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

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