In this case, we primarily consider whether intangible property, in particular a contractor’s license, can be the subject of a claim in tort for conversion. In doing so, we adopt the California definition of “property rights” and the Restatement (Second) of Torts rule defining conversion of “intangible personal property,” and expressly reject the notion that personal property must be ta... More...   $0 (10-02-2008 - NV)

Teck Cominco Alaska Incorporated is the operator of the Red Dog Mine (“Mine”), which is remotely located in the Kotzebue area on lands owned by NANA Regional Corporation, Inc. Teck Cominco fired Maurice Mitchell from his job as a warehouse supervisor at the Mine after concluding that Mitchell had sexually harassed a contractor’s employee and lied during the ensuing investigation. Mitchell su... More...   $0 (09-26-2008 - AK)

In this nationwide class action, 50 million present and former policyholders of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm) contend that during the class period, 1983 to 1998, State Farm breached a duty to pay billions of dollars in dividends and, as a result, created an excessive surplus.

State Farm moved for summary judgment based on the business judgment rule, asserting t... More...   $0 (09-22-2008 - ca)

Howard Curd and several other commercial fishermen (the fishermen) appeal an order dismissing their proposed class action lawsuit against Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC. The fishermen claim that Mosaic's phosphogypsum storage facility polluted the waters of Tampa Bay, reducing the available supply of fish, which in turn damaged their businesses and reduced their income. We agree with the trial court that ... More...   $0 (09-17-2008 - FL)

Charles Lee filed a putative class action lawsuit on his own behalf and on behalf of all similarly situated drivers for Dynamex, Inc., a parcel delivery company, alleging Dynamex had improperly reclassified the drivers from employees to independent contractors in violation of California law. After first denying Lee’s motion to compel Dynamex to identify and provide contact information for potent... More...   $0 (09-17-2008 - CA)

This appeal examines the standard to be applied when an insurance company denies coverage because the insured failed to disclose a potential claim on an application for insurance. Specifically, we must determine: When an application for insurance asks for the identification of "any facts, circumstances, or situations . . . which could reasonably be expected to give rise to a claim" and the policy ... More...   $0 (09-17-2008 - KS)

Zeddrick White (“White”) appeals pro se the district court’s order granting Mayflower Transit, L.L.C.’s (“Mayflower”) motion to dismiss his second amended complaint. We affirm.

I

This case arises out of an agreement between White and Mayflower, in which Mayflower agreed to ship White’s per- 12730 WHITE v. MAYFLOWER TRANSIT sonal effects from New York to Los Angeles. Whi... More...   $0 (09-16-2008 - CA)

This case involves an action brought by Pesnell in California for claims of federal constitutional violations and for claims of violations of the federal and state civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”). The principal issue in this case is whether these claims against employees of the government are barred by a judgment in an action brought by Pesnell in Arizona agai... More...   $0 (09-16-2008 - CA)

Travelers Indemnity Company of Connecticut insured High Mountain, LLC, which managed two condominium units in Utah owned by John F. and Diane L. Mullin. The Mullins sued High Mountain for renting the units for discounted rates without permission, theft of property from the condominiums owned by the Mullins, failure to forward rental income, and theft of property from a rental unit that the Mullins... More...   $0 (09-15-2008 - UT)

3 custom software that is at issue in this case. Both parties agree that MCR owns the copyright in this custom software, and both parties also agree that MCR has never registered its copyright. For years, the parties operated pursuant to an oral agreement without incident, but eventually the relationship deteriorated. On December 6, 2005, MCR sent a letter to Weitzman, asserting, among other thing... More...   $0 (09-12-2008 - FL)

This appeal and cross-appeal from a district court order in a breach of contract and tort action arising from improper foreclosure proceedings involve several compensatory and punitive damage award issues. With respect to compensatory damages, since respondents/cross-appellants’ actual losses did not exceed the damages that they incurred to their real and personal property, we conclude that the... More...   $0 (09-11-2008 - NV)

Many rules of commercial law allocate risk among different parties to transactions. Sometimes, however, it is impossible to impose responsibility for losses on the party that caused them. People disappear with ill-gotten gains, or they spend someone else’s money on fleeting pleasures. At that point, all that can be done is to allocate loss to one or another relatively innocent party. This is suc... More...   $0 (09-11-2008 - IL)

Appellants Rosalind Herman, Gregg Caplitz and Financial Resources Network, Inc. ("FRNI") filed suit in Massachusetts state court against appellees Rudy K. Meiselman and various members of his family. The suit stemmed from Meiselman's employment with FRNI and his participation in a profit-sharing plan under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA"). Meiselman removed the matter ... More...   $0 (09-10-2008 - MA)

Kevin Gagnon, doing business as Mister Computer (Gagnon), appeals from a grant of summary judgment in favor of Asset Marketing Systems, Inc. (AMS). Gagnon contends that AMS infringed his copyright in six computer programs that he wrote for AMS by continuing to use and modify them without his consent, and that AMS misappropriated trade secrets contained in the programs’ source code. Gagnon also c... More...   $0 (09-10-2008 - CA)

In October 2004, Platypus Wear, Inc., PW Industries, Inc. (collectively Platypus), Alexandra Ponce de Leon, and Sylvia Offner Caira, filed a complaint against Luce Forward Hamilton & Scripps, and two of its attorneys, Kevin A. Cahill and Timothy R. Pestotnik (collectively Luce Forward), Baker & McKenzie, and two of its attorneys, Charles H. Dick and Peter W. Ito, Laurens Offner (Laurens), and Mart... More...   $0 (09-05-2008 - CA)

Legacy Healthcare, Inc. (Legacy) and its predecessor, Community Care Centers, Inc. (Community), operated a number of long-term care facilities in Indiana. On February 18, 2000, Legacy brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that employees of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) and the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) violated its rights under the Fir... More...   $0 (09-05-2008 - )

This case involves a dispute between plaintiff, the landlord of a warehouse, and defendant,(1) who had a security interest in merchandise stored in that warehouse. Defendant appeals from a limited judgment awarding plaintiff $220,411 in damages for breach of contract and $84,091.33 in prejudgment interest. He alleges that the trial court erred in ruling that the contract was supported by considera... More...   $0 (09-03-2008 - OR)

Gaetano Zanelli (Zanelli), the owner of property commonly known as 66 Clarendon Avenue, appeals from a judgment quieting title to an adjacent property owned by Thomas McGrath (McGrath) commonly known as 60 Clarendon Avenue. After a court trial, the court found that Zanelli has no enforceable view easement burdening McGrath’s property, either because the easement was extinguished by merger, or wa... More...   $0 (09-02-2008 - CA)

In this case arising out of diversity jurisdiction, we are asked to decide whether Robinette Amaker, the surviving sister of Bradley Gierlich, may bring suit against defendants King County, Stanley Medical Research Institute (“SMRI”), and E. Fuller Torrey, after the King County Medical Examiners Office (“KCMEO”) provided Bradley’s1 brain, liver, and spleen tissue to SMRI for use in medic... More...   $0 (08-30-2008 - WA)

The plaintiff-appellant, RWB Services, LLC, says that the defendants misappropriated used cameras in which it had security interests and then resold the cameras as new to Wal-Mart. In the district court, the vessels for this allegation were a number of state-law claims and one civil count under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1964(c)—the latter of which forms... More...   $0 (08-27-2008 - IL)

JCB, Inc. brought this action against Union Planters Bank, N.A. (Bank) seeking a declaratory judgment and damages for trespass and conversion for unilateral removal and sale of equipment which had been purchased by their debtor, Machinery, Inc. and was subject to their competing security interests. The district court referred some of the issues in dispute to the bankruptcy court which determined t... More...   $1087500 (08-26-2008 - MO)

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. sued Thomas Coughlin for breach of fiduciary duty to disclose material facts before entering into a self-dealing contract, and (2) his fraudulent inducement of Wal-Mart to enter into the Retirement Agreement, which incorporated a Mutual General Release (Release) between the parties, by his failure to disclose material facts and by his affirmative misrepresentations. We agree ... More...   $1 (08-22-2008 - AR)

In 1965, the Legislature confronted two troubling trends in California: the loss of agricultural land to development and the haphazard growth of suburbia, requiring the “extension of municipal services to remote residential enclaves, and interfer[ing] with agricultural activities.” (Sierra Club v. City of Hayward (1981) 28 Cal.3d 840, 850 (Sierra Club), superseded by statute on other grounds a... More...   $0 (08-15-2008 - CA)

Crane Sales & Service Co., Inc. (Crane), is in the business of leasing and servicing crane equipment. In the course of this business, Crane, acting as lessor, entered into an equipment rental agreement dated December 10, 2002, with Duncan & Associates Crane Rentals, Inc. (Duncan), named as lessee. Per this agreement, Duncan was required to provide to Crane “an insurance certificate naming Crane ... More...   $0 (08-14-2008 - NE)

Appellant Dorothy L. Clark appeals the district court’s1 refusal to grant a declaratory judgment and set aside a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) determination that she converted wetlands in violation of the Swampbuster provisions of the Food Security Act of 1985, codified as amended at 16 U.S.C. §§ 3801, 3821-24 (2000). Because the USDA determined she had converted wetlands, Cla... More...   $0 (08-13-2008 - IA)