium as special damages.

[05/10] Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland v. Genentech, Inc.
The district court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant its requested injunction, where: 1) defendant obtained a final judgment in the United States that it did not infringe plaintiff's patent; and 2) under Ninth Circuit law and the facts of this case, defendant is not entitled to an injunction preventing plaintiff from proceeding in a previously-filed foreign arbitration of a license to that patent.

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Environmental Law

[05/17] Center for Food Safety v. Vilsack
District court's summary judgment in favor of defendant federal officials and intervenor-defendants, in an action brought by plaintiffs, environmental groups and farmer organizations, challenging the Record of Decision issued by the USDA's Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS) unconditionally deregulating Roundup Ready Alfalfa, a plant genetically engineered or modified by the Monsanto Company, is affirmed, where: 1) the Plant Protection Act does not regulate the type of harms that the plaintiffs complain of, and therefore APHIS correctly concluded that Roundup Ready Alfalfa was not a "plant pest" under the Act; and 2) because it is not a plant pest, the agency no longer had jurisdiction to continue regulating the plant; and 3) this lack of jurisdiction obviated the need for the agency to consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act and to consider alternatives to unconditional deregulation under the National Environmental Policy Act.

[05/17] Abraham v. St. Croix Renaissance Group
The district court's order remanding a civil action to the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands is affirmed, where: 1) there is no error in the district court's conclusion that the "continuous release" of hazardous substances from defendant's premises constituted "an event or occurrence" for purposes of the mass-action exclusion, that happened in the Virgin Islands and that resulted in injuries in the Virgin Islands; and thus, 2) the civil action here is not a removable "mass action" under the Class Action Fairness Act.

[05/15] Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition v. US Army Corps of Engineers
In action to challenge the fill permit issued by defendant under section 404 the Clean Water Act, regarding a mining project, judgment for defendant is affirmed, where: 1) there is no merit to plaintiff's claim that defendant "misapprehended" the baseline conditions; and 2) defendant's finding of cumulative insignificance is neither arbitrary nor capricious.

[04/25] Conservation Northwest v. Sherman
District court's order approving a consent decree arising from a settlement between environmental groups and federal agencies concerning changes to the Survey and Manage Standard of the Northwest Forest Plan is reversed and remanded, where: 1) a district court abuses its discretion when it enters a consent decree that permanently and substantially amends an agency rule that would have otherwise been subject to statutory rulemaking procedures; and 2) here, the consent decree improperly allowed for substantial, permanent amendments to the Survey and Manage Standard of the Northwest Forest Plan, and thus, it impermissibly conflicted with laws governing the process for such amendments.

[04/25] Taxpayers for Accountable School Bond Spending v. San Diego Unified School District
Judgment for defendant in action arising out of Proposition S and defendant's approval of installation of new stadium field lighting and other improvements at Hoover High School is: 1) reversed to the extent that the trial court dismissed the first cause of action for waste and misuse of Proposition S funds, and the second causes of action under CEQA, and remanded with directions that the superior court grant the petition for writ of mandate and issue the injunctive and declaratory relief sought in the first and second causes of action including, but not limited to, (a) ordering defendant to vacate its approval of the Project and the mitigated negative declaration and to cause an Environmental Impact Report to be prepared, and (b) enjoining defendant from using Proposition S bond proceeds to pay for field lighting at Hoover's stadium and any other high school stadium for which Proposition S did not specifically list field lighting as part of their projects; but 2) affirmed in all other respects.

[04/23] Resisting Envtl. Destruction on Indigenous Lands v. U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency
An environmental group's petition for review of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) decision granting two air permits authorizing exploratory drilling operations in the Arctic Ocean by a drillship and its associated fleet of support vessels, is denied where: 1) the Clean Air Act is ambiguous as to the applicability of the best available control emissions to support vessels not attached to an Outer Continental Shelf source; 2) under Chevron deference, the EPA's construction of the statute was permissible and reasonable; and 3) the EPA's grant of 500 meter ambient air exemption was not plainly erroneous or inconsistent with the EPA's regulations. (Amended Opinion)

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Labor & Employment Law

[05/17] Wilson v. Dollar General Corporation
Summary judgment for defendant-employer on plaintiff's claim that defendant failed to provide a reasonable accommodation for his disability in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act is affirmed, where: 1) plaintiff had standing to maintain his claim despite his bankruptcy filing because, due to the powers vested in the Chapter 13 debtor and trustee, a Chapter 13 debtor may retain standing to bring his pre-bankruptcy petition claims; but 2) plaintiff was unable to show he could perform the essential functions of his position with a reasonable accommodation.

[05/17] Colon v. Tracey
Summary judgment for defendants on plaintiff's claims for unlawful employment retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act is affirmed, where plaintiff did not establish: 1) a prima facie case of retaliation; and 2) that the defendants' stated rationales for their purportedly unlawful actions toward her were pretextual.

[05/16] New Vista Nursing and Rehabilitation v. NLRB
Summary judgment for nurses union against plaintiff on a charge of unfair labor practices, and subsequent orders affirming the same, are vacated, where: 1) the Recess of the Senate in the Recess Appointments Clause refers to only intersession breaks, i.e. breaks between sessions of the Senate; and consequently, 2) the NLRB panel below lacked the requisite number of members to exercise the NLRB's authority because one panel member was invalidly appointed during an intrasession break.

[05/14] US v. City of New York
In civil rights action brought by the United States, alleging racial discrimination in the hiring of New York City firefighters: 1) summary judgment on the disparate treatment claim against defendant-city is vacated; 2) dismissal of the federal claims against Mayor Bloomberg is affirmed; 3) dismissal of the state law claims against Mayor Bloomberg and the Fire Commissioner is affirmed; 4) dismissal of the federal law claims against the Fire Commissioner is vacated; 5) the injunction against defendant-city with respect to the hiring of entry-level firefighters is modified, and, as modified, is affirmed; and 6) the bench trial on the liability phase of the discriminatory treatment claim against defendant-city is reassigned to a different district judge.

[05/14] McCoy v. Pacific Maritime Association
Judgment for defendant on plaintiff's claims of sexual harassment and intentional infliction of emotional distress is affirmed in part and reversed and remanded, where: 1) the trial court did not err in summarily adjudicating the sexual harassment and emotional distress claims, because the harassment was not so severe and pervasive as to alter the conditions of plaintiff's employment, and defendants' conduct failed to meet the extreme and outrageous standard necessary for the emotional distress claim; 2) the trial court properly found defendant PMA was not plaintiff's employer as that term is used in FEHA; 3) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in granting a new trial; 4) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding evidence, except as to evidence of sufficiently similar retaliation by defendants against other employees; 5) there was substantial evidence to support the jury verdict in plaintiff's favor on the retaliation claim and thus the court erred in setting aside that verdict; and 6) a constructive discharge is not a prerequisite to an award of economic damages for discrimination under FEHA.

[05/06] Baldwin v. City of Greensboro
Summary judgment for defendants on plaintiff's claims under the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) are affirmed, where: 1) the four-year federal "catch-all" statute of limitations, 28 U.S.C. section 1658(a), applies to plaintiff's USERRA claims; and 2) plaintiff did not file his action within four years of its accrual, notwithstanding his tolling arguments.

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Oil & Gas

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Class Actions

[05/17] Abraham v. St. Croix Renaissance Group
The district court's order remanding a civil action to the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands is affirmed, where: 1) there is no error in the district court's conclusion that the "continuous release" of hazardous substances from defendant's premises constituted "an event or occurrence" for purposes of the mass-action exclusion, that happened in the Virgin Islands and that resulted in injuries in the Virgin Islands; and thus, 2) the civil action here is not a removable "mass action" under the Class Action Fairness Act.

[05/15] Ciolino v. Frank
The district court's orders granting final approval to a class action settlement between Hewlett-Packard Company and a nationwide class of consumers who purchased certain HP inkjet printers, and awarding attorneys' fees, is reversed and remanded, where: 1) the attorneys' fee award to class counsel violated the section 1712 of the Class Action Fairness Act because when a settlement provides for coupon relief, either in whole or in part, any attorneys' fee that is "attributable to the award of coupons" must be calculated using the redemption value of the coupons; and here, 2) the district court awarded fees that were attributable to the coupon relief, but failed to first calculate the redemption value of those coupons.

[05/10] K.C. v. Shipman
Appeal challenging the entry of a preliminary injunction in plaintiff's favor is dismissed, where: 1) the injunction ordered defendants to reinstate plaintiffs' Medicaid services to their prior levels and enjoining defendants from reducing those services without a hearing; 2) although defendant Piedmont Behavioral Healthcare (PBH) appeals the injunction, defendant Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) does not; 3) the Secretary's decision to comply with the injunction dictates the disposition of this case because it is the single State agency to administer its Medicaid plan; and 4) because defendant NCDHHS would remain bound by the preliminary injunction, so too would defendant PBH as its agent.

[05/07] The Las Canoas Company, Inc. v. Kramer
A non-noticing party who does not move for an order setting the "reasonable rate" a court reporter may charge the non-noticing party for copies of deposition transcripts in a pending action may not bring a subsequent action to obtain restitution for "unreasonable" copy charges or obtain injunctive relief setting a "reasonable rate" to be charged by that court reporter in all future actions.

[05/03] Unspam Technologies, Inc. v. Chernuk
Dismissal of four foreign banks from a class action in which plaintiffs allege that defendants participated in a global Internet conspiracy to sell illegal prescription drugs, is affirmed, where plaintiffs have failed to show that any of the banks has constitutionally sufficient contacts with Virginia, or with the United States, to subject them to personal jurisdiction in a court in Virginia.

[05/02] Radcliffe v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc.
The district court's approval of the settlement of a class action against credit reporting agencies under the Fair Credit Reporting Act is reversed and remanded, where: 1) the district court abused its discretion in approving this settlement where the class representatives and class counsel did not adequately represent the interests of the class; and 2) the settlement agreement created a divergence of interests between the named representatives and the class because incentive awards were conditioned on the class representatives' support for the settlement and significantly exceeded in amount what absent class members could expect to get upon settlement approval. (Amended Opinion)

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