This case involves a long-running (six years and counting) insurancecoverage dispute between the City of Sterling Heights, Michigan, and one of its insurance carriers, United National Insurance. The case arises out of lawsuits filed by Hillside Productions against the City based on alleged misconduct by city officials, and the question at hand primarily concerns United’s liability for a portion ... More...   $0 (03-31-2009 - MI)

Plaintiff-Appellant Blondell Mitchell, a pro se litigant, appeals the district court’s dismissal with prejudice of her defamation action after the court concluded that Ms. Mitchell failed to comply with a detailed court order instructing her on the proper scope of her Second Amended Complaint. III R. Doc. 120, 136. Our jurisdiction arises under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm. Beginning in 2006... More...   $0 (03-27-2009 - CO)

Defendants North Carolina Attorney General Roy A. Cooper, III, his campaign committee for the 2000 election for North Carolina Attorney General (the “Cooper Committee”), and three employees of the Cooper Committee, Julia White, Stephen Bryant, and Kristi Hyman, (hereinafter, collectively referred to as “defendants”), appeal from an interlocutory order entitled “Order, Following In Camer... More...   $0 (03-24-2009 - NC)

This matter comes on before this Court on an appeal from a final order entered in the District Court on May 21, 2007, accompanying an opinion dated May 18, 2007, as well as from a separate judgment for compensatory and punitive damages in this case involving claims and counterclaims among parties in the surgical implant business. See Acumed LLC v. Advanced Surgical Servs., Inc., Civ. No. 05-2711, ... More...   $0 (03-23-2009 - PA)

We hold statements by defendants that plaintiff, an automobile museum president, (1) demanded a commission or a finder‟s fee to which he was not entitled, and (2) was fired because other employees would not work for him and would leave if he stayed, should have been presented to the jury as slander per quod rather than as slander per se. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment in favor of plaintiff... More...   $0 (03-21-2009 - CA)

In February 2003, Robert Reese Bains III and a group of former Peregrine Systems, Inc. (Peregrine) shareholders (collectively plaintiffs) filed this action against former Peregrine directors John J. Moores, Charles E. Noell III, and Christopher A. Cole (collectively defendants), as well as several former Peregrine employees, Peregrine's former outside accounting firm, and two of Peregrine's former... More...   $0 (03-21-2009 - CA)

In this case, a physician brings multiple state law and federal due process claims against a hospital and its officials for suspending his staff privileges based on allegations that he had sexually abused his adopted daughter. While the scope of immunity under the Health Care Quality Improvement Act, 42 U.S.C. § 11101 et seq., certainly has limits, we think the immunity attaches to defendants und... More...   $0 (03-19-2009 - SC)

Alfred Flowers appeals the district court’s1 adverse grant of summary judgment in favor of Kevin Stoll and the City of Minneapolis on his several civil rights claims against both defendants, as well as his state-law defamation claim against Stoll. We affirm.

I.

We restate the relevant facts as described in a previous qualified-immunity appeal, Flowers v. City of Minneapolis, 478 F.... More...   $0 (03-18-2009 - MN)

Alexander Jourjine filed suit against Nokia Corp., Nokia, Inc., and Nokia Svenska AB for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Nokia Corp. is a Finnish corporation (hereinafter "Nokia Finland"). Nokia, Inc. is a U.S. corporation incorporated in Delaware with a principal place of business in Dallas, Texas (hereinafter "Nokia U.S."). Nokia Svenska AB is a Swedish corporation (... More...   $0 (03-12-2009 - MA)

Appellants GeneThera, Inc., GTI Corporation Transfer Agents, LLC, Antonio Milici, and Tannya L. Irizarry appeal from an order granting a special motion to strike their complaint as a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP; Code of Civ. Proc., § 425.16 et seq.),1 and from the subsequent entry of judgment for respondents.2 Respondents are Attorney Jeffrey Rosenfeld and his law firm T... More...   $0 (02-27-2009 - CA)

Bernard Garner (“Garner”) appeals the district court’s dismissal of his action seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as reinstatement, against City of Cuyahoga Falls (“City”) and several City officials: Mayor Don Robart (“Robart”), Director of Community Development Susan Truby (“Truby”), Director of Public Service Valorie Wax Carr (“Carr”) and Director of Law Vir... More...   $0 (02-26-2009 - OH)

Kathleen Sariah Perkins filed a wrongful termination action against Silver Mountain Sports Club & Spa, LLC, alleging she was fired because she was pregnant and requested leave. After trial in the district court, a jury returned a verdict finding Silver Mountain had violated Perkins’s rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Title VII.

On appeal, Silver Mountain argues the ... More...   $0 (02-25-2009 - UT)

Ron Rusakiewicz and Paul Spera, the plaintiffs and appellants in this case, are or were members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW). They distributed fliers at the 2005 VFW convention in Salt Lake City accusing defendant-appellee John Lowe and other officers of the California Department of the organization of fraud in connection with the organization’s membership rolls. Mr... More...   $0 (02-24-2009 - UT)

In the underlying lawsuit, Manuel Macias, Jr. sued the Hearst Newspaper Partnership, L.P.,

d/b/a San Antonio Express-News, and Ron Wilson (collectively, "the newspaper"), as well as other defendants. Macias's suit against the newspaper alleged defamation based on eight statements contained in articles written by Ron Wilson for the San Antonio Express-News. The newspaper moved for summary... More...   $0 (02-18-2009 - TX)

John Lott, an academic and economist, believes that his reputation was sullied by Freakonomics,1 the popular and off-beat book written by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. Lott’s name was mentioned in one paragraph of the 200-page book, and he understood this passage to be an accusation of scholarly dishonesty. Offended, he filed suit against Levitt and HarperCollins, the publisher of the book, ... More...   $0 (02-13-2009 - IL)

Defendant, Leslie Upfall, appeals as of right the trial court’s order of judgment in favor of Evangel Builders & Construction Managers, LLC, and Vincent Colbert1 and against him, entered after binding arbitration. Because the judgment was properly entered and is consistent with the arbitrator’s award, we affirm.

Plaintiff initiated this action in relation to a church Evangel was to buil... More...   $0 (02-10-2009 - MI)

Appellants Craig and Wendy Humphries are living every parent’s nightmare. Accused of abuse by a rebellious child, they were arrested, and had their other children taken away from them. When a doctor confirmed that the abuse charges could not be true, the state dismissed the criminal case against them. The Humphries then petitioned the criminal court, which found them “factually innocent” of ... More...   $0 (02-09-2009 - CA)

Spectrum Worldwide, Inc. (“Spectrum Worldwide”), Celebrity Products Direct, Inc. and Celebrity Products, Inc. (collectively “Celebrity”), Spectrum Worldwide’s president Murray Moss (“Moss”), CEO Lisa Tremain (“Tremain”), and CFO Howard Schwartz (“Schwartz”) (all of the defendants hereinafter referred to as “Spectrum”) asks this court to determine whether the “first publ... More...   $0 (02-09-2009 - CA)

Michael Femal sued James O'Shaughnessy, a Wisconsin lawyer, for defamation. Femal alleged that the defamation occurred during a meeting in Illinois O'Shaughnessy attended as a representative of his employer. O'Shaughnessy invoked the fiduciary shield doctrine as grounds for his motion to dismiss the claims against him for lack of personal jurisdiction. The trial court denied the motion without con... More...   $0 (01-29-2009 - IL)

This is a legal malpractice case. Appellant Jerry Bergthold appeals from the trial court=s grant of summary judgment in favor of Appellee Winstead Sechrest & Minick, P.C. (Winstead). Because the summary judgment evidence conclusively negates the existence of any attorney-client relationship, as well as the existence of Bergthold=s expectation of representation by Winstead, we will affirm.
More...   $0 (01-29-2009 - TX)

¶1 Utah Department of Transportation (“UDOT”) contracted with Fluor Ames Kraemer, LLC, (“FAK”) to construct the Legacy Parkway (“the project”). FAK then subcontracted with Encon Utah, LLC, (“Encon”) to manufacture and install bridge girders for the project. UDOT partially terminated the project, and, as a result, FAK terminated Encon’s subcontract. Encon filed suit against FAK a... More...   $0 (01-27-2009 - UT)

Quad Graphics, Inc., Milwaukee Magazine, and Kurt Chandler (unless otherwise specified, collectively referred to as Quad), appeal from an order denying their motion for judgment on the pleadings.1 Quad filed a petition for leave to appeal the order, which we granted.

¶2 Quad argues that Bradley DeBraska, Sr.’s retraction demand failed to satisfy the conditions precedent to commencing an ... More...   $0 (01-21-2009 - WI)

Frank W. Kenniasty ["Kenniasty"], and Judith Deitz and William Moore d/b/a Techniarts Engineering ["Deitz and Moore"] timely appeal the trial court's entry of final judgment awarding Bionetics Corporation ["Bionetics"] $39,025.78 in attorney's fees and costs against each pursuant to Section 57.105, Florida Statutes.1 We reverse. This case arose as a result of Deitz and Moore having prevailed in ea... More...   $0 (01-19-2009 - FL)

In this defamation action, we consider whether the circuit court, upon our remand of the case, erred in granting summary judgment in favor of the defendants after considering isolated factual segments of two allegedly defamatory statements.

In 2003, Cynthia L. Hyland brought several claims against her former employer, Raytheon Technical Services Company (Raytheon) and its president, Bryan J... More...   $0 (01-16-2009 - va)

¶1 Sterling Wentworth Corporation (“SWC”) terminated Stephen A. Giusti’s employment. Giusti sued, asserting six claims against SWC and its parent corporation SunGard: (1) fraudulent inducement, (2) breach of contract, (3) breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, (4) promissory estoppel (claims two through four, collectively, the “contract claims”), (5) tortious int... More...   $0 (01-16-2009 - UT)