News
Employment Practices
[08/15]
Ask AP: Broken hips, illegal immigrants' impact
[08/15]
32 protesters arrested outside Disneyland
[08/14]
BP says TNK-BP chief barred from office by Russia
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Labor
[08/26]
Returning firefighters find own station ablaze
[08/15]
Debate coaches lose cool, one pulls down his pants
[07/30]
Doorman who won $5M, said he'd stay at job gets ax
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Real Estate
[08/15]
General Shopping Brasil Posts 74.3% Increase in Gross Revenue in 2Q08 and 67.6% in 1H08. Adjusted EBITDA Rises 96.0% in 2Q08
[08/15]
Cyrela Announces 56% of the Sales Speed of 2Q08 Launches and 60% Growth in 1H08 EBITDA
[08/15]
Trump to buy McMahon's home, let him live there
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Case Summaries
Class Actions
[08/27]
Sicar v. Chertoff
In a class action claim for declaratory and injunctive relief, alleging the government has systematically misclassified plaintiffs' parole status during the course of status adjustment determinations under the Haitian Refugees Immigration Fairness Act of 1998, dismissal of class action complaint is affirmed where the court lacks subject matter jurisdiction.
[08/26]
Mamot Feed Lot & Trucking v. Hobson
In a class action raising federal usury and antitying claims against a bank, its holding company, and various shareholders, officers, and employees of the bank, following the criminal indictment of the bank's president for defrauding the bank of nearly one million dollars, dismissal of the claim is affirmed where: 1) as sections 85 and 86 do not apply to state-chartered banks, the district court properly dismissed those claims brought under the National Bank Act for want of jurisdiction; 2) the district court properly dismissed a claim under 12 U.S.C. section 1831d for failure to state a claim; and 3) the complaint provided absolutely no facts to support an illegal tying claim.
[08/25]
Cable Connection, Inc. v. DirecTV, Inc.
Under the California Arbitration Act, judicial review of the merits of an arbitration award is permissible where the contracting parties have expressly agreed that the arbitrators shall have no power to commit errors of law and that the award may be vacated or corrected on appeal for legal error.
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Labor & Employment Law
[08/27]
Local Joint Exec. Bd. of Las Vegas v. Nat'l Labor Relations Bd.
Petition for review of an NLRB order dismissing union's complaints against hotel employers for unilaterally terminating dues-checkoff before bargaining to agreement or impasse is granted where: 1) although the NLRB was responsive to a prior mandate from the circuit court that it adopt a new rule, it did not properly apply the new rule it adopted; and 2) contrary to the NLRB's ruling, the union did not clearly and unmistakably waive any right of employees to claim dues-checkoff after the agreements expired.
[08/27]
Kozisek v. Couty of Seward
In an employment discrimination and civil rights case, summary judgment for defendants-county and county board chairman is affirmed where: 1) plaintiff failed to establish a prima facie case under the Americans with Disability Act; 2) for purposes of a First Amendment claim, plaintiff's speech was not protected, and regardless, he failed to show a connection between his speech and his termination; and 3) a due process claim failed.
[08/26]
Duncan v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd.
Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) decision granting reconsideration is annulled where the WCAB erred in holding that a sanction can be imposed against the Uninsured Employers Benefits Trust Fund (UEBTF), if its "failure to comply with the award of attorney's fees resulted from willful or bad faith actions".
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Property Law & Real Estate
[08/27]
Campbell v. Countrywide Home Loans Inc.
In a suit accusing defendant of filing a claim attempting to collect a pre-petition debt in violation of an automatic stay in plaintiffs' Chapter 13 bankruptcy, an interlocutory order granting partial summary judgment for plaintiffs is reversed where: 1) unpaid escrow payments that accumulate pre-petition in the year that a bankruptcy petition is filed, and which the creditor had a right to collect under the loan documents, constitute a "claim" under the Bankruptcy Code; but 2) the filing of a proof of claim including the amounts of these payments does not by itself violate an automatic stay in a bankruptcy proceeding.
[08/27]
Byrd v. Dressel
In an action brought by a group of homeowners and community organizations seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against a city, employees, and developers who remodel and convert private homes into student residences, a judgment against plaintiffs is affirmed where: 1) case precedent does not categorically preclude due process challenges to impermissible governmental action that deprives a person of real property; 2) however, under ordinary Due Process Clause jurisprudence, plaintiff failed to state a claim, notwithstanding it's understandable concerns about the aesthetics and ambiance of the neighborhood; and 3) claims under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and defendant-city's municipal code also failed.
[08/27]
216 Jamaica Ave., LLC v. S & R Playhouse Realty Co.
In a case involving the enforceability of a "gold clause" contained in a 1912 lease agreement, which required payment of rents to be in gold coins, a judgment against plaintiff-owner who tried to enforce the clause is reversed and remanded where: 1) contrary to the ruling below, the clause is enforceable; and 2) a remand was necessary for the district court to interpret the clause, to determine the obligation it imposes on the lessee, and to address any other defenses in the first instance, including lessee's estoppel-by-deed and waiver defenses.
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