Correspondent
Federal courthouse correspondent, covers civil rights, employment discrimination, housing rights, and Second Amendment disputes.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the employer in a Title VII discrimination and retaliation case because the plaintiff failed to prove pretext or establish protected activity. The court also upheld the district court's denial of motions for recusal, reconsideration, and vexatious litigant designation.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of an employment discrimination lawsuit because the plaintiff failed to file a timely charge with the EEOC. This failure to exhaust administrative remedies also barred her parallel claims under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Waseem Daker's civil rights complaint because he violated a permanent filing injunction issued by the Northern District of Georgia. The court held that federal courts possess inherent authority to prevent vexatious litigants from encroaching on judicial resources, rejecting Daker's argument that the injunction was an impermissible universal injunction under Trump v. CASA.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment against Debra Nevins on her Title VII and Section 1981 claims. The court held that Nevins failed to present a convincing mosaic of circumstantial evidence proving that her race was a motivating factor in her termination or that she was subjected to actionable retaliation or harassment.
The Eleventh Circuit dismissed the Fountains' appeal sua sponte because their notice of appeal was filed five days after the deadline expired. The court held that while Rule 60(b) motions toll the appeal period, the Fountains missed the thirty-day window that ended on January 16, 2026.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Jill Coit's § 1983 claims against prison officials, ruling that her fourth amended complaint failed to state a claim. The court held that the Eleventh Amendment barred monetary relief against official-capacity defendants and that the complaint did not comply with federal pleading standards.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment, holding that Cincinnati Insurance Company had a duty to defend its subcontractor as an additional insured under Wyoming law. The court found the contractual language and underlying facts clearly triggered the insurer's obligation to cover defense costs because the injuries were caused in part by the subcontractor's ongoing operations.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a prisoner's Eighth Amendment claim because the plaintiff failed to explain why the magistrate judge's recommendation was incorrect in his objections. The court held that the district court properly screened the complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) and did not err by declining to distinguish between personal and official capacity claims.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of William Sherratt's federal civil rights lawsuit against state judges and prosecutors, holding that absolute immunity bars liability for acts performed in their official capacities. The court ruled that because the underlying criminal conviction remains valid, alleged judicial or prosecutorial misconduct does not constitute a cognizable constitutional violation under Section 1983.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for police officers who entered a home to conduct a welfare check, ruling that their actions were objectively reasonable under the emergency aid exception. The court held that the officers were shielded by qualified immunity because a reasonable officer could have believed immediate force was necessary to prevent harm given the dispatch warnings and the plaintiff's behavior.
