Case Summaries

Contracts

[07/02] Marilyn Nutraceuticals, Inc. v. Mucos Pharma GBMH & Co.
In a trademark infringement action involving the enzyme-based dietary supplement Wobenzym, the District Court's preliminary injunction requiring Defendant to cease selling a dietary supplement is affirmed in part, where Defendant did not meet its burden to prove that Plaintiff ceased production of the supplement; but vacated in part, where a District Court must find a substantial risk of danger to the public or other special circumstances in order to enter an interlocutory order recalling a product in a trademark infringement case.

[07/01] Bristol West Ins. Co. v. Wawanesa Mutual Ins. Co.
In a dispute involving the interpretation of an insurance contract, district court judgment is reversed where the plain language of the Out of State Coverage clause in the policy makes specific reference to any accident that occurs out of state, and does not focus on the limits of the out of the state financial responsibility law, and thus the insurance policy necessarily expands the amount of liability coverage in this case since the accident occurred in New Brunswick.

[07/01] Mesa Air Group, Inc. v. Delta Air Lines, Inc.
In an action seeking an injunction prohibiting Defendant airline from terminating its regional connection agreement with Plaintiff airline, an injunction in favor of Plaintiff is affirmed where Plaintiff demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success on its claim that Defendant was equitably estopped from terminating the agreement.

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Public Utilities

[06/23] Conn. Dept. of Pub. Util. Control v. FERC
In a petition for review of FERC's modification of the amount of a bulk power system's Installed Capacity Requirement (ICR), the petition is denied where FERC was not directly regulating electrical generation in its review of the ICR, and thus FERC was not exceeding its authority under the Federal Power Act.

[06/12] Westar Energy, Inc. v. Fed. Energy Regulatory Comm.
In a petition for review of a FERC ratemaking order requiring electricity wholesalers to make refunds to customers, the petition is denied, where Petitioners provided no basis for disturbing FERC's reasoned decision to apply a point of sale test rather than a sink-based test to Petitioners' market-based tariffs.

[06/12] Entergy Servs., Inc. v. Fed. Energy Regulatory Comm.
In a petition for review of FERC's resolution of a contract dispute between two energy providers, the petition is denied, where FERC's construction of the contract was reasonable based on the text and the parties' course of conduct.

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Dispute Resolution & Arbitration

[07/01] Thomas v. Carnival Corp.
In a personal injury action involving a slip and fall aboard Defendant cruise line, the District Court's order granting Defendant's motion to compel arbitration is reversed where, under the parties' agreement, the dispute at issue must have some actual relation to the agreement to arbitrate, irrespective of what ship the claims originated from and when suit was brought.

[06/30] People v. Coventry First LLC
In an enforcement action by the state claiming that Defendant life settlement providers concealed commissions to brokers, who persuaded their clients to accept Defendants' offers, the denial of Defendants' motion to dismiss or compel arbitration is affirmed where: 1) the state was not bound by arbitration agreements signed by Defendants' clients; and 2) the complaint stated a claim that Defendants knew that the life settlement brokers' conduct constituted a breach of fiduciary duty.

[06/26] United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 1546 v. Illinois-American Water Co.
In an employment termination action, district grant of summary judgment in favor of plaintiff and the arbitrator's award for plaintiff is affirmed where the arbitrator provided exactly what the parties bargained for, and interpreted what he perceived to be ambiguity within the Last Chance Agreement to address a situation that he concluded the contract did not contemplate by its express terms.

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Patent

[06/26] Garber v. Chicago Mercantile Exchange
In a patent infringement action, district court order denying plaintiff's motion for relief under Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b) is reversed where the joint stipulation between the parties was filed pursuant to Rule 41(a)(1) and therefore divested the court of jurisdiction to enter any subsequent orders.

[06/10] Ortho-McNeil Pharm., Inc. v. Mylan Labs., Inc.
In a dispute involving an award of costs stemming from a patent infringement action, district court judgment is affirmed where there is no basis to disturb the court's award of translation costs for potential trial exhibits, translation costs for privilege log documents, and other costs. District court judgment with regard to the award of costs related to jointly taken depositions is vacated and remanded as the joint discovery costs should have been apportioned between the present action and a parallel case in state court.

[06/09] Univ. of Pittsburgh v. Varian Med. Sys., Inc.
In a patent infringement action related to inventions for administering radiation therapy to lung cancer patients, district court judgment is vacated and remanded where the court erred in dismissing the claims with prejudice, as a dismissal for lack of standing should generally be without prejudice so as to permit the filing of a new action by a party with proper standing, and a dismissal with prejudice is a harsh sanction that not justified on the record. Case is remanded with instructions to designate the dismissal as without prejudice.

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Communications Law

[06/29] FTC v. Accusearch Inc.
In an action by the FTC to curtail Defendant's sale of confidential information and require it to disgorge profits, summary judgment for Plaintiff is affirmed where a practice may be "unfair" under the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTCA) even if it does not violate some law independent of the FTCA.

[06/26] Alvin Lou Media, Inc. v. FCC
In a petition for review of the denial of Petitioner radio station's request for reconsideration of the mutually exclusive designation of the application filed by a competitor to operate an AM station, the petition is denied where the FCC may establish standards of acceptability for filing an application that differ from the standards for granting a license or permit.

[06/22] Cablevision Sys. Corp. v. FCC
Petition for review of an order of the FCC directing plaintiff to carry the signal of a television station is denied where: 1) the FCC adequately analyzed and explained the statutory factors; 2) the FCC's decision did not contravene the purpose of the must-carry statute; 3) plaintiff failed to demonstrate that the FCC applied the market modification provision unconstitutionally in violation of the First Amendment; and 4) plaintiff did not establish that by ordering it to carry the station, the FCC effected a taking in violation of the Fifth Amendment.

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Oil & Gas

[06/19] Sanchez v. Esso Std. Oil Co.
In an action under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 6901-6992k, for environmental damage by Defendants' oil operations, a preliminary injunction in favor of Plaintiffs is vacated, where the District Court impermissibly prejudged the merits of the case at the preliminary injunction stage and, having reached a conclusion as to liability, determined it was unnecessary to do the full preliminary injunction analysis.

[06/17] Bakersfield Energy Partners v. Comm'r of Internal Revenue
In a Tax Court petition challenging an IRS deficiency notice, judgment for Petitioner is affirmed, where a taxpayer does not "omit[ ] from gross income an amount properly includible therein" for purposes of 26 U.S.C. section 6501(e)(1)(A) by overstating its basis.

[06/15] Polar Tankers, Inc. v. Valdez
In a Tonnage Clause challenge to an Alaska ordinance imposing a personal property tax on large oil tankers, judgment for Defendant is reversed, where the ordinance was unconstitutional because it was designed to impose "a charge for the privilege of entering, trading in, or lying in a port.?"

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Securities Law

[06/26] Horning v. SEC
In a petition for review of an SEC order barring Petitioner from associating with a broker or dealer in a supervisory capacity based on his failure to adequately supervise two of his employees, the petition is denied, where the SEC's order was reasonable and supported by substantial evidence.

[06/24] Warfield v. Bestgen
In an action by the receiver of a foundation found to have engaged in fraudulent investment sales to recover commissions paid to the foundation's salespersons, judgment for Plaintiff is affirmed, where the charitable gift annuities sold by Defendants were investment contracts under federal securities law.

[06/23] Zacharias v. SEC
In a petition for review of the SEC's finding of securities law violations by Petitioners, the petition is granted in part, where the SEC failed to explain its finding that certain omissions by Petitioners involved a material fact; but denied in part, where the scheme at issue clearly involved an "underwriter," which refuted Petitioners' theory that they properly relied on the Regulation S and Section 4 exemptions.

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Administrative Law

[07/02] Trentadue v. FBI
In a Freedom of Information Act action seeking FBI records regarding certain investigations, the District Court's order allowing the depositions of certain inmates is reversed where the FBI submitted declarations that provided a consistent and uncontradicted showing that it conducted an adequate search for the records requested by Plaintiff, and there was no reason why the depositions might yield additional documents.

[07/01] Muffley v. Spartan Mining Co.
In an action by the NLRB seeking an injunction requiring Defendant to offer employment to persons it had refused to hire because of union affiliation, judgment for Plaintiff is affirmed where the District Court properly considered the balance of harms and other equitable factors in issuing the injunction.

[06/30] City of Irvine v. Southern California Ass'n of Gov'ts
Trial court judgment sustaining demurrer filed by defendant without leave to amend and dismissing the action is affirmed where the court properly found it lacked jurisdiction to review the propriety of plaintiff's regional housing needs assessment allocation as the administrative procedure established under Government Code sect. 65584 to calculate a local government's allocation of the regional housing needs assessment is intended to be the exclusive remedy for the municipality to challenge that determination, and reflect a clear intent to preclude judicial intervention in the process.

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Family Law

[07/01] Jenkins v. Jenkins
In a petition under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction seeking the return of Petitioner's son to her custody in Israel, judgment for Respondent is affirmed where Petitioner failed to establish that there was an actual "removal or retention" by Respondent or that the alleged retention was "wrongful."

[06/26] Charisma R. v. Christina S.
In a child custody dispute, trial court orders declaring plaintiff a presumed parent of the child and establishing a schedule for reunification is affirmed where: 1) substantial evidence supports the finding that the Family Code sec. 7611(d) parentage presumption applies, as the record shows that plaintiff actively participated in the child's conception and cared for her following birth, the limited duration of her parenting of the child does not defeat plaintiff's claim to presumed parent status, and plaintiff received the child into her home and openly held her out as her natural child; 2) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in concluding there is no basis to rebut the parentage presumption as substantial evidence supports the finding that the Elisa B. factors are present and that plaintiff actively participated in the child's conception with the understanding she would parent with defendant, and no other facts justified rebuttal of the parentage presumption; and 3) defendant's equal protection claim fails as she has not shown that a case involving a man in plaintiff's circumstances would be decided any differently under the law, and failed to meet her burden of showing that the order declaring plaintiff the second parent was an unconstitutional infringement of her state and federal rights to substantive due process.

[06/25] Batlan v. Bledsoe
In a bankruptcy trustee's motion to avoid a transfer made pursuant to a state court judgment dissolving the Debtor's marriage, the order denying the trustee's motion is affirmed where, under Oregon law, a party who challenges a dissolution judgment must allege and prove "extrinsic fraud," and the trustee failed to do so.

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Probate Trusts

[06/08] Cory v. Toscano
Trial court judgment that a proposed petition to determine the terms of the trust did not violate the trust's no contest clause is affirmed where the handwritten notations on the trust instrument were an attempt to amend the trust and were not part of the original trust agreement, and thus a challenge to its validity is not a contest under Probate Code sec. 21305(a)(3).

[06/05] Ditta v. Conte
In a breach of fiduciary duty action involving the removal of a trustee of an an inter vivos trust, court of appeals' judgment holding that the case was time-barred is reversed and remanded where a statutory limitations period is applicable to suits seeking damages for breach of fiduciary duty but no statute of limitations period restricts a court's discretion to remove a trustee.

[06/04] Sargiss v. Magarelli
In an action against the estate of Plaintiff's ex-husband claiming that the decedent misrepresented his assets in a prior divorce proceeding, the dismissal of the complaint is reversed, where the statute of limitations was tolled prior to Plaintiff's discovery of the alleged fraud.

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Immigration Law

[07/02] Chibwe v. Holder
Petition for review of an order denying asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture is denied where: 1) the present does not have jurisdiction to review the agency's decision that plaintiff's asylum application was untimely; and 2) the agency did not err in denying their request for withholding of removal, as plaintiff's failed to cite any evidence in the record which would support a finding that they faced a threat because of their membership in a particular social group or any other relevant statutory ground if they were returned to their home country.

[07/02] Cendrawasih v. Holder
Petition for review of an order denying asylum is denied where plaintiff failed to establish that she had a well-founded fear future persecution, as the country conditions in Indonesia without more do not qualify a Christian Indonesian for asylum, and the individual difficulties plaintiff has faced are a series of isolated incidents no greater than those faced by other Indonesian Christians have been found insufficient to warrant asylum.

[07/02] Hassan v. Holder
Petition for review of an order denying asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture is denied where: 1) the agency's adverse credibility determination, based on material inconsistencies between plaintiff's asylum application and hearing testimony, is supported by substantial evidence; and 2) substantial evidence supports the agency's finding that plaintiff failed to show failed to show past political persecution, and failed to show a well-founded fear of future persecution.

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Copyright

[06/26] Cadkin v. Loose
In an appeal from an order granting attorney's fees to Defendant following Plaintiffs' voluntary dismissal of their copyright lawsuit, the order is reversed where, because Plaintiffs remained free to refile their copyright claims, they were not "prevailing parties" and thus were not entitled to attorney's fees.

[06/05] William A. Graham Co. v. Haughey
In an action involving an insurance firm's accrual of claims under the Copyright Act, which has a three-year statute of limitations for civil actions, district court judgment is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) the federal discovery rule, not the injury rule, governs the accrual of civil claims brought under the Copyright Act; 2) the district court erred in granting defendant's motion for a new trial and summary judgment with respect to accrual of the statute of limitations issue, as the evidence before the first jury was sufficient to support its finding that plaintiff was not on inquiry notice of defendant's infringement before the date in question; and 3) the court properly rejected defendant's motion for judgment as a matter of law on the causation issue, as plaintiff met its burden to demonstrate a causal connection between the copyright infringement and defendant's profits.

[04/16] In re Sony BMG Entm't
In an action related to a copyright infringement trial, petition challenging an order permitting gavel-to-gavel webcasting of a hearing in a civil case is granted and the matter remanded where a district court judge does not have the authority to permit webcasting of a civil matter. The ruling forbidding enforcement of the order is based on the fact that the court erred in its broad interpretation of Local Rule 83.3, and that both the Judicial Conference of the United States and First Circuit Judicial Council support a narrow interpretation of the rule and have passed policies against the broadcasting of civil court proceedings.

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