Month: March 2021
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D.C. Court of Appeals Issues Decision On Condominium Lien Foreclosures And When An Appeal May Be Taken in a Consolidated Action
On March 25, 2021, the D.C. Court of Appeals issued its decision in RFB Properties II, LLC v. Deutsche Bank Company Americas (Nos. 19-CV-0529 and 19-CV-069). This decision has important ramifications on two fronts: (1) whether a party can appeal from a “final order” issued in only one of two consolidated cases; and (2) in the context of a D.C ... Read More
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SCOTUS Opinion: Court Rejects Ineffective Assistance Of Counsel Claim
Despite a mountain of circumstantial evidence demonstrating that Anthony Hines killed motel worker Katherine Jenkins and stole her car and money, leading to his murder conviction in state court, the Sixth Circuit held that Hines received ineffective assistance of counsel under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) because Hines’ counsel failed to develop the argument that the murder might ... Read More
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SCOTUS Opinion: A Police Shooting Can Constitute An Unreasonable Seizure Under The Fourth Amendment
Two officers approached Roxanne Torres while she stood near her car. They intended to question her, but she thought they were carjackers and sped away. The officers shot at Torres 13 times, wounding her twice. She crashed her car, then stole another car, and drove to a hospital 75 miles away. She was arrested the next day. Torres sued the ... Read More
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SCOTUS Opinion: Court Refuses To Narrow Personal Jurisdiction Over Claims Against Global Companies
The case of Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court involved two separate accidents, both resulting from alleged defects in Ford cars. Each case was brought in the state where the accident occurred. Ford argued that those state courts could not have personal jurisdiction over Ford because the cars in question were not shown to have been designed, ... Read More
A Statement from the Firm
When our firm president, John J. Matteo, wrote this statement in June of last year, he was responding to a wave of peaceful protests across the country held in response to a long history of police violence and discrimination that has harmed generations of African-Americans. Those issues have not been resolved, and as a firm we remain committed to bringing about ... Read More
TAGGED: #BLM #BlackLivesMatter
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National Survey of COVID-19 Medical Malpractice Immunity Legislation (As of March 8, 2021)
[1] The below survey of federal and state legislation, guidance, and executive action provides information regarding enacted and proposed legislation and executive orders issued to provide immunity protections for liability, in certain respects, to health care professionals, facilities, and volunteers in the course of their treatment of individuals during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and the declared national ... Read More
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Client Alert: Exempt Organizations Engaged in Illegal Activities – Will They Be Held Accountable?
In the aftermath of the January 6, 2021 insurrection, the focus has shifted to the entities that may have financed the insurrection. Thousands of individuals travelled to Washington, D.C. for the rally and insurrection, and news reports have alleged that charitable organizations may have assisted in funding the participants’ expenses. On January 13, 2021, members of the Ways and Means ... Read More
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SCOTUS Opinion: Claim For Nominal Damages Saves Civil Rights Case From Mootness
In Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, two evangelical Christian students sued their college when campus police officers shut down their attempts to evangelize in designated “free speech expression areas,” requesting injunctive relief and nominal damages for the violation to their First Amendment rights. The college decided to get rid of the challenged policies, and then moved to dismiss the case for being ... Read More
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SCOTUS Opinion: Court Upholds Deliberative Process Privilege Against FOIA Claim
The Environmental Protection Agency consulted with two other government services to determine whether particular cooling water intake structures jeopardized aquatic wildlife. The services issued draft opinions that a particular rule would jeopardize certain species, which were never approved in final form. The EPA modified the rule, and the services issued a “no jeopardy” opinion. The Sierra Club sued under the ... Read More
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SCOTUS Opinion: Immigrants Bear Burden Of Proving Eligibility For Discretionary Relief From Removal
The Immigration and Nationality Act allows immigrants facing an order of removal to petition for discretionary relief from that removal. To be eligible for that relief, an immigrant must show that they have not been convicted of a “crime of moral turpitude.” In Pereida v. Wilkinson, an immigrant facing such a removal order was convicted under Nebraska law for “attempted ... Read More
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Client Alert: Yacko v. Mitchell
The Court of Special Appeals of Maryland has issued an opinion adverse to lenders decrying the “high volume of foreclosure cases” in which lenders “often treat these matters as routine and expect our courts to rubber-stamp the foreclosure with methodical expediency.” In Yacko v. Mitchell, the Court noted that the Maryland Rules mandate that trial courts slow the foreclosure action ... Read More