Correspondent
Federal courthouse correspondent, covers civil rights, employment discrimination, housing rights, and Second Amendment disputes.
The Tenth Circuit granted the parties' stipulation to voluntarily dismiss their appeal from a district court ruling. The court dismissed the case with each party bearing its own costs, leaving the underlying district court judgment in place.
The Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Phyllis Alston's federal civil rights claims against healthcare providers, ruling that her allegations of racial discrimination were conclusory and unsupported by specific facts. The court further held that Alston's challenge to the denial of a continuance to file certificates of merit was moot because she had already refiled her state medical negligence claims in state court.
The Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a negligent entrustment claim against Avis, ruling that the plaintiff failed to plausibly allege the rental company knew the driver posed an unreasonable risk. The court also held that the plaintiff forfeited any arguments based on a specific Pennsylvania statute by failing to raise them in the lower court.
The Third Circuit summarily affirmed the dismissal of Shena Hickman's civil rights complaint against Facebook/Meta, ruling that the doctrine of claim preclusion barred her suit. The court held that Hickman's allegations were identical to claims previously dismissed with prejudice in two other federal actions.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of CenterPoint Energy, finding that the plaintiff failed to provide evidence of causation for his retaliation claims or evidence of defamatory statements. The court further held that the plaintiff forfeited challenges to the denial of his motions because he failed to adequately brief those specific issues.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of a motion to vacate an arbitration award in an employment discrimination dispute. The court held that the appellant's arguments regarding arbitrator misconduct and procedural errors were forfeited because his pro se brief failed to provide specific factual support or legal analysis for his claims.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Edgar Merida's employment discrimination claims because he failed to adequately brief his arguments on appeal. The court held that by neglecting to rebut the district court's analysis or explain legal errors, Merida forfeited all appellate arguments.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's judgment against Terry Joyner on his Title VII and Georgia Whistleblower Act claims but reversed the grant of qualified immunity to individual defendants on his First Amendment retaliation claim. The court held that removing Joyner's flexible work schedule after he reported ticket-fixing constituted a material adverse action that likely chilled protected speech.
The First Circuit dismissed an appeal by four public sector employees seeking declaratory judgments that union dues deductions were unconstitutional. The court held that the claims were moot because the union and university had already ceased the deductions and ordered reimbursement for past payments.
The Eleventh Circuit dismissed Michael Haspel's appeal sua sponte because the district court's order was not a final judgment. The court held that claims against three defendants remained pending, preventing immediate appellate review under the final judgment rule.
