The plaintiff, a bariatric surgeon who lives and practices in New Jersey, brought this diversity suit in the federal district court in Chicago. He claims to have been defamed by the defendant, another bariatric surgeon, who practices in New York. The district judge dismissed the suit without prejudice, on the ground that venue in Chicago was improper, and the plaintiff appeals. The defendant cross... More...   $0 (10-23-2009 - )

¶1 Defendant, Volkswagen of America. Inc. (VW), appeals the trial court's certification of a class action. The question to be decided is whether the trial court abused its discretion in granting class action status. We hold that it did not and affirm.

FACTS

¶2 Plaintiffs, Rajina Hess and Kelly Parsons, each own a Jetta automobile manufactured and/or sold by VW. Each vehicle was pur... More...   $0 (10-16-2009 - OK)

The question presented by this appeal is whether the applicable statute of limitations for a claim filed in Maryland pursuant to the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (“TCPAâ€�) is four years – based upon the federal “catch allâ€� limitation period set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 1658(a) – or three years – based upon the Maryland general civil limitation period set forth in Mar... More...   $0 (10-05-2009 - MD)

Robert Rakes and Robert Hollander (plaintiffs), the named plaintiffs in a purported class action lawsuit against Life Investors Insurance Company of America (Life Investors), appeal from the district court’s1 order denying their motion for a continuance under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(f) and granting summary

I. Background

Rakes and Hollander purchased long term care (LTC) ... More...   $0 (10-04-2009 - IA)

Defendants and appellants Darrell Kruse (Kruse) and Claremont All Natural Nutrition Aids Buyers Information Service (also known as CANNABIS)1 appeal from the judgment entered in favor of plaintiff and respondent City of Claremont (the City) after the trial court issued a permanent injunction preventing defendants from operating a medical marijuana dispensary anywhere within the City. We affirm the... More...   $0 (09-22-2009 - )

In this products liability action, Sico America, Inc.[1] appeals a judgment entered on a jury verdict in favor of James R. Willis, individually and as next friend of John Willis. In two issues, Sico challenges (1) the district court=s decision to apply Minnesota law instead of the Texas statute of repose; and (2) the legal sufficiency of the evidence to support the jury=s negligence finding. We ... More...   $0 (09-10-2009 - TX)

Shelby Moses brings this appeal, asserting that the district court erred in its choice-of-law and state-law determinations. Ms. Moses requested a garnishment order, in Kansas, against Allstate Insurance Company (“Allstateâ€�) for its alleged negligent or bad faith refusal to settle Ms. Moses’ claim against Chris Halstead, Allstate’s insured. The district court found for Allstate, concluding ... More...   $0 (09-08-2009 - KS)

¶ 1. JOHNSON, J. Plaintiff Peter Blair, an injured worker, appeals from two decisions of the Caledonia Superior Court in favor of his empoyer Lydall/Thermal Acoustical, Inc. Plaintiff's arm was crushed by an industrial press while he was working as a temporary employee at Lydall's St. Johnsbury plant. His suit against Lydall was based on two theories. First, plaintiff sought to co... More...   $0 (09-04-2009 - VT)

Plaintiff Rachel Fleeger, a resident of Pennsylvania, took hormone medication manufactured by defendants Wyeth, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Wyeth) and Greenstone, Ltd. Neither defendant is a Minnesota resident; however, both defendants admit that Minnesota courts have general personal jurisdiction over them. Fleeger filed her lawsuit in the United States District Court, District of Minnesota, and... More...   $0 (09-03-2009 - MN)

This is a wrongful death case in which an interlocutory appeal was taken by the defendants,
Yellow Transportation, Inc. (Yellow Transportation), and its employee-driver, Demetrio Roberts
(Roberts), from an order of the circuit court of Cook County determining that Illinois law, not
Indiana law, applies to the damages at issue. Illinois law applies no caps on the damages at issue
wh... More...   $0 (09-01-2009 - IL)

The central issue in this case is whether, in the absence of a controlling decision by the U.S. Supreme Court and in the face of divided federal precedent, a Maryland court is bound to apply a contractual choice-of-law clause that has the effect of interpreting federal law in a manner inconsistent with a decision of the Court of Appeals of Maryland. We conclude that it would be contrary to the fun... More...   $0 (08-31-2009 - MD)

After a bench trial, the district court entered judgment for defendant Point Judith Marina ("PJM") on claims for damages by plaintiff Nicholas Picchione and subrogee-plaintiff Northern Insurance Company of New York ("Northern"). The claims arose as a result of the sudden sinking of a recreational boat ("Eveready") owned by Northern's insured, Picchione. The district court also rejected PJM's count... More...   $0 (08-27-2009 - RI)

This is an appeal from a judgment on causes of action based upon Oregon statutes. We hold that the most significant relationship test applicable to a conflict of laws issue does not apply and that the district court did not err in allowing recovery based upon the Oregon statutes. We also hold that the district court did not err in granting summary judgment on those claims. We affirm the judgment o... More...   $0 (08-21-2009 - ID)

The dispositive issue in this certified1 appeal is whether General Statutes § 52-5532 applies to, and makes void, a contract entered into by the plaintiff, Theresa Sokaitis, and the defendant, Rose Bakaysa, to share equally the proceeds of their legal gambling activities. On appeal, the defendant challenges the Appellate Court’s determination that the contract between the parties was not covere... More...   $0 (08-11-2009 - CT)

Amco Insurance Company and Mount Vernon Fire Insurance Company appeal the circuit court's judgment for Kimberly A. Accurso on her claim for underinsured motorist benefits.

Amco and Mount Vernon contend that the circuit court erred in applying Missouri law to determine whether the underinsured limits under the respective policies could be stacked. Mount Vernon also contends that the circui... More...   $0 (08-04-2009 - MO)

The plaintiff-appellant, Richard Clinton, appeals from the judgments of the Superior Court dismissing his personal injury action against the defendants-appellees, Enterprise Rent-A-Car Co. (“Enterprise�) and Anthony Gene Shamblin, pursuant to Superior Court Civil Rule 12(b)(6).1

Clinton makes three arguments on appeal. First, he contends that the Superior Court erred in applying Delaw... More...   $0 (07-29-2009 - DE)

This case concerns an injury to a sea captain and the subsequent settlement of his claims by the third-party plaintiffs. The present appeal arises out of the third-party plaintiffs' attempt to recover the sums paid to settle the maritime personal injury action. Specifically, the third-party plaintiffs seek indemnity, contribution and equitable subrogation from the third-party defendants, who alleg... More...   $0 (07-21-2009 - FL)

This appeal arises from a collision between a pickup and a train in Vinton, Louisiana. We reverse and remand with instructions to transfer the case to the District Clerk in Harris County, Texas.

Background Facts

On the afternoon of July 22, 2005, a Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) freight train traveling on Union Pacific Railroad's (UP's) right-of-way struck a pickup driven by Pat... More...   $0 (07-16-2009 - TX)

State Auto Property and Casualty Insurance Company sued for a declaratory judgment that it had met its obligations under a fire policy issued to Boardwalk Apartments. Boardwalk counterclaimed for indemnity proceeds. Boardwalk also sued The Sloan Agency (Sloan), the independent insurance agency that secured the policy for Boardwalk.

The district court granted summary judgment to Sloan, rulin... More...   $0 (07-14-2009 - MO)

Plaintiff-Appellant Dave Boone alleges he was wrongfully discharged from his position as contractor for Defendant-Appellee MVM, Inc. (“MVMâ€�), with whom he had been providing security services to a U.S. Government agency in Iraq. He alleges he was terminated because he reported illegal and unethical conduct on the part of fellow contractors. The district court analyzed his wrongful discharge cl... More...   $0 (07-10-2009 - CO)

We decide in this case whether a statutory right to participate in class action lawsuits can permissibly be foreclosed by a provision in a consumer contract compelling individual arbitration. The plaintiffs, John A. Feeney and Dedham Health and Athletic Complex (Dedham Health), appeal from an order of a judge in the Superior Court compelling arbitration of their claims--brought as a putative class... More...   $0 (07-02-2009 - MA)

Melanie Landry, a resident of Maine, was involved in a car accident in New Brunswick, Canada, on November 28, 2003 in which Keith Savoie, a resident of New Brunswick, was injured. Landry was driving a vehicle owned by Rollin H. Small, Jr. when she hit Savoie's pickup truck, which was owned by Savoie's father, from the rear.

Landry was insured for the accident under a policy which ... More...   $0 (07-01-2009 - ME)

We review an issue of first impression for Florida courts, that is, whether, pursuant to sections 685.101-.102, Florida Statutes (1989), parties to a commercial contract can, by agreement alone, confer personal jurisdiction on a Florida court. We hold that they can.

This lawsuit arises out of a multi-million dollar contract, whereby appellee, MasTec North America, Inc. (“MasTecâ€�) agre... More...   $0 (06-10-2009 - FL)

On August 28, 2002, defendant Archstone Smith, Inc. (“Archstoneâ€�) terminated plaintiff W. Michael Rzepiennik’s employment. On June 13, 2007, he brought this action against Archstone, asserting a claim pursuant to the employee protection provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1514A (“SOX claimâ€�), as well as a state law claim for breach of contract. The district court dismissed... More...   $0 (06-10-2009 - CO)

A shareholder of a publicly traded corporation filed a derivative action in California alleging breaches of fiduciary duty by corporate officers and directors. The international business, a fine jewelry company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, has no other connection to that jurisdiction. The company employs 3000 people at its manufacturing facility in China. The majority of the company... More...   $0 (05-26-2009 - CA)