Jane Porter appeals from the district court’s2 orders granting summary judgment in favor of the City of Lake Lotawana and its mayor, Art Van Hook, and the subsequent dismissal of her wrongful termination and retaliation claims. On 1The Honorable Brian S. Miller, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas, sitting by designation.

I.

Jane Porter worked for ... More...   $0 (08-25-2011 - MO)

Defendant Daniel C. Cadle appeals from a district court order confirming an arbitration award of $3.15 million, plus prejudgment interest, against him on plaintiff Kerry R. Hicks’s claims of defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. While couched in various ways, all of Mr. Cadle’s objections concern whether the dispute was properly referred to arbitration. The district cour... More...   $3150000 (08-19-2011 - CO)

Plaintiff Dean Martin filed a complaint alleging six causes of action deriving from purported racial and age discrimination and retaliation by defendants Inland Empire Utilities Agency (agency) and its CEO (chief executive officer),1 Richard Atwater (collectively, “defendants”), for plaintiff‟s refusal to take punitive action against another employee who had made similar allegations. Plainti... More...   $0 (08-18-2011 - CA)

This appeal arises from a jury trial in which appellee Michael J. Westergren obtained a verdict in his favor on his defamation claim against appellant Bruce Olson. By four issues, Olson argues that: (1) the trial court erred in determining that Westergren is a private-figure plaintiff; the evidence was factually insufficient to support the jury's findings that (2) Olson's statements were made wi... More...   $0 (08-18-2011 - TX)

¶1 Plaintiff Joseph A. Graziano (“Graziano”) appeals from an order of the Twenty-First Judicial District Court, Ravalli County, granting Defendants’ Stock Farm Homeowners Association, Inc. (“Association”) and Stock Farm, LLC (“SFLLC”) motion to stay proceedings and compel arbitration. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this Opinion... More...   $0 (08-12-2011 - MT)

In this interlocutory appeal, Jerry Wilkerson appeals the trial court’s order denying his special appearance. Appellee RSL Funding, L.L.C. sued Wilkerson for defamation, libel, and business disparagement, all based upon statements made by Wilkerson on third-party internet sites. In his sole issue, Wilkerson contends the trial court erred in denying his special appearance and objection to juris... More...   $0 (08-11-2011 - TX)

Appellants, Gabriele and Edward Duncan, challenge the trial court’s entry, after a jury trial, of a take-nothing judgment in favor of appellee, Dominion Estates Homeowners Association (“DEHA”), and the trial court’s rendition of summary judgment in favor of appellees, Charles Amos, Thelma Bowie, Natalie Powell, and Marques Collins (the “DEHA board members”), in the Duncans’ suit agai... More...   $0 (08-11-2011 - TX)

Freddie McKnight (“McKnight”) filed a complaint in Elkhart Superior Court against Curtis Hill Jr. (“Hill”), the County Prosecutor, and William Wargo, Sr. (“Wargo”), an investigator for the Prosecutor‟s Office, for statements they made to the press concerning McKnight‟s identification of individuals involved in the Elkhart County drug trade. Specifically, McKnight claimed that Hill ... More...   $0 (08-10-2011 - IN)

Jacob Gordon‘s mother sued Howard Community Hospital, alleging it committed medical malpractice while caring for her son. In another count of the complaint, she sought separate damages for spoliation, saying the Hospital had lost certain medical records associated with Gordon‘s care and that this loss made it impossible for Gordon to pursue a medical malpractice claim against one of his doctor... More...   $0 (08-10-2011 - IN)

Plaintiff/appellant ClearOne Communications, Inc. (ClearOne) appeals the district court’s decision denying its request for prejudgment interest on damages for trade secret misappropriation. A jury found that defendants/appellees WideBand Solutions, Inc. and associated individual defendants (collectively, WideBand or the WideBand defendants) and Biamp Systems Corporation (Biamp) misappropriated C... More...   $0 (08-09-2011 - UT)

Scott Whiting, a former employee of Allstate Insurance Company, challenges the dismissal of his defamation claim. Because businesses have a qualified privilege to communicate about their employees, this claim fails as a matter of law.

I.

Whiting began working for Allstate in 1986 as a support staff member and over the years earned several promotions. During his tenure, Whiting re... More...   $0 (08-08-2011 - MI)

In this action arising under the First and Fifth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, Plaintiffs Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, Inc., Gregg Cunningham, and Kevin Murray appeal the district court’s dismissal of their claims against Defendant Janet Napolitano, in her capacity as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, and Defendant Eric H. Holder, Jr., in his capacity as Attorney General... More...   $0 (08-04-2011 - MI)

Appellant Bon Secours-St. Francis Xavier Hospital (the Hospital) was a defendant at trial[1] in the underlying civil case. On March 2, 2010, the morning of the trial, Appellants removed the case to federal court for the second time and on the same grounds as the initial removal. The federal district court judge again remanded the case to state court. Judge Baxley, the state trial judge, imposed... More...   $0 (08-01-2011 - SC)

Appellant Bon Secours-St. Francis Xavier Hospital (the Hospital) was a defendant at trial[1] in the underlying civil case. On March 2, 2010, the morning of the trial, Appellants removed the case to federal court for the second time and on the same grounds as the initial removal. The federal district court judge again remanded the case to state court. Judge Baxley, the state trial judge, imposed... More...   $0 (08-01-2011 - SC)

Michele SimmsParris brought this action under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681–1681x, to recover for the reporting of what she asserts was false information about her mortgage repayments. The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, determining that SimmsParris had not properly presented her claim as required by the FCRA, granted summary judgmen... More...   $0 (07-28-2011 - NJ)

Contending that he was improperly terminated, Billy Merrifield, a former Youth Services Administrator of Santa Fe County’s Youth Development Program at the County’s youth correctional facility, sued the County Board of Commissioners and several County officials (collectively, Defendants) in federal court. He brought civil-rights claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that he had been denied p... More...   $0 (07-25-2011 - NM)

Can you win damages in a defamation suit for being called a member of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang on cable television when, as it happens, you have merely conspired with the Brotherhood in a criminal enterprise? The answer is no. While the statement may cause you a world of trouble, while it may not be precisely true, it is substantially true. And that is enough to call an end to this litiga... More...   $0 (07-19-2011 - CO)

In this wrongful termination case, KB Home of South Carolina, Inc. and Jeff Meyer[1] (collectively Appellants) appeal a circuit court judgment denying their motion to compel arbitration. On appeal, Appellants contend the circuit court erred in: (1) determining the validity of an arbitration clause contained in Lonnie Davis's employment application when that threshold determination was arguably fo... More...   $0 (07-13-2011 - SC)

¶1 Mike Touris and Chuck Sneed (“Touris”) appeal from an order of the District Court, Eleventh Judicial District, Flathead County, granting summary judgment in favor of Flathead County, Bigfork Land Use Advisory Committee, Flathead County Planning Board, Flathead County Board of Commissioners, Flathead County Planning and Zoning Office, Flathead County Zoning Administrator Jeff Harris, and Do... More...   $0 (07-12-2011 - MT)

Steven Kilian seeks review of an unpublished decision of the court of appeals[1] that affirmed the order of the circuit court for Waukesha County, the Honorable Ralph M. Ramirez presiding, granting summary judgment to defendants Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC, and Daimler Chrysler Financial Services Americas, LLC, d/b/a Mercedes-Benz Financial.

¶2 Kilian leased a Mercedes-Benz vehicle in 2006. ... More...   $0 (07-12-2011 - WI)

Randy Hoffer challenges the district court’s dismissal of three of his five tort claims against the City of Boise (the City). The district court dismissed Hoffer’s claims of tortious interference with contract and defamation against the City because it held as a matter of law that under the Idaho Tort Claims Act (ITCA) and this Court’s holding in Sprague v. City of Burley, 109 Idaho 656, 710... More...   $0 (07-11-2011 - ID)

In this case brought under the Texas Tort Claims Act (“TTCA”),[1] the appellants challenge the trial court’s order granting the City of Houston’s plea to the jurisdiction. Because we conclude that the City of Houston (the “city”) has consented to suit, we reverse and remand.

BACKGROUND

Jane Uche Amadi, Constance Nnadi, and World Anointing Center Ministries, Inc. (col... More...   $0 (07-07-2011 - TX)

Adrienne Gallien sued her former employer, Houston Independent School District (“HISD”), for breach of contract and for violation of the Texas Whistleblower Act. [1] The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of HISD, concluding that Gallien had failed to exhaust her administrative remedies before filing suit. In two issues, Gallien appeals the summary judgment.

We af... More...   $0 (07-07-2011 - TX)

For nearly three decades, the City of Chicago had several ordinances in place “effectively banning handgun possession by almost all private citizens.” McDonald v. City of Chicago, 130 S. Ct. 3020, 3026 (2010). In 2008 the Supreme Court struck down a similar District of Columbia law on an original‐ meaning interpretation of the Second Amendment.1 District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570, ... More...   $0 (07-06-2011 - IL)

Pedro Ivan Rivera appeals the district court’s order dismissing his case. For the reasons that follow, we AFFIRM.

Although Dr. Rivera also argues on appeal that the District Court for the District of 1 Columbia erred in transferring his case, he did not properly appeal the order of transfer, and Case: 11-50030 Document: 00511529671 Page: 1 Date Filed: 07/05/2011

I.

Dr. River... More...   $0 (07-05-2011 - TX)