Case Summaries
Family Law
Criminal Law & Procedure
Immigration Law
Uniform Commercial Code
Family Law
[02/05]
In re Koehler
In an attorney's petition for a writ challenging a trial court's order of contempt on attorney arising from divorce proceedings, attorney's petition is treated as one for prohibition and granted, and the order of contempt is reversed and annulled as the requisite procedures were not followed and the applicable law was not applied.
[02/04]
In re J.N.
Juveniles court's judgment ordering three minor children returned home to the care and custody of their mother on a case plan of family maintenance services, and removal from the physical custody of their father on a case plan of family reunification services, is reversed where: 1) the evidence was not sufficient to establish that the children were at substantial risk of serious physical injury as the result of parental inability to adequately supervise or protect the child; and 2) the evidence did not support a finding that each child was within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court under section 300(b).
[01/28]
Biscaro v. Stern
In an action for dissolution of marriage, trial court's issuance of a restraining order against defendant and an entry of default judgment awarding a condominium to his former wife as her separate property is reversed and remanded where: 1) the court erred in awarding the condominium as wife's separate property because it granted greater relief than she had requested in her petitions for dissolution; and 2) it was reversible error for the court not to rule on defendant's request for accommodation.
[01/27]
In re G.M.
Juvenile court's order terminating the parental rights of a mother to two of her children is affirmed as: 1) although evidence of a legal impediment to adoption by an identified prospective adoptive parent is relevant and therefore admissible when a social worker's opinion that a child is likely to be adopted is based in part on the the prospective adoptive patent's willingness to adopt; 2) on the record, the trial court neither barred such evidence nor was compelled to consider whether there was or could be a legal impediment to adoption by the children's prospective adoptive parent in evaluating whether it was likely the children would be adopted.
[01/27]
J.R. v. Gloria
In plaintiffs' action raising substantive due process claims under 42 U.S.C. section 1983 and state law claims under Rhode Island negligence law for damages against two state employees of the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), grant of judgment as a matter of law to the defendants under Rule 50(a) is affirmed as the district court properly granted defendants qualified immunity on the section 1983 action and judgment for defendants pursuant to state sovereign immunity and qualified immunity defenses under Rhode Island state law.
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Criminal Law & Procedure
[02/08]
US v. Xiong
Defendant's convictions for arson, mail fraud, conspiracy to commit arson and mail fraud, and the use of fire to commit another felony, arising from his burning down his mother's supermarket to help her collect insurance money, are affirmed as, under the Blockburger combination approach, Congress intended separate punishments for defendant's convicted offenses.
[02/08]
US v. Goodpasture
District court's imposition of a 180 month sentence, as an armed career criminal, on a defendant convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm is reversed and remanded as a California offense of a lewd or lascivious act involving a person under the age of 14 is not a violent felony and as such, the 15 year minimum sentence for an armed career criminal does not apply.
[02/08]
US v. Rogers
District court's imposition of a sentence of 86 months' imprisonment on a defendant convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm is affirmed where: 1) although defendant's reckless-endangerment conviction was not a crime of violence, defendant's evading-arrest offense was a crime of violence; and 2) the district court did not err in applying a four-level enhancement under the Guidelines in finding that, by preponderance of the evidence, the defendant used or possessed a firearm in connection with a felony chop-shop offense.
[02/08]
US v. Bowers
Conviction of defendant for sexual exploitation of a child in the manufacture of child pornography and possession of child pornography is affirmed where: 1) district court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress as the private-citizen search that uncovered incriminating evidence did not violate the Fourth Amendment; 2) defendant's as-applied challenge under the Commerce Clause is meritless; and 3) after the Supreme Court's decision in Gonzales v. Raich, 545 U.S. 1 (2005), U.S. v. Corp, 236 F.3d 325 (6th Cir. 2001) is no longer the law of the Circuit.
[02/08]
US v. Patterson
Defendant's sentence for possessing a counterfeit state security is affirmed where: 1) it was not error for the district court to sentence defendant under a Sentencing Guidelines calculation of intended loss that was more than double the amount of restitution ordered in the same case; and 2) the record was not sufficiently developed to support a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel and a collateral attack is the preferable avenue for such challenges.
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Immigration Law
[02/04]
Aguilar-Ramos v. Holder
In a petition for review of the BIA's order dismissing petitioner's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel and denying his applications for relief under former Immigration and Nationality Act section 212(c) and the Convention Against Torture, the petition is granted in part where the failure of the Immigration Judge and BIA to consider evidence of country conditions constituted reversible error. However, the petition is denied in part where the Attorney General did not have authority to waive the grounds for petitioner's removal.
[02/04]
Estrada v. State of Rhode Island
In plaintiffs' action challenging the constitutionality of the actions of a police officer during a traffic stop, summary judgment in favor of defendant is affirmed where: 1) the officer is entitled to federal and state qualified immunity for any possible constitutional violations that he may have committed in asking the van's passengers questions about their immigration status and in contacting ICE; 2) the officer is entitled to qualified immunity for alleged violations of state or federal laws surrounding the seizure of plaintiffs and their subsequent escort to ICE office; 3) officer is entitled to qualified immunity for both pat down searches under federal and state law; and 4) the officer is entitled to qualified immunity for all of the challenged actions with respect to the Rhode Island Racial Profiling Prevention Act.
[02/04]
Gildernew v. Quarantillo
In an action seeking a declaratory judgment that plaintiff, an Irish national, was entitled to naturalize in the U.S., summary judgment for defendant is affirmed where: 1) the one-year absence bar in 8 U.S.C. section 1427(b) applied both to the period preceding the naturalization interview and the period following the interview; and 2) plaintiff was neither exempt from the continuous residence requirement, nor did he present a set of facts that would warrant an estoppel.
[02/03]
Corona-Mendez v. Holder
In a petition for review of the BIA's denial of petitioner-Mexican native's application for a waiver of removal, the petition is denied where the BIA correctly held that petitioner was not eligible for multiple waivers of removability and inadmissibility.
[02/02]
Chamber of Comm. of the US v. Edmondson
In an action claiming that provisions of the Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act (the Act) were preempted by federal law, a preliminary injunction in favor of plaintiffs is affirmed in part where: 1) section 7(C) of the Act imposed sanctions "upon those who employ unauthorized aliens," and was thus preempted by 8 U.S.C. section 1324a(h)(2); and 2) by requiring verification of independent contractors, section 9 of the Act risked exposing contracting entities to liability under federal law, and thus section 9 was preempted as well. However, the order is reversed in part where section 7(B) of the Act was not preempted because no evidence suggested that federal standards concerning immigration and employment-verification would be compromised by the online monitoring system required by that section.
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Uniform Commercial Code
[06/25]
BRASHER'S CASCADE AUTO AUCTION v. VALLEY AUTO SALES AND LEASING
The former version of the California Uniform Commercial Code requires a merchant buyer to adhere to reasonable commercial standards to obtain the status of a buyer in the ordinary course of business for purposes of section 9307.
[05/26]
PROPULSION TECHS. v. ATWOOD CORP.
An agreement to manufacture boat parts is unenforceable under the Statute of Frauds as a transaction in goods with no ascertainable quantity term, thus the claim for fraud in the inducement cannot survive.
[04/12]
CHATSKY & ASSOCS. v. SUPERIOR COURT OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY (BANK OF AM. CORP.)
The one-year limitations period of Code of Civil Procedure section 340(c), rather than the three-year limitations period of California Uniform Commercial Code section 4111, applies to claims by depositors against their bank for payment of forged checks written on the depositors' accounts.
[01/22]
HICKS v. THE SUPERIOR COURT OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY (KAUFMAN & BROAD HOME CORP.)
If set forth in conspicuous and understandable language, a disclaimer of the implied warranty of quality is enforceable. The trial court correctly concluded that written disclaimers in the sales and express warranty documents provided to the home buyers preclude their claim for breach of implied warranty.
[12/19]
DALLAS AEROSPACE, INC. v. CIS AIR CORP.
Summary judgment was properly granted to defendant on claims of breach of contract, fraudulent misrepresentation, and negligent misrepresentation. The sale contract for a used aircraft engine had not been modified; its terms were not unconscionable; it disclaimed any representation as to the engine's airworthiness, which was in any event easily discoverable by plaintiff; no special relationship existed between the parties.
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