Correspondent
Federal courthouse correspondent, covers civil rights, employment discrimination, housing rights, and Second Amendment disputes.
The Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal of three police officers' claims that a rival officer's promotion to Chief violated their constitutional rights. The court held that the officers failed to plead facts showing their non-promotion was motivated by protected speech or association.
The Third Circuit affirmed summary judgment for police officers and municipalities in a civil rights case arising from a drunk driving crash and subsequent arrest. The court held that the officers had reasonable suspicion to stop the appellant and that the force used to subdue him was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.
The Third Circuit dismissed a petition for a writ of mandamus as moot because the underlying motion had already been resolved by the District Court. The court found that no live controversy remained since the requested relief was no longer available.
The Federal Circuit affirmed the Merit Systems Protection Board's decision to sustain the removal of a federal employee for excessive absences, rejecting claims of due process violations and whistleblower retaliation. The court held that prolonged absence without a foreseeable end constitutes just cause for removal, even when the employee has a history of disputes with management.
The Federal Circuit vacated the patent infringement judgment against Gen Digital, ruling that the asserted software claims were directed to an abstract idea under the first step of the Alice analysis. The court also held that damages based on foreign sales were impermissible under U.S. patent law and ordered a reconsideration of enhanced damages and attorney fees.
The Fourth Circuit imposed a public admonishment on attorney Eric Chibueze Nwaubani for submitting appellate briefs containing citations to three nonexistent judicial opinions. The court held that this conduct violated ethical rules prohibiting actions that seriously interfere with the administration of justice, regardless of whether artificial intelligence was used to generate the errors.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a federal employee's race discrimination and hostile work environment claims but vacated summary judgment on his retaliation claim. The court held that while the plaintiff failed to prove an abusive work environment, evidence of a supervisor's threat to fire him for filing an EEO complaint created a genuine dispute of material fact on retaliation.
The Seventh Circuit vacated a district court's dismissal of a pretrial detainee's failure-to-protect claim, ruling that the lower court erred in treating defendant-authored documents as incontrovertible contradictions of the plaintiff's allegations. The appellate court held that the attached grievance responses did not definitively refute the detainee's claim that officials had a record of a keep-separate order.
The Seventh Circuit vacated a district court's dismissal of a pretrial detainee's failure-to-protect claim, ruling that the lower court erred in treating defendant-authored grievance responses as incontrovertible proof contradicting the plaintiff's allegations. The appellate court held that the attached documents did not definitively refute the detainee's assertion that officials had a record of a keep-separate order.
The Eleventh Circuit dismissed an appeal sua sponte because the district court's summary judgment was not a final order. The court lacked jurisdiction because claims and counterclaims between the plaintiff and one defendant remained unresolved.
