
Month: May 2019
May Real Estate Update | SJ Enterprises, LLC v. Quander
On May 16, 2019, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals issued a new opinion in SJ Enterprises, LLC v. Quander that is of significant importance. In this matter, Dianne Quander leased commercial premises to SJ Enterprises, LLC for an initial term of five years with two additional five year renewal options. The initial term was set to expire on November ... Read More
SCOTUS Opinion: Court Upholds Law Regarding Disposal Of Aborted Fetus Remains
Indiana passed a law preventing abortion providers from treating aborted fetuses as waste that could be incinerated with surgical byproducts, and also barred abortion providers from conducting abortions when the mother’s reason for aborting was sex, race, or disability selective. The Seventh Circuit invalidated both provisions, holding that the first was not rationally related to a legitimate government interest, and ... Read More
SCOTUS Opinion: Third-Party Counterclaim Defendants Cannot Remove State Cases To Federal Courts
In Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. v. Jackson, Citibank filed a state debt-collection action against George Jackson for charges on his Home Depot card. Jackson counterclaimed against Citibank and filed third-party class-action counterclaims against Home Depot and another company, alleging a scheme in which those companies induced consumers to buy water treatment systems at inflated prices. Citibank dismissed its claims ... Read More
SCOTUS Opinion: Probable Cause To Arrest Defeats A First Amendment Retaliatory Arrest Claim
In Nieves v. Bartlett, during a winter sports festival, an intoxicated Russell Bartlett confronted Sergeant Nieves who was talking to other attendees, and told the officer to leave. Nieves backed off, but later Bartlett physically interfered with another officer’s questioning of an attendee, and Nieves initiated arrest. Bartlett was slow to comply and was handcuffed on the ground. Bartlett ... Read More
SCOTUS Opinion: Court Permits Judicial Review Of Social Security Benefits Appeal Dismissal
After Ricky Lee Smith’s claim for disability benefits to the Social Security Administration was denied on merit after a hearing before an administrative law judge, he failed to timely appeal to the agency’s Appeals Council. The Council dismissed his appeal, and he sought judicial review of the dismissal in federal court. The district court denied review, stating that it lacked ... Read More
Emotional Support Animals and Dangerous Dogs in Cooperative Apartment and Condo Communities
An emotional support animal (ESA) is a companion animal (typically a dog or cat) that provides therapeutic benefit to an individual with a mental or psychiatric disability. An ESA is not the same thing as a pet. Rather, for a resident of a co-op or condo who is living with a mental or psychiatric disability, an ESA may provide him ... Read More
TAGGED: esa, emotional support animal, Bronk v. Ineichen 54 F.3d 425 (7th Cir. 1995), Green v. Housing Authority of Clackamas County 994 F.Supp. 1253 (Or. 1998), Service Animals, Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, no pet rule, United States v. Cal. Mobile Home Park Mgmt. Co. 107 F.3d 1374 1380 (9th Cir. 1997), 24 C.F.R.100.201, Bronk, 54 F.3d at 429 (7th Cir. 1995), Nason v. Stone Hill Realty Ass’n, Pet Ownership for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities, 73 Fed. Reg. 63834-01, 2008 WL 4690497, D.C. Code § 8-1901, D.C. Code § 8-1902(a), Campbell v. Noble 962 A.2d 264 (D.C. 2008)
SCOTUS Opinion: Court Clarifies “Clear Evidence” Standard For Failure-To-Warn Claims
Merck manufactured the drug Fosamax to combat osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. Merck’s scientists theorized that use of Fosamax might cause atypical femoral fractures, but the drug label approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1995 did not include a warning for those fractures. After 1995, evidence of such fractures started to develop. In 2008, Merck applied to the FDA ... Read More
SCOTUS Opinion: Court Preserves Indian Treaty Hunting Rights
In 1868, the United States and the Crow Tribe entered into a treaty in which the U.S. got most of the Tribe’s land in modern-day Montana and Wyoming, in exchange for hunting rights in unoccupied land. In Herrera v. Wyoming, Tribe member Clayvin Herrera was charged with off-season hunting in the Bighorn National Forest, and Wyoming’s appellate courts affirmed ... Read More
SCOTUS Opinion: Trademark Rights Survive Contract Rejection In Bankruptcy
Under bankruptcy law, a debtor may reject any executory contract, being a contract where performance remains due on both sides. In Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology, LLC, Tempnology entered into an executory contract giving Mission a license to use its trademarks. Tempnology then filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and asked the Bankruptcy Court to allow it to reject ... Read More
SCOTUS Opinion: Court Permits iPhone Customers To Make Monopoly Claim Against Apple For App Store
Since 2008, Apple Inc. has established its App Store as the only lawful location that iPhone users could purchase apps for their devices. In Apple, Inc. v. Pepper, some of those iPhone customers sued Apple, alleging that it was using illegal monopolistic practices to overcharge them for the apps. At the initial stage of the litigation, Apple moved to ... Read More
SCOTUS Opinion: States Are Immune From Private Suits Filed In Other States
Gilbert Hyatt made millions from a technology patent he developed while living in California. Prior to receiving the patent, he moved to Nevada, which has no income tax. The Franchise Tax Board of California thought his move was a sham, and began auditing him. Hyatt sued the Board in Nevada, claiming that the Board had committed numerous torts during its ... Read More
SCOTUS Opinion: Court Expands Limitations Period For Qui Tam Actions
Under the False Claims Act, a qui tam civil action must be brought either within six years of the alleged statutory violation, or three years after the U.S. official charged with responsibility to act knew or should have known the relevant facts, but not more than 10 years after the violation, whichever is later. The issue in Cochise Consultancy, ... Read More
Virginia Supreme Court: Collateral Source Rule Can Apply To Contract Cases
In Dominion Resources, Inc. v. Alstom Power, Inc., the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut certified the following question to the Virginia Supreme Court: “Does Virginia law apply the collateral source rule to a breach of contract action where the plaintiff has been reimbursed by an insurer for the full amount it seeks in damages from the ... Read More