LATEST SUMMARIES

CIVIL PROCEDURE, CIVIL RIGHTS, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, EDUCATION LAW, GOVERNMENT LAW, REMEDIES
• Ctr. for Bio-Ethical Reform, Inc. v. Los Angeles County Sheriff Dep't

CIVIL PROCEDURE, CLASS ACTIONS, ERISA, HEALTH LAW, INSURANCE LAW, LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW
• Sgro v. Danone Waters of N. Am., Inc.

CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, ENVIRONMENTAL LAW, SENTENCING
• US v. Warr

CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, SENTENCING
• US v. Evans-Martinez

LATEST SUMMARIES

CIVIL PROCEDURE, CIVIL RIGHTS, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, EDUCATION LAW, GOVERNMENT LAW, REMEDIES
Ctr. for Bio-Ethical Reform, Inc. v. Los Angeles County Sheriff Dep't, No. 05-55294
In an action alleging police officers violated plaintiffs' constitutional rights by ordering them to remove their truck (which displayed enlarged, graphic photographs of early-term aborted fetuses) from an area adjacent to a middle school, and by detaining them and searching the vehicle, summary judgment and dismissal rulings for defendants are reversed in part where: 1) plaintiffs' First Amendment rights were violated; 2) however, individual defendants were entitled to qualified immunity from a damages action on the issue; 3) plaintiffs established a violation of their Fourth Amendment rights because of the unreasonable length of two individuals' detention; and 4) they raised a genuine issue of fact as to whether the deputy sheriffs unlawfully entered their security vehicle. Read more...

CIVIL PROCEDURE, CLASS ACTIONS, ERISA, HEALTH LAW, INSURANCE LAW, LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW
Sgro v. Danone Waters of N. Am., Inc., No. 06-55916
In an ERISA action arising from a denial of plaintiff's claim for disability benefits, dismissal of plaintiffs' claims is affirmed in part and vacated in part where: 1) dismissal of state law claims was proper as defendant's disability plan is governed by ERISA, but the dismissal should have been without prejudice; 2) a California insurance regulation does not require defendants to reimburse plaintiff for the cost of copying the medical records that defendant-insurer/administrator requested, as that regulation is preempted by ERISA; 3) defendants did not violate ERISA's regulation on "claims procedures" by requiring documentation from plaintiff regarding his claim; and 4) a remand was required in part as to dismissal of a claim that defendants violated ERISA section 1132(c)(1) for failing to turn over certain documents. Read more...

CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, ENVIRONMENTAL LAW, SENTENCING
US v. Warr, No. 07-30125
A sentence for wildland arson is affirmed where: 1) the district court did not err in calculating the advisory sentencing guidelines range when it included fire suppression costs in the loss calculation, resulting in an elevated total offense level; 2) the sentence was not unreasonable; and 3) although the district court erred in relying on a Bureau of Prisons' study at sentencing without notifying defendant in advance, the failure to provide notice did not constitute plain error. Read more...

CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, SENTENCING
US v. Evans-Martinez, No. 05-10280
Fed. R. Crim. P. 32(h) requires that a district court provide notice of its intent to depart from the applicable sentencing range suggested by the Guidelines post-Booker, as it did pre-Booker. Read more...