Robin Pepper sued an Anchorage debt collection agency and its lawyers, claiming that they violated Alaska’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act (UTPA) when they: (1) sued Pepper in state district court without first sending a written demand, (2) misrepresented to the court that Pepper was competent, and (3) applied for default judgment without first informing Pepper’s attorney. ... More...   $0 (11-20-2009 - AK)

The False Claims Act (“FCAâ€�) was designed to encourage reporting of false or fraudulent claims that are submitted to the federal government for approval or payment. Typically a relator—a whistle-blowing employee, a business partner or competitor—brings suit “for the benefit of the United States.â€� Mortgages, Inc. v. U.S. Dist. Ct., 934 F.2d 209, 210 (9th Cir. 1991) (per curiam). The gov... More...   $0 (11-19-2009 - WA)

TexVa, Inc. (“TexVaâ€�) and R. Bradley Bierman (“Biermanâ€�) appeal the trial court's order granting the special appearances of Cindy Hayes (“Hayesâ€�) and James Boone (“Booneâ€�), both residents of California. Appellants contend that the trial court erred in sustaining the special appearances of Boone and Hayes. For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that Hayes' and Boone's contact... More...   $0 (11-13-2009 - TX)

Plaintiff Tammy King appeals from a judgment entered in favor of defendant Barbara Johnston. Tammy,1 a beneficiary of the Arthur L. Gilbert Testamentary Trust, sued Barbara in a civil action, alleging that Barbara had unduly influenced the trustee, Lenora Gilbert, to breach the trust.2 According to Tammy, Barbara induced Lenora to transfer a piece of trust property to herself, without consideratio... More...   $0 (11-09-2009 - CA)

Southern Electronics Supply Inc. and Active Solutions LLC sued Dell, Inc., Greg Meffert and others on unfair competition and conspiracy theories over the City of New Orlean's crime camera surveillance program. Plaintiffs claimed that they developed a crime surveillance camera system to sell to the City.

They claimed and Dell and others unfairly conspired to take the business away fro... More...   $12800000 (11-03-2009 - L)

Jebaco Inc. appeals the dismissal of its federal antitrust claims against Pinnacle Entertainment and Harrah’s Operating Company, Inc., along with five Harrah’s subsidiaries (“Harrah’sâ€�). The district court dismissed the claims 1 under Fed. Rule Civ. Proc. 12(c) as barred by the state action doctrine and Noerr- Pennington petitioning immunity. We affirm on the alternate ground, fully brie... More...   $0 (10-31-2009 - LA)

Defendants-Appellants Dr. Rahul Nath and Usha Nath (singly and collectively, “Nathâ€�) appeal the grant of a preliminary injunction barring them from making any changes to the residence that they recently purchased from Matthew Prucka (“Pruckaâ€�) in Houston, Texas for $8.3 million. Following an October 2008 hearing, the district court granted that injunction without findings of fact or conclu... More...   $0 (10-23-2009 - TX)

George Milam Hall submitted to a local newspaper, the Coffey County Republican (“The Republicanâ€�), an advertisement opposing the election bid of Judge Phillip M. Fromme. He paid to have the ad run on two occasions. The paper ran the ad the first time but not the second, instead running an ad supporting Judge Fromme, which was paid for and signed by a number of attorneys, including Coffey Count... More...   $0 (10-19-2009 - KS)

¶1 In this malicious prosecution action, Plaintiff, Dr. Michael Peterson, appeals a dismissal granted to Defendant, Charles Snider, and a summary judgment granted to Snider's attorney, Defendant Ken Ray Underwood and the law firm of Ken Ray Underwood, P.C.(collectively, Underwood). We affirm.1

FACTS

¶2 This litigation began when Snider, a truck driver, suffered a job-related injury... More...   $0 (10-16-2009 - OK)

Following a jury trial, defendants Jovon Broadcasting and Joseph Stroud, the owner and operational manager of Jovon Broadcasting, were found liable for retaliation against plaintiff Jerri Blount, a former employee of Jovon Broadcasting. The jury awarded Blount a total of $3,082,350 in damages, which was comprised of $257,350 for back pay, $25,000 for physical and/or emotional pain and suffering, a... More...   $0 (10-16-2009 - IL)

Plaintiff-Appellant Ibrihim Kiswani (“Kiswani�) appeals from the magistrate judge’s order that denied reconsideration of his post-trial motions. Because Kiswani failed to meet our quaint rules on timing of appeals, the magistrate judge’s opinion is affirmed.

I. BACKGROUND

Kiswani was arrested outside a nightclub on July 31, 2004, and charged with aggravated unlawful use of a ... More...   $0 (10-16-2009 - IL)

Plaintiff James Kendall filed this action alleging that he was wrongfully terminated from his employment with defendants,1 contrary to public policy, for refusing to engage in illegal activity. Plaintiff also alleged that defendants violated the Bullard-Plawecki Employee Right to Know Act, MCL 423.501 et seq., by knowingly placing false information in his personnel file.

The trial court gra... More...   $0 (10-16-2009 - MI)

Defiant claims that Nanodetex maliciously abused legal process by filing a meritless lawsuit against it that was really aimed at “tying upâ€� Defiant in litigation so that it could not pursue its business plan and would be forced to merge its business into Nanodetex’s. At trial, the jury agreed and awarded Defiant $2,000,001 in damages. Nanodetex now appeals this result. In this diversity disp... More...   $0 (10-15-2009 - NM)

Appellants, SCTW Health Care Center, Inc., Stan Steele, Wynell Suitt and WTCS Health Care Center, Inc., (collectively “SCTWâ€�), were sued by AAR, Incorporated (“AARâ€�) for failing to pay for mold remediation and storage services that AAR had provided. After a trial by jury, the trial court awarded AAR $422,049.05 in damages, pre-judgment interest and attorney’s fees. SCTW contends the tria... More...   $0 (10-15-2009 - TX)

Defendant-Appellant State Trooper P.J. McCadden appeals
22 from an order of the district court (David N. Hurd, Judge)
23 denying his motion for summary judgment in this action against
24 him under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 based on allegations of false arrest
25 and malicious prosecution. The grounds for the motion are that
26 McCadden was entitled to qualified immunity. We conclude th... More...   $0 (10-13-2009 - NY)

Defendant New Horizons Inc. (New Horizons) operated nine long-term-care facilities for mentally retarded adults in Oklahoma, and four in Texas, known as Intensive Care Facilities for the Mentally Retarded (ICF/MR).1 It employed Sara Lacy as a case manager and Qualified Mental Retardation Professional from June 1999 to June 2004. After New Horizons terminated her employment, she brought this action... More...   $0 (10-09-2009 - OK)

Six members of a joint venture sued two other members, primarily claiming breaches of fiduciary duties. The joint venture, most of whose members were Anchorage physicians, owned a medical services condominium on Laurel Street and leased it out for use as an ambulatory surgical center. The plaintiffs claimed in part that the joint venturer defendants and others were liable for moving the surgical c... More...   $0 (10-08-2009 - AK)

In June 2006, Albert Snyder instituted this diversity action in the District of Maryland against Westboro Baptist Church, Incorporated (the "Church"), and several of its members (collectively, the "Defendants"). Snyder’s lawsuit is predicated on two related events: a protest the Defendants conducted in Maryland near the funeral of Snyder’s son Matthew (an enlisted Marine who tragically died in... More...   $0 (10-03-2009 - MD)

Plaintiff travel agencies appeal the district court’s dismissal of their Amended Complaint for failure to state a claim under § 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. Plaintiffs allege that defendants conspired to reduce, cap, and eventually eliminate the payment of base commissions in a concerted effort to drive plaintiffs out of business in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1. We affirm. In doing so, we hol... More...   $0 (10-02-2009 - OH)

In this defamation suit, appellants, Patricia Vice and Kathie Slotter, bring an interlocutory appeal challenging the trial court's order that denied their summary judgment motion in favor of the appellees, Daniel J. Kasprzak, Patricia C. Kasprzak, and Katherine D. Kasprzak. In nine issues, Vice and Slotter argue that the trial court erred in denying summary judgment on three publications because (... More...   $0 (10-01-2009 - TX)

This is a summary judgment case that arises under the notice provision of the Medical Liability and Improvement Act, Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 74.051 (Vernon 2005) (MLIA). Appellant, Litzi Nicholson, brings this appeal to challenge a traditional summary judgment rendered in favor of appellee, Mary Shinn, M.D. on Nicholson's medical malpractice claim. In two issues, Nicholson contends that (1... More...   $0 (10-01-2009 - TX)

Deborah Cooney lost custody of her two sons after an Illinois state court found that she suffered from “Munchausen syndrome by proxy,â€� in which “an individual produces or feigns physical or emotional symptoms in another person under his or her care. Usually the victim is a young child, and the person producing the symptoms may be the child’s parent or caretaker, most often the mother.â€� A... More...   $0 (09-30-2009 - IL)

The question of the preemption of state law by federal tobacco legislation has been addressed numerous times. Today, we address the preemption issue in the context of the doctrine of fraudulent joinder, which is invoked to achieve diversity jurisdiction. We hold that the district court erroneously allowed the defendants-appellees to achieve diversity jurisdiction by its incorrect finding that the ... More...   $0 (09-28-2009 - AK)

In June 2006, Albert Snyder instituted this diversity action in the District of Maryland against Westboro Baptist Church, Incorporated (the "Church"), and several of its members (collectively, the "Defendants"). Snyder’s lawsuit is predicated on two related events: a protest the Defendants conducted in Maryland near the funeral of Snyder’s son Matthew (an enlisted Marine who tragically died in... More...   $0 (09-25-2009 - MD)

In 2004, the Morgan Hill City Council adopted a resolution that condemned Bruce Tichinin, a local attorney, for hiring a private investigator to conduct surveillance of the city manager and then denying that he had done so. Thereafter, Tichinin filed an action against the City under 42 United States Code section 1983 (hereafter “1983 actionâ€�) alleging that the City unlawfully retaliated agains... More...   $0 (09-22-2009 - CA)