The Supreme Court held in Republican Party of Minnesota v. White, 536 U.S. 765 (2002) (White I), that elected judges, and candidates for judicial office, have a right under the first amendment to declare their legal views to the electorate during their campaigns. The decision left open myriad questions of implementation, and litigation has ensued across the country in those states that give the vo... More...   $0 (08-20-2010 - IN)

Plaintiff Thomas Carl Dodds, Jr. brought this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 suit, alleging Defendant former Logan County, Oklahoma Sheriff Randy Richardson violated his Fourteenth Amendment due process rights by depriving him of his protected liberty interest in posting bail. The district court denied Defendant’s claim to qualified immunity in the context of summary judgment, and Defendant appealed. Exercis... More...   $0 (08-10-2010 - OK)

This case is about a local government regulating the manner in which some of its parks are used. We decide whether the City of Orlando’s Large Group Feeding Ordinance, as applied to First Vagabonds Church of God and Orlando Food Not Bombs, violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. We also decide whether the ordinance, as applied to First Vagabonds Church of ... More...   $0 (07-07-2010 - FL)

Plaintiffs Josie Faulkinbury and William Levene (together, Plaintiffs), on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, appeal from the trial court‟s order denying their motion for class certification. They sought to represent and certify a class of about 4,000 current and former employees of defendant Boyd & Associates, Inc. (Boyd), which provides security guard services throughout S... More...   $0 (06-25-2010 - CA)

Oanh and Kim Thach brought this negligence, products liability, and breach of warranty action against Tiger Corporation, the Japanese manufacturer of a rice cooker which allegedly caused a fire at their home. The district court1 granted Tiger judgment on the pleadings, finding that the Thachs had failed to serve it within South Dakota's three year statute of limitations. The Thachs appeal, contend... More...   $0 (06-23-2010 - SD)

Constitutional specialists and U.S. history buffs will recall that the original Constitution of 1787 took a cautious approach toward the election of public officials. It interposed the Electoral College between the voters and the President, U.S. CONST. art. II, § 1, and it provided that each state’s two senators would be chosen by the state legislature, U.S. CONST. art. I, § 3. “Judges of th... More...   $0 (06-17-2010 - IL)

Plaintiffs are two brothers, Aaron and Matthew Benay, who wrote and copyrighted a screenplay, The Last Samurai (“the Screenplay”). The Benays contend that the creators of the film The Last Samurai (“the Film”) copied from the Screenplay without permission. They sued Warner Brothers Entertainment, Inc., Radar Pictures, Inc., Bedford Falls Productions, Inc., Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz... More...   $0 (06-09-2010 - CA)

A court in Paris, France entered a money judgment in favor of John Galliano, S.A. (Galliano) against Stallion, Inc. (Stallion), and Galliano seeks to have that judgment recognized in New York. The Appellate Division, applying New York's Uniform Foreign Country Money-Judgments Recognition Act, codified at CPLR article 53, concluded that the French judgment should be recognized in New York (62 AD3d ... More...   $0 (06-08-2010 - NY)

Arizona’s Constitution provides: “No person who is adjudicated an incapacitated person shall be qualified to vote at any election, nor shall any person convicted of treason or felony, be qualified to vote at any election unless restored to civil rights.” Ariz. Const. art. VII, § 2. Arizona statutes give effect to this constitutional provision by suspending the voting rights of any person co... More...   $0 (05-27-2010 - AZ)

Dennis Schornack appeals the district court’s order denying cross motions by Schornack and David Bernhardt in which each sought to have the other’s filings quashed or struck from the case. The case arose out of a property dispute between Shirley-Ann and Herbert Leu and the International Boundary Commission (IBC), an organization tasked with defining, marking, and maintaining the boundary betwe... More...   $0 (05-19-2010 - WA)

This is an appeal from a proceeding in the district court under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction ("the Hague Convention"), which governs certain child custody disputes. Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, Oct. 25, 1980, T.I.A.S. No. 11,670, 19 I.L.M. 1501. We begin with a description of the background events, drawn from ... More...   $0 (04-30-2010 - ME)

In 2001, Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) and The Motivation Show entered into a contract that purported to form a “strategic alliance” to “promote the professional use of promotional products and distributors.” The parties agreed to provide “ASI 2 Nos. 08-1097 & 08-1227 1 Promotional products include corporate apparel, trophies, awards, mugs, pens, T-shirts, lighters, flashlights, ... More...   $0 (04-07-2010 - IL)

This appeal arises out of a petition filed by plaintiff Karla Cecelia Escobar (mother) under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction1 (the Hague Convention or the Convention) for the return of her eight-year-old son, Cesar, to his habitual residence with her in Chile. The primary issue on appeal is whether the trial court erred in refusing to order defendant Cesa... More...   $0 (04-07-2010 - cA)

This is a parallel case to Abad v. Bayer Corp., 563 F.3d 663 (7th Cir. 2009), decided by this panel last year. The case was dismissed by the district court, and the plaintiffs have appealed. Ordinarily when all parties to an appeal are represented by counsel, the court directs oral argument unless the parties waive argument and we accept the waiver. But when, as in this case, an appeal is closely ... More...   $0 (03-26-2010 - IN)

Pinnacle Pizza Company, Inc. ("Pinnacle"), a franchisee, brought suit against Little Caesar Enterprises, Inc. (LCE), the franchisor, alleging, inter alia, breach of the corporation's franchise agreement and violation of the South Dakota Franchise Act (SDFA). Pinnacle also sought to cancel LCE's federal trademark for the phrase "Hot- N-Ready." LCE counterclaimed, alleging breach of the franchise ag... More...   $0 (03-22-2010 - SD)

Plaintiff in this medical malpractice action appeals a limited judgment in favor of defendant Willamette Spine Center, LLC.(1) Plaintiff underwent back surgeries, which injured his spinal cord.(2) Plaintiff sought damages from defendant, the surgeon (Dr. Borman), and a number of other medical providers. He contended that Dr. Borman was defendant's actual or apparent agent and, therefore, defend... More...   $0 (03-17-2010 - OR)

¶1 We retained this cause to answer two questions: 1) whether the various defendants/appellees are entitled to the protection of the exclusive remedy provision1 of the Oklahoma Workers' Compensation Act; and 2) if so, whether the actions of the respective parties were sufficient to take them outside that protection under this Court's opinion in Parret v. UNICCO Serv. Co., 2005 OK 54, 127 P.3d 572... More...   $0 (03-16-2010 - OK)

Salon Baptiste and Cheryl Baptiste (Appellees) filed a complaint for damages against Chuck Smith and WQXI 790 AM (Appellants), based on allegedly defamatory statements made by Smith and broadcast by WQXI. Pursuant to OCGA § 9-11-68 (a), Appellants offered to settle the case for $5,000. Appellees did not respond to the offer, which was deemed a rejection under OCGA § 9-11-68 (c). The trial court ... More...   $0 (03-15-2010 - GA)

The plaintiffs, Rich Stockwell, Gary Stockwell, Ron DeYoung and Steve Ciecierski brought this action against the City of Harvey, Illinois (the “City”). They allege that the City failed to promote them within its fire department (the “Department”) on account of their race. The district court granted summary judgment for the City, and the plaintiffs appealed. For the reasons set forth in thi... More...   $0 (03-15-2010 - IL)

¶ 1 We are asked to decide whether legislation creating and implementing the Tourism and Sports Authority ("TSA"), Ariz. Rev. Stat. ("A.R.S.") §§ 5-802 to -877 (Supp. 2001), is an unconstitutional special law favoring only Maricopa County. We must further determine whether the TSA funding mechanism violates the constitutional debt limitation. For the reasons that follow, we hold that the TSA le... More...   $0 (03-11-2010 - AZ)

Cynthia Brzak and Nasr Ishak appeal from a judgment of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Sweet, J.) dismissing claims against the United Nations and various United Nations officials. The complaint charges defendants with sex discrimination under several federal statutory and state common law theories. The district court dismissed the claims for lack of subject... More...   $0 (03-02-2010 - NY)

Ruling on cross-motions for summary judgment, the district court found that appellant Whitney Harper infringed copyrights held by a consortium of record companies in 37 sound recordings. It also found that whether Harper was an “innocent infringer” under 17 U.S.C. § 504(c)(2) was a question for the jury. On Plaintiffs’ motion, the court entered a final judgment against Harper in the amount ... More...   $0 (02-26-2010 - TX)

This case is yet another in a series of cases that
attempt to chart the contours of liability of a potentially
responsible party (“PRP”) under §§ 107(a)(4)(B) and
113(f)(3)(B) for contribution towards, and payment of, costs
resulting from the identification and cleanup of hazardous
substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability ... More...   $0 (02-24-2010 - NY)

Barbara Ernster sued Luxco, Inc., alleging wrongful termination in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. § 626 et seq., and the Iowa Civil Rights Act (ICRA), Iowa Code Ann. Ch. 216. After denying Luxco summary judgment on the threshold issue of whether Ernster was an employee or an independent contractor, the district court1 ordered a jury trial of that issue. More...   $0 (02-24-2010 - IA)